How Short Term Rehab Can Improve Three Health Conditions

If you recently suffered a certain illness, injury, or had surgery, your doctor may have recommended short term rehab in a nursing home or assisted living facility. This type of rehab is usually very intensive, and includes either physical therapy, occupational therapy, or both. If you have one of the following medical conditions, short term rehab may help speed your recovery:

Hip Surgery

A total hip replacement is considered major surgery, and most people who undergo this procedure are required to have some type of physical therapy or rehab. Exercises that may be included in your physical therapy regime may include leg lifts, riding a stationary bicycle, mounting stairs, and performing range-of-motion movements.

Your therapist may also recommend that you spend time in a whirlpool bath to help enhance the circulation to your surgical wound, while helping to ease your pain. Short term rehab can also help hip surgery patients with their mobility, improve their overall strength, facilitate better walking endurance through gait training, and restore full range of motion to the leg and hip. 

Cerebral Vascular Accident

A cerebral vascular accident, or stroke, can affect motor skills, your ability to eat, speak, and swallow, and impair cognitive thinking. Short term rehab not only offers physical and occupational therapy services to stroke patients, but also speech therapy to help improve speech patterns, restore the effects of paralysis on the vocal cords and swallowing muscles, and to help normalize chewing and eating functions. 

Some patients make full recoveries as a result of short term rehab, while others only show minimal improvement. For these people, longer, more intensive rehabilitation may be necessary to further restore bodily and cerebral functioning. 

Heart Attack

Heart attacks often leave people feeling weak and run down. Cardiac rehabilitation at a place like Valley View Retirement Community can help improve cardiovascular endurance, enhance oxygenation to the vital organs, and restore self confidence. Heart patients sometimes experience depression, fear, and lack of confidence following a cardiac event. They may be afraid that it might happen again, which makes them hesitant to do the necessary exercises needed to improve their overall health and build up their strength.

When the patient does his exercises under the direct supervision of doctors and nurses in a clinical rehab setting, he will feel safer and more secure. Before long, confidence is restored, physical strength becomes markedly better, mood is lifted, and respiratory function is back to normal. 

If you experience any of the above health conditions, talk to your doctor about how you might benefit from short term rehab. If your health care provider determines that you are a candidate, you may enter the rehab facility as soon as you leave the hospital. The sooner you complete your therapy, the sooner you can get back to enjoying the people, places, and activities you love.