Balance Exercises Reduce Post Surgical Complications

Balance Exercises Decrease Post Surgery Problems

By Suzanne Stoke, Physical Therapist @ Exercise For Balance via www.exerciseforbalance.com/

Performing balance exercises after a hip or knee replacement surgery is one way to reduce complications following the procedure. Please see  http://www.exerciseforbalance.com/buy-now According to a Medicare and Medicaid news report, medical researchers within Medicare have been investigating the hospitals with the most complications following hip and knee surgeries.  Medicare has begun tracking the outcomes of hip and knee replacement surgeries, identifying 95 hospitals where elderly patients were more likely to suffer significant setbacks. The government also named 97 hospitals where patients tended to have the smoothest recoveries. The analysis, which was released last week, is the latest part of the government’s push to improve quality at the nation’s hospitals instead of simply paying Medicare patients’ bills.   The evaluation of hip and knee surgery outcomes is significant because for the first time, Medicare is rating hospitals’ performance on two common elective procedures. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, About 600,000 patients in the traditional Medicare program have their hips or knees replaced each year. The growing popularity of these operations has made them a more significant expense for Medicare and private insurers. In 2010, there were 719,000 knee replacements costing nearly $12 billion and 332,000 hip replacements nearly $8 billion. In the evaluation of patients following hip and knee replacement surgeries,  Medicare used two measures. One was how often the patients ended up being readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.  The other was how often they suffered one of eight complications following surgery. Those included a heart attack, pneumonia, sepsis or shock within seven days of admission. They also included bleeding at the site of the surgery, a blood clot in the lung or death within a month of admission. Medicare also counted mechanical complications with implants and infections of the joint or wound within 90 days of admission. Dr. Eric Coleman, an expert on readmissions at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said some hospitals are trying to prevent joint replacement patients from returning by educating them ahead of the surgeries about how to take care of themselves and warning signs of problems. This program provides “a chance to walk you through what to expect, what your family would expect, how to arrange your home,” Coleman said. “In most of the cases of readmission reductions, we’re still very reactive.” One component of patient education includes teaching balance principles and balance exercises, which have been proven to reduce the number of falls in older individuals.

Balance Exercises Following Surgery

Balance exercises are essential to rehearse on a regular basis after a surgical procedure like a hip or knee replacement.  Since joint replacement surgery changes the sensory feedback from the lower extremity to the brain, it is imperative to learn proper stability strategies after a surgical procedure. One example of balance techniques that help to enhance steadiness involves standing with the feet shoulder distance apart and centering ones body weight in the middle of the feet. this focal point helps the balance center in the brain maximize sensory feedback and improve stability. these steadiness techniques and balance exercises can be practiced on a daily basis by following the expert instruction of a physical therapist in the exercise for balance dvd.

Balance Exercises In The Exercise For Balance DVD

    To Learn the best stability strategies and balance exercises, get the Exercise For Balance DVD. The comprehensive Balance DVD is an excellent educational tool to use at home or in a group setting. The easy to follow DVD comes complete with the appropriate balance and strength exercises needed to enhance senior fitness and to perform basic activities like walking, standing, stair climbing or to advance to high level activities like dancing and hiking. In the Exercise For Balance DVD, you will learn how to improve balance, balance techniques and balance routines from a balance trainer (licensed Physical Therapist) who has worked with balance and dizziness disorders for over 20 years. Get your copy of the Exercise For Balance DVD by clicking on the BUY NOW button

After a joint replacement surgery, start balance exercises  with the Exercise For Balance DVD to improve balance and prevent falls.
For more information see http://www.mayoclinic.com/health-information/