Massage of the knee joint after endoprosthetics surgery: benefits and harms, rules of implementation

Why do you need massage after knee replacement?

To get to the knee joint and perform endoprosthetics, the surgeon is forced to cut through the muscles and muscle tendons, which leads to their separation and degeneration. After installing the endoprosthesis, the doctor restores their integrity, but not their function. After suffering a severe injury, the muscles spasm, swell and lose tone.

In the early postoperative period (first 2-3 weeks), muscle functions are restored using kinesitherapy. Even before the operation, the patient is taught exercises, which he begins to perform from the second or third day after the operation. Therapeutic gymnastics during this period improves muscle tone, restores mobility of the knee joint and prevents the development of dangerous complications:

• passive contractures;
• atrophy of muscle-ligamentous structures;
• thrombosis of the veins of the lower extremities;
• pulmonary embolism, etc.

However, most patients have problem muscle areas where hypotonicity and poor blood supply are observed. It is almost impossible to work through them with kinesitherapy alone. Therefore, in the late rehabilitation period, physical therapy, massage, balneotherapy, water gymnastics, physiotherapy, etc. are added to it.

Well healed seam.

All these measures are needed in order to restore the structure and function of the muscular-ligamentous structures that control the knee joint . The final result of the surgical intervention will depend on their success. Until the muscles and ligaments gain sufficient tone, strength, firmness and elasticity, the installed prosthesis will not work fully. And the knee and the entire operated limb will not be able to function efficiently and fully perform their job.

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Step-by-step instructions for foot massage

You are in constant motion all day, and your legs, as a means of transportation, are forced to endure all the side effects of your activity. Fatigue, tension, aching pain. This happens even if your job involves sitting in front of a computer for seven hours. During this period of time, the blood in the vessels stagnates and, as a result, not only varicose veins occur, but also other leg diseases. But all this can be easily avoided with the help of lymphatic drainage or regular massage of the feet and legs.

How to properly massage your feet

With a massage you:

1. influence active points and nerve endings that are connected to internal organs;
2. improve blood circulation;
3. drive away fatigue;
4. relieve tension in all muscle tissues and relax.

It is an active prevention of various problems with the legs and the body as a whole.

Step-by-step instructions for a foot massage procedure

A massage procedure on the foot, or any other, must begin with gentle stroking. And if you have also spent the day wearing shoes with high platforms and heels, then at the moment your foot will not even be able to take the correct position. During the bending process, you will be bothered by painful sensations, which can be avoided if you apply foot massage in the correct sequence.

• We recommend using a rich cream, maybe even a baby cream or a special massage oil. It is not only convenient, but also good for the skin. It is responsible for nourishing, smoothing and softening dry skin on the feet. Pour some into your palm and spread it all over your leg, foot, ankle and between your toes.
• The first thing you should start with is soft and gentle stroking of the feet.
• The massage is best performed in a sitting position, and keep the leg suspended.
• Continue massaging your toes. First along each finger, then across.
• Massage the space between your fingers.
• Now you can move to the sole using smooth wave-like movements.
• The sole can be massaged with several movements. With your fist, all movements should be wave-like and/or bend the middle phalanges of your fingers and continue the massage procedure in a circular motion. Follow from the toes to the heel.
• Make a few pinches on the heel and rub them with your fingers in a circular motion. Continue massaging the foot in the same way and smoothly move towards the tendon and calf muscle.
• Use soft, smooth and straight movements to stroke the ankle joint. After warming up this part of the foot, begin rubbing. Light sliding movements from bottom to top and apply light pressure.
• severe headache goes away after these procedures.

Massage procedures for the feet and legs are very useful, but due to limited time and work commitments, we cannot carry out this procedure before the evening. To make your legs less tired, you need to give them the opportunity to relax during the day. A little exercise for the feet will relieve accumulated tension, circulate blood through the veins and relieve fatigue.

Benefits and options for foot massage treatments

Take off your shoes. You need to stand on your feet and alternately shift your body weight from heel to toe. Do this exercise for 1 minute. It will help improve blood circulation. Place a pencil, pen, or any other oblong object with enough diameter to grip your toes on the floor, and try to lift it with the toes of each foot. In addition, there is also walking on the tiptoes or on the inside and outside of the feet. Next, try doing circular rotations with your feet in different directions.

Morning leg warm-up and evening massage treatments will relieve swelling of the legs and are active preventative measures in the fight against varicose veins.
This will also prevent the bunion from enlarging. Author: K.M.N., Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences M.A. Bobyr

The benefits of massage after endoprosthetics

In the postoperative period, massage performs several functions at once:

• improves blood circulation in muscles;
• relieves spasm and swelling;
• restores muscle tone;
• softens scar tissue that has already formed;
• relieves pain.

