Joint replacement patients recover best at home with access to outpatient rehabilitation rather than in a hospital, according to The New York Times.
Here's what you need to know:
1. Joint replacement operations doubled between 2000 and 2010, when roughly 693,400 total knee replacements were performed.
2. Patients who return home directly from the hospital and recover at outpatient facilities experience fewer complications (infections, blood clots, etc.) than those who spend an extended period of time at rehab facilities.
3. Patients living alone can perform home exercise programs to recover as well as those who enter rehab facilities.
4. Mobility, pain, function and quality of life is similar between home recover patients and those who opt for outpatient rehab.
5. Outpatient rehab is also much less expensive than a hospital stay.
6. Patients often feel more comfortable and motivated to recover at home than they do at a hospital.
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