Pre-op Rehab
Rehabilitation before surgery, so your animal goes into the operation stronger and comes out of it faster. We build the muscle around the surgical site, settle the inflammation, and rehearse the recovery plan, all coordinated with your operating vet.
What pre-op rehab is
Pre-op rehab, also called prehabilitation, is rehabilitation done before surgery rather than after it.
In the weeks before the operation we build up the muscle around the joint or spine that will be operated on, settle the inflammation an injury brings with it, and get your animal moving as well as possible, all coordinated with your operating vet.
An animal that goes into surgery stronger, leaner, and already used to the exercises tends to come out of it faster. Prehab does not replace the operation. A torn cruciate still needs repairing. What it changes is the shape your animal is in on the day, and how much ground there is to make up afterwards.
The benefits of pre-op rehab
The work does a handful of specific jobs. Most cases need several of them, weighted to the surgery ahead.
More muscle going in means less to rebuild after
Muscle wastes fast once a limb is sore and an animal stops using it. The weeks before surgery are a chance to hold onto that muscle, or build it back, so the limb is not starting from zero on the day the cast or the cone comes off.
Lower inflammation, better comfort
A calmer joint going into surgery is easier to operate on and easier to settle afterwards. We use manual work, controlled exercise, and where appropriate laser and pain management to bring the swelling down before the date.
The right weight takes load off the repair
Carrying extra weight loads every surgical repair harder, from a cruciate to a hip. If there is time, we work with you and your vet on a weight plan so the joint that gets fixed is not also being overloaded.
Your animal already knows the drill
Slings, the underwater treadmill, the home exercises: these are far easier to introduce on a calm pre-op animal than on a sore, anxious post-op one. Prehab rehearses the recovery so the first week after surgery is not also the first time your animal meets the equipment.
A baseline we can measure progress against
We record thigh girth, range of motion, and how the animal moves before surgery. After the operation, those same numbers tell us whether recovery is on track or stalling, instead of guessing.
You learn the handling before the stress hits
The owner is half of any recovery. Prehab gives you time to learn the sling work, the home plan, and what good and bad days look like, while your animal is still comfortable and you are not also reeling from surgery day.
How pre-op rehab actually works
Prehab is not just gentle walks until the operation. Each piece targets a particular problem the surgery and the recovery will run into, and the mix depends on what the assessment finds.
Targeted strengthening of the supporting muscles
For a cruciate case that means the quadriceps and hamstrings around the knee. For a hip it means the gluteals. For a spinal case it means the core and the muscles either side of the spine. We load the muscles that will have to do the work post-op, specifically, not the whole animal generically.
Controlled loading that respects the injury
There is a line between building capacity and aggravating a lesion. We work under it. Exercises are dosed so the tissue is challenged enough to adapt but never pushed into the damaged structure, and every session is adjusted to how the animal responded to the last one.
Pain and inflammation control so training is possible
A painful animal cannot train, and will not. Settling the pain first, with the vet’s pain relief plus laser and hands-on work, is often what makes the rest of prehab possible at all.
Movement retraining to undo compensation
By the time most animals reach surgery they have been limping for weeks and have learned to offload the bad limb onto the good ones. Left unchecked that pattern carries straight through the operation. We start correcting it early so the body is not fighting an old habit during recovery.
Coordinated with your surgeon
We work to the surgeon’s plan and timeline, not around them. If a movement is off-limits for a given case, it stays off-limits. The point of prehab is to hand the surgeon a stronger, calmer animal, then hand that animal back for recovery.
Common misconceptions about pre-op rehab
Owners often arrive unsure prehab is worth it. These are the doubts we hear most, and what is actually true.
“Why bother before surgery? Just operate.”
You can. But the animal that goes in weak, overweight, and limping has more to recover than one that does not, and the difference shows up in the back end as a longer, harder rehab. Prehab does not delay the fix. It shortens what comes after it.
“Exercise will make the injury worse.”
Uncontrolled exercise can. That is the opposite of what prehab is. The loading is measured, vet-coordinated, and kept clear of the damaged structure. Done properly it protects the injury rather than provoking it.
