You Don’t Heal Alone: The Power of a Post‑Surgery Support Team

Healing after a hip or knee procedure is not just about what happens in the operating room, it’s about what happens when you get home and realize the small stuff is suddenly hard. From medication schedules to stairs at the front door, recovery becomes a thousand tiny decisions, and trying to hold all of it in your head can spike stress fast. That’s why we keep coming back to one message: recovery does not happen alone.

We talk through what a real support team looks like across the full patient journey, including clinic visits, pre-op planning, surgery day, discharge, home safety, and the transition into physical therapy and occupational therapy. We share why having an “extra set of eyes and ears” reduces confusion, how we help patients who don’t have family nearby, and when a rehabilitation facility may be the safest option even if home is the preferred healing environment. You’ll also hear the practical caregiver must-knows: understanding restrictions, using a cane or walker correctly, navigating bedroom-to-bathroom distance, preventing falls, and handling the everyday tasks people underestimate, like carrying food or reaching clothes.

We also get real about pain expectations after joint surgery: pain may not be zero, but it should be controlled, and there are multiple tools to support that plan. Finally, we explain why the first five to seven days matter so much for caregivers and how our post-op phone calls help patients feel calmer, more informed, and more confident about when to call with questions. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s planning surgery, and leave a review telling us what part of recovery you want us to break down next.

To learn more about The Bone and Joint Center at Magee-Womens Hospital visit:  https://www.pghbjc.com
Dr. Noelle DiGioia Guthrie
300 Halket St. 
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 
412-683-7272  

To learn more about The Wellness Center for Bone and Joint Health visit:  https://www.boneandjointhealth.org
Tiffany Belculfine
300 Halket St., Suite 1601 
Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 
412-641-8594  

Transcript

Welcome To The Joint Effort Podcast

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Joint Effort Podcast, where mobility meets reality and your future self says thank you. Your host, Dr. Noel DeJoy Guthrie of the Ponent Joint Center of the Keyword, and Tiffany Elkafine, position assistant at the Wellness Center of the Ponent Joint House. Serving the dogs across Western. If you need something like putting on your side, you're in the right place. Every day, help break it down and build you back up with a personalized plan for real life. Now, let's get you moving. Here are Dr. Noelle and Tiffany.

Why Support Teams Change Recovery

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Recovery does not happen alone. Today we talk about the power of a support team and why having a strong village can transform a patient's healing experience. Welcome, I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer, back with the experts, Dr. Noelle DeJoya Guthrie, and Tiffany Belkafine. Ladies, thank you so much for doing what you do. This is a pretty big topic. So today we're talking about why a support team matters so much for both the patient in the facility and out the outpatient. Can you discuss first why it's so important?

SPEAKER_03 1:27

I think the most important thing for patients is to know that there's an extra set of eyes and ears with them. So, you know, sometimes when anybody goes to an appointment, you know, myself included, it's one of those things that you kind of go back and you're like, wait, what did they say? Like you have someone else to kind of say, Oh, they said this, not this, and oh, that's not what I heard. You can kind of have that person to bounce things off of. And also someone who knows what the process is. You know, it's very overwhelming to be a patient. It can cause so much anxiety. You don't know who to talk to, who to call. You have 12 people on your team. Which one do you call for what? Having that person to kind of keep things grounded and focused for you and be like, well, let's call this person and see if that's right. And having that support is just so necessary to get through a really overwhelming time.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Yeah, I actually love that analogy. It takes a village. We say that a lot, taking care of kids, you know, because they have it's necessary to have a village, you know, people who can help throw, you know, help in different areas, have a coach to the patient, to our pre-op nurses, to our, you know, OR nurses, our team in the in the um hospital, in the clinic, you know, it's not just the physician who leads you through this. You know, they're a big part of it, but there's so many people at every step of the way that are so important and would not make the process go as smooth as it should. Um, so I think, you know, one thing at the Bone and Joint Center that we really value is that every person within the process has a very important role. It's a real, a true team effort from start to finish. You know, from the person who takes you to the car after your surgery, from the person who you meet first at the desk in the clinic, you know, I think that's cannot be said enough or emphasized enough.

When Patients Have No One

SPEAKER_01 3:09

And because I've personally experienced being the supporter or the caregiver of somebody going through um, you know, these pretty big surgeries, knee replacements. Um, I know you guys do a lot of hip and um replacements as well as other treatments, but I like what you said about like having somebody there in the beginning. Um, Tiffany and also Dr. Noel, how you're talking about this, you know, idea of the village. But, you know, have you seen patients come in with like nobody in the beginning and they're trying to go this alone? It like understand what's about to happen.

