Joint Replacement Rehabilitation
Courtesy HealthSouth, Colorado Springs LIVING WELL Magazine
Life after orthopedic surgery is a challenging and demanding experience. After joint replacement surgery, rehabilitation assists patients in setting and achieving goals to maximize recovery and independence.
HealthSouth’s joint replacement rehabilitation program include the following:
- Physical and occupational therapy using the latest therapeutic technology
- 24-hour rehabilitative skilled nursing
- Rehabilitation physicians
- Case management
Care is coordinated under the direction of the on-site doctor who tailors the program to the patient’s unique needs. The flexible program’s treatment goals include increasing strength, mobility, flexibility, endurance, self-care skills, and helping patients resume prior activities.
A 2005 study completed by Mary Beth Walsh, MD and Janet Herbold, MA, PT sought to determine whether outcomes differed between patients with single knee or hip joint replacement surgery undergoing rehabilitation in an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) versus skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).
Ninety patients were discharged during 2004 from participating SNFs following total hip replacement or total knee replacement and an additional 1,549 patients were discharged from the IRF following these procedures; 629 following total hip replacement and 920 following total knee replacement. The average length of stay for patients treated in the IRF (7–14 days) was almost half that of patients treated in the SNF (10–30 days). The average functional ability at discharge for patients treated at the IRF was significantly higher than those patients treated at the SNFs, and they were able to walk further on their own after being treated at the IRF compared to the SNFs.
Within the matched pairs (based on age, gender, type of surgery and FIM score at admission), 89.5% of the patients treated at the IRF were discharged home, compared with 79.1% of the patients treated at SNFs. Of the IRF-treated patients, 38.3% required the use of a walker after being discharged in comparison to 80.2% of those treated at the SNFs.
When patients were matched for age, gender, surgery type, and admission FIM, those who received rehabilitation in the IRF had, on average, a shorter length of stay and superior functional outcomes than those treated in SNFs.
At HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Colorado Springs, we realize that you have a choice when it comes to providing care for yourself or a loved one. Dealing with a joint replacement can be tough, but HealthSouth can make it easier. Make the choice that will provide a higher level of care and provide the best outcomes. Choose HealthSouth.