“There is no time before surgery anyway.”
Often there is more than owners think. Many procedures are booked weeks out, and even two to three weeks of focused prehab makes a measurable difference to muscle and comfort. When surgery genuinely cannot wait, we say so and stand aside.
“It is the same as recovery afterwards.”
Different job. Post-op rehab protects a fresh surgical site and rebuilds from it. Prehab prepares the ground before any incision exists. The two work best as a pair, with prehab making the post-op phase shorter and smoother.
What a pre-op rehab session looks like
A session runs 30 to 45 minutes including assessment and owner coaching, with the active work scaled to what the animal can tolerate that day.
Assessment and baseline
At the first visit we measure thigh girth, joint range, and gait, and note where the animal is offloading. These become the reference points we compare against after surgery.
Hands-on work
Manual therapy to ease the tight, compensating muscles and keep the joints moving, plus pain and inflammation control so the animal is comfortable enough to train.
Targeted exercises
A short set of specific exercises for the muscles the surgery will rely on, dosed carefully and progressed only when the animal earns it.
Owner coaching and the home plan
You leave with a small home programme and the handling skills to run it. Most of the gains between sessions happen at home, so this part is not optional.
Notes to your vet
We send your operating vet a short summary of what we found and changed, so the surgical team has the full picture going into the operation.
Conditions and surgeries we prepare for
Prehab helps most before planned orthopaedic and spinal procedures, where there is a window to build the animal up first.
- Cruciate surgery Before a TPLO, TTA, or lateral suture repair: building the quads and hamstrings, settling the joint, and correcting the limp early.
- Hip surgery Before an FHO or total hip replacement: conditioning the gluteals and core so the animal can drive the limb afterwards.
- Spinal surgery For stable IVDD cases waiting on decompression: core and postural work, plus comfort, while the surgery is scheduled.
- Other planned procedures Patella luxation repair, planned fracture fixation, and amputation, where conditioning the other limbs in advance pays off.
Read the condition guides
Why choose AURA for pre-op rehab
Prehab only works when it is specific, measured, and joined up with the surgeon. That is where we put the effort.
- We work to your surgeon’s plan Prehab that ignores the surgical plan is a liability. We coordinate with your operating vet on what to load, what to avoid, and the timeline, and we send notes back.
- Measured, not guessed Girth, range, and gait are recorded before surgery so progress afterwards is tracked against real numbers, not impressions.
- The full toolkit under one roof Physiotherapy, the underwater treadmill, laser, and pain management combine in one plan, so prehab is not limited to whatever a single modality can do.
- Trained for animals, not adapted from people Our team trains specifically for animal anatomy, pain signalling, and species-appropriate handling across dogs, cats, rabbits, and small animals.
- Honest about the window If there is not enough time before surgery to make a difference, or the case should go straight to theatre, we will tell you. Prehab is a tool, not a sale.
What the numbers usually look like
These are reference points, not promises. How long and how often depend on the surgery, how much time there is before it, and how your animal responds. Some cases get one focused visit before the operation; others run several weeks.
Safety, and when prehab waits
Prehab is low-risk when it is dosed properly and coordinated with the surgeon. There are cases where we hold off, modify the work, or send the animal straight to theatre instead:
- Urgent surgery, where waiting to prehab would cost the animal more than it gains
- Unstable fractures, until the surgeon has fixed them
- Pain that is not yet controlled, until the vet’s plan settles it
- Acute, rapidly worsening neurological signs, which need the surgeon first
- Movements the surgeon has ruled out for that specific case
- Active infection, severe cardiac or respiratory disease, or late-stage pregnancy
When prehab is not the right call, we say so. The animal’s outcome comes before the programme.
Frequently asked questions about pre-op rehab
Is prehab worth it if surgery is only a couple of weeks away?
Will exercising the injury before surgery make it worse?
How far ahead of surgery should we start?
Does my vet need to be involved?
Is prehab the same as rehab after surgery?
Which animals benefit most?
Connect with us
If your animal has surgery booked or on the horizon, the best time to talk is now, while there is still a window to prepare. Message us or come down.
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