Joint replacement surgery is a long-term solution to minimizing knee pain. However, don’t expect relief immediately following the surgery. There’s recovery time that you must account for, and it won’t all be pain-free. As you prepare for joint replacement in Jacksonville, FL, make sure you understand the following.

Pain

As with any surgery, you will feel pain after the anesthesia has worn off. Pain management following joint replacement surgery in Jacksonville, FL, is something to talk with your surgeon about before the surgery. You want to be prepared because the best way to keep your discomfort to a minimum is to get ahead of the pain with a plan.

Many people think that they’ll be able to manage the pain with regular over-the-counter ibuprofen. While that might be true, it’s still a good idea to listen to your surgeon’s recommendations for a pain management regimen. If you have certain problems that make taking more powerful painkillers, let your surgeon know so the right medication and pain management therapies can be prescribed.

Physical Therapy

The whole point of joint replacement for Jacksonville, FL, patients is to regain mobility and pain-free movement in the knee, elbow, or other area of the body. Once you have your joint replacement surgery, you need to have physical therapy. As with the pain management, you should arrange your outpatient physical therapist before the surgery. During your hospital stay, you will meet with a hospital physical therapist who will help you while you’re in the hospital. However, therapy doesn’t start and end in the hospital. It continues long after you’ve had your surgery during the recovery phase.

Most joint replacement patients don’t consider the physical therapy part of the recovery process. However, this type of surgery isn’t something that you bounce back from right away. You need a therapist by your side who will help you strengthen your knee or elbow following the surgery. When you decide to go through with joint replacement surgery, make sure that you check with your insurance provider for therapists who are covered under the plan. This is an essential part of joint replacement surgery cost in Jacksonville, FL.

Patience

Please be gentle with yourself. This is the final “P” that is often the hardest to conquer. Many surgery patients expect to be back to their old selves within a few days of surgery. Part of this might be because the hospital stay for these types of surgical procedures isn’t that long. Therefore, patients have the impression that they can go back to their usual activities in a few days. With joint replacement surgery, you have to give yourself at least 6 weeks, but usually more to fully heal.

It’s hard to be patient, but the kinder you are to yourself and more accepting of the fact that progress takes time, the less complications you’ll encounter. Before your joint replacement surgery in Jacksonville, FL, speak frankly with your surgeon. Listen to their recommendations, follow-up with physical therapy and get caught up on your favorite television shows while you recover.