PT Supports Massage for Hip Replacement
Hip replacements are a major surgery and everyone heals differently. Recently a physical therapist gave a patient the green light to use massage therapy as a therapeutic tool to boost healing.
The surgery was done 21 days before this massage session that I was able to assist with. The pictures shown below are from the person which received surgery (permission granted from patient).
Physical therapists have always been tied to massage in some way or another but rarely have the time or resources to give manual therapy in their treatments. The surgeon in this case used a posterior approach however an anterior can also be used. Anterior vs. posterior approaches vary on surgeon preference but massage is best applied to all of the muscles of the lower back, hip, leg and foot on both sides for best results.
When they begin referring out for massage therapy soon after a surgery it is a big win for patients and trained licensed massage professionals.
Clinically trained massage therapists want more cases like these. They are deeply rewarded as surgery can be a long and arduous road.
I’m excited for the future of healthcare as more allied health professionals come to the forefront and use other wellness professionals to complement their therapy.
I have treated post hip surgery from the patient seeking outside help. I’ve personally seen the improvement utilizing more manual therapy aka: massage. To know that physical therapists are supporting professional massage is very motivating.
Benefits
There are different types of surgeries, partial and full. This depends on how much of the hip needs to be replaced. Patients can benefit from massage after hip surgery in reducing pain and stiffness. They can also address accumulation of tension on your other hip and leg from compensating. If there is swelling, massage therapists can assist with lymph drainage flow when you are sedentary. Patients can also speed up their healing time by increasing blood flow the area with massage. When the time is right patients can also benefit from scar tissue release. A manual technique to loosen the scar tissue along the incision to prevent localized pain in the future.
Credentials
There are many medical massage courses a therapist can take. Hire a massage therapist trained in post-surgical, clinical and scar tissue massage for the best and safest results.
