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Prehabilitation

Recovery starts before an operation with targeted preoperative training. This offer is currently available to patients before a knee prosthesis operation or a spine operation.

Prehabilitation helps to improve patients' quality of life after surgery

Prehabilitation, or prehab for short, is individualized preoperative exercise and physical therapy prior to surgery. It helps to shorten hospital stays, reduce complications, and improve patients' quality of life after surgery.

Prehabilitation includes a personalized exercise program, education and instruction, regular functional tests, and individual therapeutic care. The aim is to maintain or improve physical performance and functionality as much as possible before surgery. This makes it possible to increase the level of activity after surgery and return to an independent everyday life more quickly.

What is prehabilitation and what can it achieve?

What are the benefits of prehabilitation?

  • Overall state of health iimproves
  • Cardiovascular fitness improves
  • Activity level increases
  • Fewer painkillers are required due to reduced pain levels
  • Health-related quality of life is enhanced
  • Rehabilitation period is shorter and daily activities can be resumed more quickly
  • Complication rate is lower

How does prehabilitation work?

Many different combinations are possible for the design of the prehabilitation phase, which lasts at least four weeks. The program is tailored to your individual needs and physical fitness.

Please bring along: shorts (or tights/leggings) and T-shirt, sneakers, towel. There are changing and shower facilities on site.

What are the requirements for participation in the program?

  • Adults
  • Indication for a unilateral full knee prosthesis or spinal surgery that meets the criteria
  • Waiting time from diagnosis of a need for intervention until the operation of at least four weeks
  • Willingness to
    • take part in prehabilitation treatment at the University Center for Sports Medicine and Prevention and/or
    • independently conduct an individual program at home

What does prehabilitation cost?

Prehabilitation training is invoiced as part of a normal physiotherapy referral. No additional costs incur.

Contact

Please contact our reception if you have any questions or to register.

+41 44 386 52 52
Email

Reception
Monday to Friday
7 a.m.–8 p.m.
Saturday 7 a.m.–6 p.m.

Portrait of Alexandra Schmid

Alexandra Schmid
Clinical Lead of Prehabilitation
Email  

Portrait photograph of Pascale Gränicher
Pascale Gränicher
Scientific Lead of Prehabilitation
Email

Specialist teams

Image for sports medicine: sketch of two dumbbells on a blue background

Sports Medicine

The center is focused on sports-related complaints and treats hobby and professional athletes of all ages. Athletes are individually treated according to their personal goals at the Swiss Olympic Medical Center.

 

Image for knee surgery: sketch of a knee with muscles on a blue background.

Knee Surgery

The knee surgery team offers treatment methods from arthroscopy to robot surgery for all knee problems – for both accident and sports injuries as well as disorders and chronic complaints.

Spine Surgery

At the University Spine Center Zurich, we treat all conditions related to the spine and the spinal cord.

Team

Our specialists are here for you.

Mazda Farshad
Prof. Dr. med. Mazda Farshad
Medical Director, Head of the University Spine Center
Johannes Scherr
Prof. Dr. med. Johannes Scherr
Chief of the University Center for Prevention and Sports Medicine, Medical Lead of Prehabilitation
Sandro Fucentese
Prof. Dr. med. Sandro Fucentese
Head of Knee Surgery
Alexandra Schmid
Alexandra Schmid
Clinical Lead Prehabilitation
Pascale Gränicher
Pascale Gränicher
Scientific Lead Prehabilitation