After surgery, it is common for a surgeon to prescribe a round of physical therapy for their patient to help with pain management, as well as their short-term and long-term recovery. The benefits of this treatment are plentiful, but they can only be gained when the patient completes the course of treatment. Ending physical therapy before you are ready not only puts these benefits out of reach, but it can also cause several other issues.

Re-Injury Risk

Surgery is a corrective medical procedure. However, one thing patients sometimes forget is that the correction is not necessarily immediate. For example, if a patient has an operation to reconstruct their ACL, the injury is only considered corrected when the healing process is complete. 

The wrong movement during the recovery phase can easily cause the reconstructed ACL to rupture again. Physical therapy helps protect the work of the surgeon while the body does its part to heal. When you stop therapy too soon, you leave yourself unprotected and vulnerable to a repeat injury.

Prolonged Healing

Again, the healing process is critical after surgery, and a lack of proper therapy can lengthen the time it takes for the body to complete this process. Physical therapy aids in this because it allows the patient to engage in exercises, stretches, and other activities that aid the body in the reparative process.

With repetition, these processes can help the body reach a restorative state in a shorter amount of time than someone who does not engage in therapy. Remember, healing is your ticket back to a life before your injury, so if therapy helps, you want to see it through. 

Lack of Normal Function

Time is not the only marker when it comes to returning to a normal life. If you want to engage in all the activities you did before surgery, you must heal the correct way, which is the main goal of physical therapy. If you do not complete the treatment, there is a risk that your body may not heal correctly.

Depending on the type of procedure performed, this could mean anything from an inability to ever run again to difficulty standing for long periods, which could affect a person's ability to work. You need therapy to heal the right way.

If you have been prescribed physical therapy, be sure you complete the entire treatment so that you can maximize your benefits from this process and have a better recovery.  

For more information, contact a local clinic like Excel Physical Therapy and Wellness.