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Physical Therapy After Surgery

K

katiesue1506

I thoroughly recommend getting a physical therapist who will gently ease you back into core strength.

I'm going now (I waited my 8 weeks after surgery to get weight restrictions lifted) and although it is hard and I go home sore, it has helped me so much. I'm going 3 times a week currently.

I realize that it may be the last thing on most people's minds after a surgery but if your insurance will pay for its a very good thing to do, especially since stoma is basically a surgically created hernia. Doing this may help save others from herniating, prolapsing and ripping open stitches.

Anywho... it wasn't offered to me after surgery- I had to ask for it, but you can get a script for it. Just make sure you call around to different PT offices and see if they can do core strengthening for someone with a stoma post op. I found that its not very common and that a lot of offices don't do core strengthening for stuff like this.
 
Jennifer

Jennifer

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Staff member
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SLO
Oh ya that's a very good idea. I've never had a stoma before but did have a resection and going through that is bad enough. Physical therapy might have helped me some since I did get an infection and the healing process took a lot longer which made me a lot weaker. I can definitely see how physical therapy would be beneficial after getting a stoma. Great suggestion katiesue1506. :D
 
O

Ohpoo

I'm amazed! I can't believe physical therapy wasn't mentioned to me sooner! I had an ostomy/stoma 11 years ago when inhad jpouch surgery (initially Dx UC).

Two months ago I had a bad partial bowel obstruction caused by adhesions or inflammation and I've had some sort of pain since.

Have done a lot of things for abdominal, hip and butt pain (like gluteus) - norco, muscle relaxers, pot (which did help some - in pill or smoked form), Tylenol, body rubs (except for ones w CBD - that one helped) really touched the pain. I got acupuncture which helped, and shiatsu massage - both helped - but are out of pocket and expensive, if effective temporarily. I was going to a chiropractor but it's concerned that was making it worse. After two months of complaining to docs (GI, surgeon, pcp) and CTs to rule out abscess, I get a referral to physical therapy.

She's very specifically focused on how the scar tissue of my stoma area is problematic, as well as my coccyx/sacrum. Usually these only happen after a fall in general, but I, wondering if having had 3 surgeries involving my pelvis caused this coccyx and sacrum pain. Anyway, that's all after two visits - and she sages both area with the intention of stretching the fascia under my skin. After just one session of her work on my former stoma area, it is much softer to touch!

I'm very happy about this treatment, I just can't believe i didn't go sooner ((maybe even preventing so many complications!)
 
J

Jeff D.

I just had my third surgery. When I had my last surgery to make my ileostomy permanent they left the temporary stoma and just stapled off the end. The staple broke off and I had an abscess form which sent me to the hospital a few weeks ago. I say all this to say thank you for reaffirming my thoughts on pt post op. I get the staples out next week and I'm going to ask to get physical therapy when I am able.
 
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