Post op exercise

[hard2find]

Hi,
Little confused, it has been stated that in the immediate 1-2 weeks post op recovery period that walking is an excellent thing to do. Yet it is recommended nothing should be done that would raise your blood pressure and heart rate. Doesn't walking do both those things??
Thank you

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

A slow, gentle walk is just fine.  But a brisk walk which raises heart rate and blood pressure is not recommended.

Dr Jacobs

[Dr. Schuster]

I don't want my patients to exercise for two weeks. I believe that raising your pulse or blood pressure during this time can lead to post operative bleeding and a hematoma. That's not to say however that you should sstay in bed for two weeks. My patients generally return to regular daily activity the next day.

[hard2find]

Thank you both for a clear explanation.

[DrPensler]

Different surgeons do what in their experience works best for their patients. What is typically recommended is modified for each specific surgical case based of a number of factors including obviously what was done at surgery. While its useful to get a broad understanding what individual surgeons typically do ,each case is unique and your best resource is the surgeon who examined and operated on you.

[Litlriki]

I tend to be a little more aggressive in getting my patients back to their workout regimens, since if I told most of them to do nothing for a few weeks or a month, they'd go back to the gym on the second post-op day.  So I allow them to start cardio after a week (low impact) and I allow them to engage in resistance training after two week (no hands overhead at first, no chest) and they can incorporate chest training after four weeks.  Following this regimen, I have had no late bleeding or seromas, which are the two main concerns with too much activity too early. This is what I do with my patients, but you should follow the recommendations of your surgeon, especially since he or she knows how the procedure was performed.