Weeks 1–2
Pain
Calm it down and protect it.
Before surgery we settle what hurts so you can train. After it we manage swelling and pain, and get you moving safely inside your surgeon’s limits.
What We Treat
Pre & Post Surgery Rehab treatment in University Heights.
Surgery is one day. The months on either side of it decide how well it goes. Go in stronger and you come out ahead. That starts with a cause-first evaluation, ideally before the date, not after it.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like you?
- A surgery date on the calendar, and nothing to do but wait for it
- The leg is already weak, and everyone keeps saying rehab starts afterward
- You were handed a folded sheet of exercises and nobody to check them
- Weeks post-op and stuck: the swelling went down, the motion never came back
- You are afraid of undoing the repair, so you do almost nothing at all
- The other side is next, and you remember how long the first one took
Two or more? Keep reading.
Why It Happens
Recovery is not luck. It is what you walked in with.
A surgeon fixes structure. A torn tendon, a worn joint surface, a broken bone. What the operation cannot do is give you back the strength and motion you had already lost while you were waiting for it. That part is rehab, and it starts higher up if you arrive stronger.
Here is the mechanism nobody explains before the date. Muscle around a painful joint switches off surprisingly fast, and after surgery it switches off faster still. Swelling alone will quiet a quadriceps. At the same time, the tissue around the joint starts laying down scar, and scar shortens if the joint is not moved through range early. Two weeks of doing nothing costs far more than two weeks.
So the plan works in both directions. Before the date we bank strength and range, and we teach you the exercises now, while it is easy to learn them. After it we work inside your surgeon’s protocol, protecting the repair while chasing every degree of motion the timeline allows.
The Honest Truth
The window around surgery does not stay open.
If you keep waiting
- Motion you do not win back early is far harder to win back later
- The muscle around the joint switches off fast, and it does not switch itself back on
- You guard it, the other side compensates, and the limp outlives the operation
If you start this week
- Prehab banks the strength and range you would otherwise lose after
- You learn the post-op exercises now, while they are still easy to learn
- You get a plan with an endpoint, built around your surgeon’s protocol
You are the one who fixes what breaks in your house, and you have never once put yourself on that list. Nobody is going to schedule your recovery for you. Start before the date, not after it.
How We Fix It
The same four phases. Built around your surgery date.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like before and after an operation.
Weeks 2–6
Prime
Get your motion back.
Range comes first, and it comes early. The degrees you win in these weeks are the ones that are hardest to win once the scar tissue has settled.
Weeks 6–10
Perform
Make it strong enough to trust.
Progressive loading wakes up the muscle that shut down, until the joint holds up to stairs, work, driving and carrying the groceries in one trip.
Weeks 10+
Prevent
Come back better than you went in.
We test the side that was operated on against the other one, under real load, before you are turned loose. That is the endpoint, not just another appointment.
Dr Moskowitz has treated me several times for different injuries. He has always treated me professionally and kindly. He is an excellent healer and health educator. In addition to treating my injuries he helped me to prevent future problems. His office is warm and welcoming and maintains patient privacy. I highly recommend In Motion Physical Therapy.
Shared by Yehudit M. · Pre & Post Surgery Rehab
Came in several times over the years, for one injury and then another
Treated, taught, and helped to prevent the next problem
Injury and recovery rehab
Yehudit M.
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking for surgery rehab.
Before, if you have the runway. Prehab is the cheapest advantage in the whole process. You bank strength and range you would otherwise spend the first post-op weeks trying to buy back, and you learn the exercises while they are still easy to learn. If your date is close, or already behind you, that is fine as well. We start from where you actually are.
Yes. The protocol sets the limits, we work inside them, and we progress you as quickly as those limits safely allow. Bring the paperwork to your first visit and we build the plan around it. You are one-on-one with a licensed physical therapist every visit, so if something in the recovery stops looking right, it gets noticed and it gets raised.
No. Ohio is a direct-access state, so you can book with us yourself. Plenty of people call us with a date already set and no plan for the weeks on either side of it. Bring whatever paperwork you have, and any protocol your surgeon has issued. If we think a call to their office is the right move, we will tell you.
Book Your Visit
Ready when you are.
Request a time and a real person calls you back during clinic hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.
- Hours Mon & Wed 8:15am–7:00pm · Tue & Thu 8:15am–5:30pm · Fri 8:15am–3:30pm · Sat & Sun closed
- (216) 577-1933 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
- No referral needed, Ohio direct access
5.0 · 110 Google reviews
A real person calls, never an autoresponder
Step 1 of 5
Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during business hours to lock in your time and confirm your benefits before you come in.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
In Motion Physical Therapy
- 2171 S Green Road, University Heights, OH 44121 (opens in a new tab)
- (216) 577-1933
- office@inmotionptohio.com
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Mon & Wed 8:15am–7:00pm
Tue & Thu 8:15am–5:30pm
Fri 8:15am–3:30pm
Sat & Sun closed