SPEAKER_03 3:43

I think a lot of people think they can do it on their own, but I know here at the Bone and Joint Center, they are very, very specific about everyone has to have a person because they do not want anybody processing all of this on their own.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

I mean, I and I have had some patients, you know, who we, you know, obviously our population's a little bit older who don't have a lot of people, you know, to support them, whether their spouse or family members have passed away and they don't have kids. And, you know, but we we do try to be creative in that way to help work with them to make sure that they can have someone with them, you know, for their pre-op appointments, you know, on day of surgery, if they have them at home to help them with. I think, um, and you know, there are some patients that that's just not an option. So we do try to support them in the way to find someone. And if not, you know, there's services that we can help help get get for them at home. Um, there's obviously rehabilitation places they can go. It's not ideal in our situation. We'd love for you to go home just because home is a more caring environment and you know, healing environment. But yeah, we definitely, you know, we try to work with patients to help, you know, patients who may not have that coach, you know, built into their system.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah, you try to find a health advocate no matter what their position is. And that's interesting too, because if then if they have to go to a rehab facility, then what does that do for the the occupational therapy aspect? Because now they're not going home and kind of getting used to.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Yeah, they still have therapy. Most of the rehabilitation process, you know, places have therapy, you know, whether it be physical or occupational therapy. Um so they have them built in, and there's, you know, patients choose places to go, obviously, based on, you know, that if they have rehab. Um, you know, we obviously prefer patients to go home and have therapists come to their house and then they start outpatient physical therapy because it's a little bit different of a level. There's only so much you can do at a rehab place. So um, you know, not ideal, but if that's what has to happen, then we work with it. I'd rather someone be safe, you know, rather than going home, you know, not be able to navigate from their bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night and have a fall. You know, I think safety is kind of our number one priority as well as patients, you know, being safe and doing well after surgery.

What Caregivers Must Learn Fast

SPEAKER_01 6:05

And then what are some of the key points that caregivers need to pick up pretty quickly, the ones that are part of their support team, whether it's family or friends?

SPEAKER_03 6:13

I think it's definitely important that they are familiar with the person's environment. I think they need to know, you know, where their bedroom is in comparison to where the bathroom is. And, you know, are you going to be able to take those eight steps by yourself, or do you need someone here 24-7 with you? Um, you know, knowing that what their restrictions are of when they're allowed to drive or what they're allowed to lift, um, knowing that they know how to, you know, use a cane. Um, sometimes people say, Oh, they told me to use it this way. And if the support person is there, they can say, Oh, that's not actually what they said. So just being familiar with the plans for the patient and hearing what the the follow-up instructions need to be, and really kind of knowing how to best support that person physically in their environment and emotionally.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Yeah, I think to Tiffany's point, the coaches sometimes become nurses at home because you know, you have new medications that you're taking, you have to know when to take them, you have to be able to follow the discharge instructions, you know, know when to call the office if you need to. Um, I think that's definitely important for a care person. And also, I always tell patients, unfortunately, you're gonna have pain. There's no way anything can take away your pain. You just had a big surgery. So that's to be expected. Um, you know, we want your pain to be controlled for the most part, but there is gonna be, it's not gonna be zero. So I think providing those expectations to the patient as well as the caregiver, you know, and also making sure they know the modalities to help with pain. You know, there's other, you know, medications, ice. We use a motion machine for knees, you know, there's a lot of different things. So having the care person, like Tiffany said, support them in that way, you know, being safe in their environment as well as, you know, knowing what you need to do as far as medications and um post-op care.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

And I think there's also a lot of things that people take for granted, um, such as, you know, they're trying to heat up their soup in the microwave. Well, if you're on a walker, that's gonna be a little harder for you to navigate carrying your soup to your dining room table. You know, so having someone else to think of those things too, of like you're not actually gonna be able to make your own lunch the first day. I think those things are also very useful.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

How many stairs you have to get into your house, you know, we actually ask that in our intake form. So we can help prepare you, you know, as after surgery. We have you do stairs upstairs in our gym to make sure you can navigate them. But if you have 12 stairs to get up, we need to prepare you for that so you can get to your house. You know, if your bathroom's on a different floor, you know, very practical things that you don't you take, you take, you know, for granted when you don't have to navigate them in a different scenario.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Yeah, you both brought up some really good points. And, you know, for caregivers, what are some other tips too? Like they may have to change their schedule as well to, you know, handle all the care and of course the calls, making those phone calls and the you know, medication, helping them with that and making sure that the person is just okay all the time. So, you know, what advice do you give to caregivers? Like, should they possibly work remotely? Should they, you know, what what advice do you give them to be really prepared for the next few

Caregiver Scheduling And The First Week

SPEAKER_01 9:11

weeks?

SPEAKER_02 9:11

I mean, I almost recommend the caregiver to be very flexible for a week after surgery. I think that's the very acute post-op period, you know, just to make sure patients are doing okay, feeling safe at home, having the support they need at home. Um, you know, and there's some people who can have the flexibility working for home. So if that's okay, and you know, you can be back and forth, that's fine. But if, you know, obviously there's people who have to go into work. And I do say it's probably the best to have your caregiver take off for, you know, five days, five to seven days or so, just to be able to be there. I think after that, after that kind of acute post-stop period, you can start to, you know, go back to work, do things more independently from the patient's perspective. I don't know if you've experienced that.

