Benefits of In-Home Therapy

Contributed by Jill Bordo of Renaissance Home Care.

If you are perusing this website, there is a good chance you are in the process of getting ready to sell your house or are simply downsizing and clearing out some clutter.

Perhaps you are a senior citizen and have been attempting to take on too much heavy lifting and rearranging on your own before calling the professionals at Discover Organizing.

Hopefully, you didn’t aggravate an already weak hip, knee or shoulder joint with overexertion. But suppose you did, either recently or in the past, and are now to the point of admitting that you need surgery to replace one of those joints.

The good news is that such surgeries have become very commonplace and provide a clinical and cost-effective remedy for joint pain and end-stage arthritis in seniors. Joint replacement can increase range of motion and normal functioning in older adults. First performed in the 1960’s, total hip (THR) and total knee (TKR) replacements are the most common joint surgeries performed.

According to the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, the incidence of TKR increased by more than 400 % between 1971 and 2003 with the number expected to rise to 1.28 million surgeries by 2030.

Other interesting facts are that women are much more likely than men to need TKR, and that the largest increase in overall joint replacement surgery in recent years has occurred in patients below the age of 50.

Additional good news for patients is that you can take some preliminary steps to ensure that your recovery is as successful and swift as possible.

When a patient is discharged from a facility following surgery, there may be a certain amount of anxiety and doubt by the patient regarding his or her ability to move around and function at home. Physical and occupational therapists are medical professionals trained to assist patients with functional wellness and alleviate some of the nervousness about normal movement.

While many patients of joint replacement surgery will choose to go directly to an outpatient facility for several months, studies have shown that patients who receive in-home physical therapy immediately after hospital discharge experience a more successful rate of recovery.

According to a 2006 article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, senior citizens who underwent physical therapy services at home reported improvements in their quality of life, an increase in their confidence level, and a decrease in their perception of functional difficulties.

Additionally, the reported gains remained with the patient up to six months after the conclusion of therapy. There are several reasons for this outcome including:

1) Homecare services allow for nursing care to be included with PT and OT after a hospital discharge. This provides an opportunity for a skilled nurse to check the patient’s wound and offer medical education about what may be going on with his or her recovery.

2) Therapists working with patients in their own homes can see firsthand any physical obstacles that the patients must deal with, as well as the nuances of their daily routines.

All patients have the freedom to request a home care agency of their choice prior to their joint replacement surgery. The surgeon’s office will make the referral to the home care practice and set in motion a visit to the patient’s home several days after their surgery.

Renaissance Home Care has been providing compassionate skilled nursing and physical and occupational therapy in patients’ homes for the past 25 years. Our medical professionals visit patients in the western and southern suburbs of Pittsburgh and several northern neighborhoods near the city.

Renaissance accepts numerous insurance plans including Aetna, Cigna through CareCentrix, Health America, United Health Care, and Veteran’s Administration benefits.

For more information about Renaissance Home Care, please call 412-563-5055 or visit rhomecare.com.

Sources:

“How Home Rehab Services Help Return Patients to Functional Wellness.” -https://www.homecaremag.com>aging-place>december-2017

“10 Startling Statistics on Joint Replacement Surgery” - blog.rehabselect.net

“Knee Replacement in Younger Patients” - www.arthritis.org.