Thus, massage stimulates the restoration of damaged muscles, helping them get into shape after surgery. And this allows you to improve the mobility of the operated joint and increase the range of movements in it.

Indications

Joint massage obeys the laws of biomechanics. What does it mean? It's quite simple. We walk, swing our arms, bend over, and carry heavy objects. At this time, the contacting surfaces of the bones experience pressure, which activates the intra-articular fluid, and it activates the tissues that form the joint. It turns out to be a kind of vicious circle.

It is he who ensures the normal functioning of the human musculoskeletal system. If this well-functioning system fails, a massage is prescribed, replacing the natural pressure on the joint during movement. That's all.

The reasons for the dysfunction of the joint are indications for its use. The main ones:

• Injuries accompanied by pain and muscle spasms.
• Osteochondrosis.
• Scar and muscle changes that reduce range of motion.
• Arthritis, arthrosis.
• Stiffness: congenital or acquired (exhaustion, plaster, tumor).

The place of massage in the rehabilitation program

Massage is included in the rehabilitation program starting from the second or third week. At the same time, the patient is allowed to perform more complex exercises and is allowed to exercise on special simulators. After another one or two weeks, he is allowed to swim in the pool and do water gymnastics.

2-3 months after the operation, the patient is recommended to undergo a course of balneotherapy and/or mud therapy. This can be done in sanatorium-resort health resorts located on thermal springs (radon, hydrogen sulfide waters).

Treatment of arthrosis

Massage is most effective for arthrosis . Depending on the duration of the disease, several stages are distinguished:

• Early - with a minimal decrease in function (as if something is interfering with movement) and slight malnutrition (“weight loss”) of nearby muscles due to metabolic disorders.
• Mature, when there is pain, crunching when walking, and the range of movements noticeably decreases.
• Old - the pain syndrome bothers you even at rest, the joint becomes deformed.
• The stage of the disease is taken into account when assigning the number of massage sessions and choosing technical techniques. The scope of manual therapy is chosen by the doctor.

Important! All types of joint massage have a reflex effect on internal organs. They have a beneficial effect on the course of various diseases without the use of drugs.

Session Features

Joint massage has its own nuances:

• A massage course consists of 20-25 procedures, with a frequency of every other day.
• The session lasts 10-20 minutes in a position comfortable for the patient, performed with one or two hands.
• Inflammation in the joint requires a gentle technique.
• The massage is combined with gymnastics, therapeutic mud, and hydrotherapy. If necessary, with underwater traction.
• Massage of any segment of the human body can be carried out in parallel with acupuncture.

Hand joints

Massage of this segment is the final chord of manual therapy of the upper extremities. It begins with massaging the fingers from the pad to the base, ending with the wrist joint. The patient's position should be comfortable: sitting, lying down and even standing.

The massage technique involves stroking, rubbing, light pressure, stretching the interdigital spaces on the palm and back of the hand simultaneously. Always along the lymphatic vessels. Massage is usually combined with special exercises. Its goal is complete relaxation of the hand.

Important! Due to the connection between the nerves of the hand and the nerves of the neck, massage of the joints of the hand simultaneously relieves discomfort in the collar area.

Contraindications for therapeutic massage

No matter what magical properties therapeutic massage has, even it has contraindications. These include:

• the patient is feeling unwell;
• heat;
• acute respiratory infections;
• dermatological diseases (suppuration of the skin, fungal infections, etc.);
• incoagulability and other blood diseases;
• aneurysm;
• ischemic disease;
• tendency to bleed;
• thrombosis;
• varicose veins;
• cerebral vascular sclerosis;
• acute inflammatory processes of the lymphatic or circulatory system;
• atherosclerosis of peripheral vessels;
• allergies with skin reaction;
• tumors of any nature;
• chronic osteomyelitis;
• hypertensive crisis;
• Gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea, vomiting);
• anemia;
• mental illness;
• syphilis in the active phase;
• tuberculosis and other highly infectious diseases.

Anyone who wants to improve their health with the help of therapeutic massage must not only take into account all the information presented in the article. It is important to find “your” specialist. The massage therapist must be highly qualified and have a medical education. You can even ask if there is any documentary evidence of this.

For many patients, it is also important that the specialist inspires confidence and is relatable. If something repels a person and causes a feeling of constraint, a massage is unlikely to be beneficial.