If youre like most patients heading into orthopaedic surgery, you already know youll have plenty of arduous, physical work to do following your operation. What you might not realize, however, is that the work you do before you head into the operating room can have a major impact on your surgerys success. "You wouldnt go into a big game weak and without training, but if you come into surgery not having trained, youre not giving yourself the best chance for success," says Mark I. Froimson, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic. Most people are familiar with rehabilitation-the physical therapy regimens following surgery that are designed to get us back up to speed. But doctors and therapists are becoming increasingly focused on providing such regimens prior to surgery as well. Studies show that patients who undergo "prehab" not only enjoy quicker recoveries, they have better post-operative function and more successful outcomes overall.
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