Research has shown that pre-operative patient activation is associated with better patient orthopedic postoperative outcomes (Andrawis et al., 2015). My own experience undergoing bilateral knee replacement surgery has convinced me that this is true. Since my successful surgery and recovery in 2018, I’ve been able to put my experience to work, helping others evaluate their own suitability for joint replacement and other orthopedic surgery, prepare for surgery, and enter into a productive recovery.

Patients considering joint replacement surgery face unique quandaries. The surgery they are considering is completely elective, is highly invasive, and carries risk. How do they decided whether and when to have the surgery? What degree of risk is worth taking for pain relief? What happens if the surgery doesn’t help? Will their lifestyle support surgery success? 

For patients wrestling with these questions, I encourage a self-evaluative, “cost benefit” point of view. I believe that pain is a pernicious player and until we step back and actually evaluate the cost of pain on our lives, we cannot make a well-reasoned decision.

In addition, I work with clients to evaluate their own suitability for surgery based on their lifestyle choices and will support their client’s efforts at changing those behaviors that no longer serve them well. For example it may be helpful for the patient to begin an exercise program along with dietary modifications or begin a smoking cessation program prior to their surgery. I assist the client in marshaling the internal resources to begin making these changes pre-surgery and then support them as they reintroduce and maintain these changes at the appropriate time after surgery. 

Finally, fear is a natural part of the patient experience prior to any surgery. As a coach, I can help prepare your patients by helping them discover their self awareness and encouraging them to face and address their fears prior to surgery. 

Recovery from orthopedic surgery can be extremely difficult. Pain, immobility, and foggy brain all contribute to a sense of patient helplessness, working against patient activation. With support from a health coach patients can take responsibility for their recovery and understand their role in the recovery so that, together with their physician, they can celebrate positive outcomes.