go back to the caregiver menu

• Pain medicine at least 30 minutes before physical therapy.
• Encourage patient to gradually wean him or herself from prescription medication. Follow the surgeon's recommendations for taking over-the-counter medication in place of prescription medication.
• Have patient change position every 45 minutes throughout the day.
• Use ice for pain control. Applying ice to the affected joint will decrease discomfort, but do not use for more than 20 minutes at a time each hour. Use ice before and after the patient exercises according to their prescribed program. A bag of frozen peas wrapped in a kitchen towel makes an ideal ice pack. Mark the bag of peas and return them to the freezer (to be used as an ice pack later).

Patient Education information provided by Biomet, Inc. - Advanced Science for Real Living™