1. Look after your wound
   Follow your surgeon’s instructions on wound care. Only replace dressing as directed by the hospital team and avoid getting the dressings wet. Get in touch if you experience excessive itching, soreness, heat or ooze.
2. Stay hydrated and eat well
   Ensure you are consuming an adequate amount of water. This can help speed up protein synthesis. It is also important to avoid alcohol, smoking and eat as healthy as possible to aid wound healing and overall recovery.
3. Follow your Physiotherapist’s guidelines to physical activities
   Vigorous and high impact activity can aggravate the surgical site and delay recovery. Therefore, it is essential to engage in the exercises prescribed by your Physio. Low impact activities like walking, cycling and hydrotherapy (pending wound healing) and Physio prescribed strength exercises speed your recovery and restore your function without risking setbacks.
4. Get adequate sleep
   Our bodies use our sleep time to heal and restore itself. Therefore, make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep so you don’t obstruct your recovery process. To maximise your comfort, you could add ice to your joint before bed, use an orthopaedic pillow and follow the pain medication schedule (if you have one).

You can then follow these on your own or with ongoing assistance from our experts.

Still feel like your need that extra support?

Our Healthy Joints Lab program provides personalised support, education and advice to help you achieve optimal results in the recovery of your joint.

Ask one of our experts today:

• Phone 0488 079 347
• Email patientprograms@smshealthcare.com.au