Just scheduled surgery. Is recovery really this long?

[BadCaseGyno]

I just scheduled surgery for Nov. 2 which was the earliest slot they had. My insurance is covering it. I talked to my Surgeon (Dr. Kulber) and he said it would be 6 weeks before I could do any exercise. Is this really true? I take kung fu and have a red belt test on the first saturday in December, and I'm going to need to practice for that a lot. I'm not missing that for the world, so if need be I'll reschedule surgery until afterward. But, I have many huge show choir performances in Feb-April, and i need at least a month before that to catch up on the choreography and stuff. No way I'm missing that.

So, is it really going to be a month and a half before I can do any kind of exercise? My breasts are really not that large, just a case of puffy nipples with a bit of gland. What was your recovery time, and how long was it until you could return to exercise?

[Jopet]

Just take full precautions on not having injuries in your chest part if you already had surgery.

[BadCaseGyno]

Well, most websites say the patient can return to jogging in 2-3wks post op. But if necessary, I will wait 6 weeks.

[BadCaseGyno]

This is not "some stupid kung fu event". This is something I have been training to accomplish for the past two and a half years. They do not make exceptions. Its a 7 hour test that goes until 2ish in the morning.

[lighting506]

Well you need to decide what's more important. But remember that yeah 6 weeks sounds right. Martial arts is going to be dangerous after surgery if you don't wait enough, you can easily get a good hit to your chest that can screw up the op.

[NewLifeGuy]

Well...here's some advice from a martial art's school owner and practitioner;

I teach Olympic Taekwondo and have been tested and helped test other's for their Kukkiwan ( World Taekwondo Federation - Internationally recognized for all certified TKD black belts ) and I have to say, if your testing for a belt vs waiting for your body to heal, I would never choose martial arts over my own personal health and healing.

I've done it once before five years with surgery to another part of my body and like everyone else I wanted to rush back in, train and fight. Unfortunately, I did more harm than good because it only delayed my healing further and further. In retrospect as an athlete I learned if your body say's no it's not about ' no pain, no gain' it's more like, ' If there's pain rest and live to fight another day'.

If your Studio doesn't understand this and can't re-schedule your test for another time, I'd say it's time for you to find a new school.