IT’S NOT JUST
WHERE IT HURTS.
- →Surgery is set, but you do not know how to prepare—or what the first week at home will actually look like
- →After surgery, passive rest leaves you weaker than you started, and you are unsure when it is safe to load the joint again
- →Months of guarding a painful joint have already cost you strength; you need to know if you are starting recovery from a deficit
A CLEARER WAY FORWARD.
Recovery starts before the operation. The weeks before surgery are your last easy chance to build the strength and range of motion you will start from. After surgery, we follow your surgeon's protocol exactly, coordinate directly with their office, and combine hands-on care with progressive loading to turn a good operation into a functioning limb. PAIN → PRIME → PERFORM → PREVENT.
Before Surgery: Build the Reserve
Strengthen the muscles around the joint, recover whatever range of motion is available, and learn the crutches, sling or equipment you will use at home—while you are still comfortable enough to absorb it. We send you into surgery with a clear picture of what week one looks like and the exercises you will start with.
After Surgery: Protect, Then Restore
Manage swelling, protect the repair within your surgeon's protocol, and begin early activation and assisted motion so the joint does not stiffen. As healing allows, we restore full range and progressive loading to rebuild what the immobilization weeks cost you. We track range, strength and function at every visit and mobilize joints and soft tissue by hand instead of waiting for them to loosen on their own.
Return Phase: Function and Performance
Train for the specific things you want back—returning to golf, hiking, lifting or running. We use movement testing and strength benchmarks to confirm you are ready, and you leave with a maintenance program you can run on your own.
CARE THAT
SEES YOU.
We coordinate directly with your surgeon's office and follow their protocol exactly, so your rehab is part of your surgical plan, not separate from it
Pre-operative prep means you start recovery from a position of strength and knowledge, not guesswork and the fog of the first week
Progressive, hands-on care throughout recovery—not passive rest—rebuilds the nervous system signal and the muscle loss that starts within days
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START.
When should I call to start pre-surgery physical therapy?+
As soon as your surgery date is set. Prehab typically runs 2–4 weeks before your operation. If you are already post-op and just now starting therapy, we start from where you are and coordinate with your surgeon's office immediately.
How soon after surgery can I start moving?+
Your surgeon's protocol determines the timeline. We follow it exactly and stay in contact with their office. Early activation and assisted motion begin as soon as healing permits—not passive rest. We do not rush, and we do not wait for stiffness to set in.
How long does recovery typically take?+
Recovery timelines depend on the surgery, your starting strength, how you respond to loading, and your specific goals. An ACL reconstruction, shoulder replacement and hip replacement all have different arcs. We measure progress by range, strength and function at each visit, not by the calendar.
Will I need hands-on therapy, or just exercises?+
Both. Hands-on work—joint mobilization, soft tissue work, scar tissue management—happens throughout recovery to prevent stiffness and restore movement. Exercises build the strength and nervous system signal. Together they turn a good operation into a joint you trust again.
More about Pre & Post Surgery Physical Therapy
Recovery starts before the operation.
The weeks before surgery are the last easy chance to build strength and range of motion, and the strength you take in is the strength you start from. Prehab also front-loads the education: how to use the crutches or the sling, what the first week looks like, which exercises you will be doing before you are sore and foggy.
After surgery, therapy is active and progressive, not passive rest. We follow your surgeon's protocol exactly and stay in contact with their office, and we bring the hands-on work, the loading, and the movement retraining that turn a good operation into a functioning limb.
Before and after, the obstacles are predictable.
Surgery comes with a known set of problems on both sides of the date. Naming them early is what lets us work through them in order instead of reacting to them.
Months of guarding a painful joint leave the muscles around it weak. Whatever strength you take into surgery is where your recovery begins.
The first week after surgery is a bad time to learn crutches, a sling, or your home program. We teach all of it before you go in.
Scar tissue and protective muscle guarding limit how far the joint will move in the weeks right after surgery.
Muscle loss starts within days, driven by pain and disuse. The nervous system also quiets the muscles around the surgical site, so we retrain the signal as well as the strength.
Internal and external scar tissue that limits movement and contributes to stiffness if not actively mobilized.
Protecting a repaired joint is natural, and at some point it starts holding you back. We rebuild the confidence in graded, supervised steps.
Prepare first. Then progress, week by week.
If your surgery is still ahead of you, we build a short pre-operative program: strength around the joint, range of motion where we can get it, and a walkthrough of the equipment and the exercises you will be using afterward. Come in with a plan and the first week stops being a guess.
After surgery, the plan is built around your surgeon's protocol, adjusted to how you respond, and advanced on measured criteria rather than the calendar. We track range, strength, and function at every visit, and we mobilize joints and soft tissue by hand throughout instead of waiting for them to loosen on their own.
We coordinate directly with your surgeon's office and follow their protocol. Call us as soon as your date is set, or as soon as you are cleared to begin.
Before the date. And every week after it.
Before Surgery: Build the Reserve
Strengthen what surrounds the joint, take whatever range of motion is available, and learn the equipment and the early exercises while you are still comfortable enough to absorb them.
After Surgery: Protect, Then Restore
Manage swelling, protect the repair, and start early activation and assisted motion so the joint does not stiffen. As the protocol allows, we move into full range and progressive loading to rebuild what the first weeks cost you.
Return Phase: Function and Performance
Training for the specific things you want back, with movement testing and strength benchmarks to confirm you are ready. You leave with a maintenance program you can run on your own.
Conditions that commonly lead here.
Sports Injuries
ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, and labral surgery all need structured rehab to get a full return to sport.
Hip & Knee Pain
Joint replacement for arthritis is the most common surgery we prepare people for, and rehab afterward.
Shoulder Pain
Rotator cuff surgery and shoulder replacement both require months of structured PT for full functional recovery.