ONLINE PHYSICAL THERAPY · AFTER SURGERY
Physical Therapy After Surgery, at Home
Physical therapy after surgery at motivPT means a licensed physical therapist, your surgeon’s protocol, and a plan you follow at home, without the drive to a clinic while you’re still on crutches.
Questions before you book? Call (218) 321-0977.
- No referral needed
- HSA/FSA accepted
- Video visits from your home
Where are you in your recovery?
- Just home, with exercises you're not sure you're doing right
- Off crutches or a walker, but still limping
- Stairs, the car or the shower still feel risky
- Swelling and stiffness that keep hanging on
- Done with clinic visits, but not back to normal
- Getting ready for a surgery that's coming up
We start where you are, with your surgeon’s protocol and restrictions as the guardrails.
Start with what your surgeon told you
Bring your surgeon’s protocol, your restrictions and any precautions to the free consult: weight-bearing limits, range-of-motion limits, a brace or boot schedule. Your physical therapist builds on them, not around them.
Then we look at where you are today and what you want to get back to, and we tell you honestly whether online physical therapy fits your recovery right now.
Why physical therapy after surgery matters
Surgery repairs the joint, tendon or bone. Rehab rebuilds what’s around it: motion, strength, balance and the confidence to use it. Your surgeon’s protocol sets the pace, and the daily work in between visits is where most of the progress happens.
Call your surgeon if you have a fever, redness, warmth or drainage at the incision, pain that suddenly gets worse, or new numbness or weakness. Call 911 for chest pain or sudden shortness of breath. Calf pain or swelling in the leg also needs a same-day call to your surgeon.
Surgeries we help people recover from
Knee replacement
Bending, straightening and walking again, once your surgeon has cleared you for therapy.
Hip replacement
Precautions first, then strength, walking and getting in and out of the car.
Achilles repair
Following the boot and heel-lift schedule, then rebuilding the calf.
Shoulder surgery
Within your sling and motion limits, then strength for reaching and lifting.
Broken bones
After a fracture, once your doctor has cleared you to start moving.
How online physical therapy works after surgery
Your physical therapist works from your surgeon’s protocol and restrictions, watches every exercise on camera, and tells you when something needs your surgeon. You do the work at home, on the days between visits, where recovery actually happens.
Step 1
Free 15-minute consult
Your surgery, your protocol and what you want to get back to.
Step 2
Body Assessment
By video, from home: how you move now, within your restrictions.
Step 3
Your playlist
Daily exercise videos in the app that change as your protocol moves forward.
Step 4
Check-ins
Short video visits whenever something changes or your surgeon clears the next step.
Planning a surgery?
Start before it. Learning your exercises and getting stronger ahead of time means you already know what to do on your first day home.
Recovery stories
Stories from motivPT patients after surgery or a fracture.
Read more
Questions about physical therapy after surgery
When can I start physical therapy after surgery?
When your surgeon says so. Some people start within days, others after a period of rest or immobilization. Bring your protocol to the free consult and we'll plan around it.
Can online physical therapy work after surgery?
For much of rehab, yes: the work is exercise, education and progressing the plan, and all of that can be done by video. If your recovery needs hands-on treatment or equipment we can't provide, we'll tell you.
Will you follow my surgeon's protocol?
Yes. Your surgeon's protocol, restrictions and precautions set the limits, and your physical therapist builds the plan inside them.
What if my pain or swelling gets worse?
Tell your physical therapist at your next check-in or by message. Fever, redness or drainage at the incision, calf pain or swelling, or new numbness need a call to your surgeon. Chest pain or sudden shortness of breath: call 911.
Do I need equipment?
Most early rehab uses a chair, a bed and a wall. The 8-week plan includes a FitKit with the equipment your plan needs.
Do I need a referral?
No referral is needed to start with motivPT. Start with a free 15-minute consult.
Does insurance or Medicare cover this?
Coverage depends on your plan. Ask us at your free 15-minute consult. motivPT accepts HSA and FSA cards.
Which states do you see patients in?
Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Talk to a physical therapist about your recovery
Book a free 15-minute consult. Bring your surgeon’s protocol, and we’ll tell you honestly whether online physical therapy fits where you are.
Seeing patients in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.