SPEAKER_03 9:55

No, I think that's really the gist of it. Honestly, like people just need to know what they're signing up for. Um, it's not just, oh, I'm picking you up from the hospital and dropping you off at home and see you later, I'll call you. You know, they have to actually be involved and and they uh they need to know what they've agreed to.

Post Op Calls And Common Questions

SPEAKER_01 10:12

And then what about the calls that your team gets when it's the post-surgery situation? Because I imagine there's lots of calls and questions after. What are some of the most common from the caregiver? Because the patient's probably like, you know, yeah, in a different world.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Well, so a lot of our patients these days are going home the same day. So they have surgery in the morning or early afternoon, they go home that afternoon or evening. Um even if they stay that stay at night, they usually go home the next mid-morning or so. We try to, we try to get ahead of these calls by we call all of our patients the day after surgery. So whether it'd be the day right after surgery or the day after they leave the hospital. And, you know, we just check in, we say, hey, are you doing okay? Do you need anything? Do you have questions? Do you have questions about your medications? How's your bandage doing? Is your physical therapist coming? You know, so we make sure we're getting ahead of those by answering any questions that, you know, are issues that patients have. So I think that helps a ton. Um, you know, our office specifically does that post-op call and we actually call them the next week after surgery. So we're all we're constantly checking in. And, you know, we always make sure patients know you can call us if there's any issues. You know, there is a physician and a provider on at all times. If there's something in the middle of the night you need, we're here. Um so I think we try to do our best to get ahead of those. No, but you know, there's always going to be calls, whether it be something small or something big. So, but we're, you know, that's why we're here. We're we're used to that. Um, so but hopefully, you know, by us checking in with patients a few times after surgery, they feel more, you know, empowered and comfortable and you know, comfortable calling too if it's big or small.

Planning Ahead And Accepting Help

SPEAKER_01 11:49

And we just have a couple minutes left, but I did have a a question for you too about um how you help the patient prepare, like by planning and accepting help. What advice do you give them?

SPEAKER_03 12:03

I think I think it's just very important for patients to realize that just because they can do something on their own doesn't mean they have to. Because it is, as Dr. Dr. Noel said, it's it's so much. And we need all of those people for all of those things. You know, someone to drive you to your doctor's appointments, someone to drive you to physical therapy, someone to help you get in and out of the car. Those are things that we expect, like, oh, okay, well, my knee's better. I'm gonna feel fine. You're not gonna be dancing the first day that you have surgery. So again, just really letting those people know what to expect and and all of the things that, you know, we don't want to overwhelm them and we don't want to give them worst case scenarios, but we want to let them know, like, hey, this is something we need to think about and make sure you thought about this. And oh, who's gonna, you know, get your clothes out of your closet for you if you can't reach them or, you know, just those kinds of things are so important.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

And a lot of our patients, very good question, because a lot of patients are very active, wanting to do things. You know, that's why they're getting the surgery, is so that they can go back to the gym, they can go back to their job, they can do things that they want to do. So sometimes they are expecting, like, oh, three days after surgery, I'm gonna be going back to work where I'm climbing ladders and, you know, digging holes. And I always say, you know what, this is a healing process. Your body has to rest and heal. This is surgery, you know. So I usually recommend taking a very being flexible in the first month or so from work, no matter what it is, just because, you know, you do have to focus on being able to care for your body and letting yourself heal, which is a lot to do with resting and being, you know, in an environment that helps you heal rather than jumping right back to work. So it's definitely a reminder for, you know, a lot of our patient population because they're kind of ready to go after they they get it done. Um, so that's a good thing because they're motivated too. So, you know, it's for better or worse. But um, I mean, and patients can go as fast as they want to go. But I always say, you know, let your body heal as well. So it's a really fine balance that's important to take. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

Honoring that rest is really important. All of our bodies need rest every single day. Um, people who are constantly on the go, go-getters, you know, they don't really take that rest the way that they should. So it's very hard for them. Um, so just, yeah, so they know what to expect and that there is a purpose for them not doing those particular activities right now.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Well, thank you both. I wish we had more time, but um this was great, and you guys give great advice as always. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

How To Reach The Team

SPEAKER_00 14:29

That's today's dose of strength, balance, and better movement from the Joint Effort Podcast. Ready for care that fits your life and gets you moving? To schedule an appointment with Dr. Noel for your surgical and injection needs, call 412-683-7272. Or visit PGHBJC.com. Or if you are looking for lifestyle changes that are not surgical, contact Tiffany Belgifine. Call 412-641-8594, or visit bone at jointhelp.org. Healthy bones and happy joints make every day better. Until next time, keep moving, stay steady, and take care of yourself.