How Rehab at Home helped Peter get active again after hip surgery

Seventy-three-year-old Victorian Peter was surprised when his orthopaedic surgeon said he wouldn’t be going to a rehab facility following hip joint replacement surgery. Instead, Peter was offered Rehab at Home – an evidence-based, six-week rehabilitation program designed to support recovery following surgery, illness or injury in the comfort and convenience of your own home.

Although initially unsure about this option, Peter quickly came around to the idea after discussing options with his treating medical practitioner. He has gone on to achieve his goals, including getting back to golf and maintaining the one-acre property where he lives with partner Ros.

Healthscope’s Rehab at Home involves regular visits with a physiotherapist and, when needed, additional services including occupational therapy, nursing, meals, and personal care. It is one of several rehabilitation options available depending on each patient’s clinical needs as assessed by their healthcare teams.

Peter was seen by a physiotherapist from The Victorian Rehabilitation Centre. His rehab goals were to regain mobility and function, he says. “I wanted to get back to my usual situation where I could do things like play golf without having to worry about a bad hip.”
 

Initial visits assess progress and clarify expectations

Peter explains early visits included “looking at the wound, measuring calf muscles for DVT and seeing what I could and couldn't do. There was some fine tuning of the exercises and lots of discussion on what was allowable and what wasn't.”

Peter’s physiotherapist, who has worked with Healthscope for over 10 years, helped Peter understand realistic recovery timeframes. “Peter had thought he would be back to his usual high-level activity by six weeks after surgery, but the body heals at a certain rate, and we can't hurry that up,” she says.

“We also did typical physiotherapy activities like working on movement and strength, along with some training to help Peter’s walking get back on track.”

 Before surgery Peter had participated in GLA:D^TM – an education and exercise program for people with osteoarthritis – completing the exercises twice per week for almost two years. He felt fit going into surgery and needed guidance around his post-surgery activity levels, his physiotherapist says.
 

Partnership is key

Peter’s physiotherapist adds that working in partnership with patients is key to finding the right balance. “We’re like coaches – we want to empower our patients to do things on their own, so they learn to self-manage and won't be reliant on us. We can use our education and experience to pitch exercises at a certain level, but everyone is unique. We need patients to feed back to us whether something we’ve prescribed is too much or not enough.”
 

A convenient and custom-tailored rehab experience

Peter and Ros agree the program is convenient. As Ros explains: “The fact the physios came here meant Peter didn't have to get in and out of a car or hang around at a physiotherapist’s rooms, which was particularly helpful in the first few weeks.”

Another advantage of Rehab at Home is the ability to tailor rehabilitation to your situation, Ros says. “Physios coming into somebody’s residence can look around and say, ‘you need to do this or be careful in this particular area’. By coming here, the physiotherapist could see we've got a house over two levels with five stairs.”

As an individualised program, Rehab at Home is custom tailored to each patient’s needs and goals. For Peter, this meant that in addition to reviewing his function within the home, his physiotherapist looked with him at activities including gardening and using his ride-on and push mowers.
 

Home visits can help ease anxiety

Peter’s physiotherapist notes that while many patients are keen to do their rehab at home, it can understandably be associated with some anxiety. “People are sometimes concerned that they won’t be as closely monitored medically, while they’re also dealing with things like crutches, compression stockings and medications,” she says. “But they usually feel a lot better after their first physio session. We’re able to reassure them that being sent home for rehab is actually a sign they're making good progress.”

Peter’s physiotherapist believes in-home healthcare can be a great option for some patients, in consultation with their healthcare professionals. Ros agrees that, wherever safe and possible, getting home quickly is ideal.