Prehabilitation refers to the physical preparation of the body in order to reduce the chance or severity of injury. It can be applied to people who are anticipating upcoming surgery or are participating in demanding physical activity. In order for this process to be successful the physical requirements of the activity need to be clearly understood, the physiotherapist needs to assess the individual to identify deficiencies in the patient, and then an appropriate action plan devised to remedy these issues. This is a process followed by all of today’s elite athletes, and one that PhysioHealth has been intimately involved in at this level. This experience allows our physios to carefully assess for areas of poor muscle activation and movement pattern, strength deficits, poor muscular endurance and imbalances between muscle groups. Other things that need to be assessed include posture and asymmetry, balance and proprioception, core strength and pelvic stability, flexibility and joint mobility. Once that has been done an individualized program of interventions can be created and may include aspects such as strengthening and muscle activation exercises, stretches, massage, pilates, core strengthening and balance exercises or mores sports specific functional exercises. These principles can also be applied to people preparing for upcoming surgery. This can dramatically reduce post-operative complications and significantly speed up the rehabilitation process following the procedure. If you would like an assessment for a prehabilitation program please contact your closest PhysioHealth clinic.
