09/14/2026
Post-op Rules for Patients and Therapists
1) Protect the surgeon’s work
2) Follow the surgeon’s guidelines
3) Proactively connect with surgeon
As a patient, if you disagree with the surgeon’s post-op/rehab guidelines, you should have done your homework and communicated with them before hiring them.
As a therapist or medical professional, If you don’t agree with the surgeon, you need to commute with them proactively. Great surgeons will often appreciate us reaching out and providing sound rationale for what we want to do with their patients.
I’ve had many surgeons openly admit they can’t stay up to date with the nuances of therapy and have never rehabbed a patient themselves. They often have never seen their patients walk, run, throw, swing, or compete. They are often handing patients generic therapy guidelines that are just that, generic. They know their patients as an handshake, health history, x-ray, MRI, and arthroscopy image on a monitor. This is not a bad thing by any means, they are ultra skilled at their craft and know the best outcomes come by collaboration with those that are see patients move every day in the gym and on the field.
One case that always sticks out to me is rehabbing a baseball player’s 360 degree laberal tear. I was early in my career and the guidelines were to push full passive ROM after something like 2-3 weeks. It felt very early in the rehab process to do that, but I called the doctor to verify what he wanted. The last thing I needed was to destroy this brand new labrum.
Surgeons reply— “Bro, that thing is tight as sh*t, you’re not tearing any of my work. My only concern with this patient is he’s not going to regain full ROM, that’s why he’s rehabbing with you guys.”
Each surgeon, procedure, and case offers some unique aspects that should be respected. Direct communication will illicit much better patient care and outcomes.
🎥 Barstool Sports
