Have you ever had a basic surgical procedure?
According to the American College of Surgeons, the average person will have around 9 surgeries in their lifetime. Surgery has become so common place that, for many, it becomes the first thought when something goes awry.
I have had many patients come into my office frustrated that the surgeon wants them to wait and try conservative care first, only to be grateful that they waited! We have helped many people avoid surgery and go back to living their lives.
While I am happy that many of my patients go on to not need surgery, I am not "anti-surgery" at all. I am all for surgery, but only when it is warranted and all else has failed.
But, my question for you is: Have you ever had surgery and felt like things never went back to normal?
Here are three reasons why you never got back to where you were after your surgery:
1. Your Rehab Ended to Soon
A lot of the athletes that I work with are at high levels prior to surgery and needed the surgery to restore proper joint function or get back on the field ASAP. The problem becomes that most rehab professionals do not understand the demands of the sport and sign someone off after they can do 20 air squats without pain.
Even worse, is when athletes get cut off from physical therapy because the insurance says they are "done." This is the reason why we have so many re-injuries and tend to have athletes needing multiple surgeries on the same body part.
You NEED to make sure your rehab protocol has a return to play built in and the rehab eventually begins to mimic your sport-specific needs. If your professional is not doing this or you got "cut-off" from insurance, then we highly advise you see a specialist in rehab to get back on track.
2. Scar Tissue
After any surgical procedure, the human body's goal is to re-attach the severed tissue. Thank goodness it does this, or else we would be in for a really bad infection. The problem becomes that scar tissue does NOT move as well as normal tissue. If you want proof of this, pinch a scar and try to move it in multiple directions (see how its' not moving). This scar tissue can also attach itself to the underlying tissue and cause it to stick in that area. On top of that, the nerves near the scar tissue can also become irritated. The only way I know of to help with this is to see a manual therapist who is specialized in scar release protocols, such as the Graston Technique.
3. They Didn't Find the Source of the Problem
I am not a surgeon and I will never claim to be an expert on performing surgery. It is an amazing skillset to be able to perform a minimally invasive procedure with minimal incisions all while taking measures to avoid infections (this is truly a modern miracle). My closest skillset comes from dissecting cadavers and I was not great at it.
However, I will claim to be an expert on pain science and one of the things we know about pain is that it is multi-faceted. It is not as simple as seeing degeneration on an x-ray or a labrum tear on MRI.
That is why we recommend seeing a rehab professional who specializes in finding the root cause of the problem. We always want to attack a problem at its source and not down the chain. This is how we get poor outcomes and revision surgeries. If the surgery was done at the right source, you shouldn't need a revision or additional surgeries.
If you have had a surgery and have not fully regained your function, schedule a call with us today!
You can tell us everything thats been going on and we'll see if we're fit to help you - and give you all of the information you need to make the best decisions for your health.
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