Rehab Select Blog

If you are in the planning phases of an orthopedic procedure or are beginning recovery from surgery or injury, chances are that your healthcare team has suggested an orthopedic rehabilitation program to help ensure that you make your best recovery as quickly as possible. Orthopedic rehabilitation may also be suggested for you if you are living with arthritis, osteoporosis or other similar chronic orthopedic conditions. Whatever the underlying reason, if orthopedic rehab is something that you are considering, you are sure to have some questions about these programs. To help you along as you explore your rehabilitative options, here are 3 critical answers about orthopedic rehabilitation that can make it easier to make solid, well-informed decisions about your care.

The bundled payment model has become an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional fee-for-service payment. At the forefront of the ongoing shift towards value-based healthcare, the goal of this payment model is to reduce healthcare costs while maintaining or improving quality-of-care. Post-discharge care is one area in which, according to recent research, the bundled payment model has shown promising results in meeting those goals.

A good short term rehab program can be of great benefit to patients who have suffered osteoporosis-related injuries. Fractures are the most frequent injuries related to this extremely common disease, and often, they are the first inkling people have that they have been affected by osteoporosis. Fractures related to this bone-thinning disease occur most commonly in the wrist, spine or hip, and recovery can be challenging. Often, recovery is complicated by concerns about further injury, especially in newly diagnosed patients who may be fearful about their condition and patients with advanced bone loss. Rehabilitation therapy can help these patients overcome both the physical and emotional challenges of recovery.

Short term rehab programs can be of great benefit to patients who are recovering from a medical incident, such as injury, surgery, stroke or heart attack, aiding them in recovering strength, function, mobility and independence. These programs can also be of great assistance to people who are suffering with chronic health conditions, such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease, among others, helping them learn to manage these conditions more efficiently and reduce their impact on day-to-day quality of life. If such a program has been recommended for you, here are 2 very important factors in short term rehab success—information that can help you choose the right program to make the most of your rehab experience.

If recovery from orthopedic surgery, such as joint replacement or fracture repair, is a challenge you are facing or will soon face, you will surely be striving to get through the experience and back to normal as quickly as possible. If you have expressed that desire to your healthcare team, chances are that orthopedic rehabilitation has been suggested to you as a means of hurrying the process along. So does it really help? Can orthopedic rehabilitation speed your recovery?

If you have arthritis, whether you are newly diagnosed or a longtime sufferer, chances are good that your medical care team will refer you to orthopedic rehabilitation. The reason such referrals are so common is that good rehabilitation programs can help arthritis sufferers maintain or even improve joint function and control day-to-day symptoms of this potentially debilitating disease. So what can arthritis patients expect from orthopedic rehab?

Rehabilitative therapy is essential to successfully returning to a healthy, active lifestyle after joint replacement surgery, a very important fact to keep in mind if you'll be having one of these procedures. Exercise is the chief component of that therapy, and you'll be advised to perform a number of exercises daily—especially during the early stages of recovery from hip or knee replacement—to gradually improve balance, flexibility, muscle strength and joint function. Among the most frequently prescribed are the following 6 exercises for after joint replacement surgery.

The bundled payment model has emerged as the favored alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model in the ongoing shift towards value-based healthcare reimbursement. That status, already made plain by the rapid growth of bundled payment programs offered by private payers, including healthcare systems, insurance companies and large employers, has been cemented by the growing number of bundled payment initiatives rolled out by government payers. Perhaps the most notable of these are several bundled payment initiatives undertaken by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) that bundle payments for care provided to fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries.

Workplace injuries are a concern for every company today, given the ever-rising costs of such incidents.

These include the human costs of on-the-job injuries—pain, suffering, disability and lost income, for instance—and the financial costs employers face, including workers' comp costs, reduced workforce productivity, and the expenses associated with replacing injured workers.

Physical therapy and occupational therapy are two rather closely related fields—so closely that many people are under the impression that the terms are interchangeable. While both types of therapists may work with similar patients, injuries and conditions, there are distinct differences between the two. Here we'll go over those differences to help potential patients clear the air about these therapies, making it easier for them to pursue the most suitable treatment for their specific needs.