Early Mobilization in Post-Orthopedic Surgery Patients: A Scoping Review

Post-orthopedic surgery patients need to undergo a recovery process with immobilization to minimize pain or swelling. Maximum care through early mobilization intervention can accelerate the return of body function and minimize medical complications. This literature review aims to determine early mobilization-based interventions that can be applied to post-orthopedic surgery patients. The method used in reviewing this article is a scoping review of secondary data in online databases including EBSCOhost, PubMed, Sage, and ScienceDirect. There are 8 articles analyzed and the early mobilization interventions found include motion interventions (increasing range of motion), Progressive Muscle Relaxation interventions (reducing pain, increasing muscle strength effects and short-term kinesiophobia), weight bearing interventions (reducing stiffness and pain), positioning interventions (reducing post-operative blood loss and increasing range of motion), and Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation interventions (increasing muscle strengthening). These five types of early mobilization can reduce the length of stay in the hospital. Early mobilization based on motion and PMR showed significantly better results because the range of motion recovery time was faster, which was six weeks after surgery. This literature review can provide additional information for nurses as nursing care providers or other health workers regarding the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in providing early mobilization interventions in post-orthopedic surgery patients. For further research, it is hoped that it can increase the research sample of post-orthopedic surgery patients in determining the effectiveness of various other early mobilization interventions in post-orthopedic surgery patients so that the review article can cover a wider range.