Hernia surgery recovery

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DisneyLuvnGal
DisneyLuvnGal Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm having surgery to repair an umbilical hernia and the doctor said no core exercises for at least 5 weeks. Her only recommendation was running and really really light weights for the arms. No push ups, sit ups, etc. No jumping jacks which seems weird since running is ok?? I take Krav Maga currently and am fairly active otherwise, so only running seems boring and I don't even own a light weight.

I'm looking for ideas on what to do during recovery, I don't need or even want to go all out during recovery, but something more than walking/running would be nice. Have you ever had hernia surgery, how did you stay active during recovery?

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  • janeensan
    janeensan Posts: 66 Member
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    I had hernia repair surgery 6 months ago. I'm a 50 y/o female. I had just started exercising one month previous to surgery (whereas you are already very active and athletic).

    My experience prompts me to tell you these things:

    You doc is right--no core exercises for 5 weeks! I never felt the urge to "push" that envelope and try to get into them asap because of the thought of messing up the hernia repair---can't afford to go through that again!

    However, I had just started an exercise regime and I was anxious to get back into it.

    The day after my surgery I thought I would be bright and walk around the block. ha! I made it to the end of the driveway and had to turn around. Over the course of the first 2 weeks I found that walking really was about all I could do. Much of that, especially the first week, was getting the anesthesia out of my system. I did extend the length of my walks each day and made very good progress. I was walking 3.5 miles by the end of a couple weeks. When I tried jogging that jarred up my surgery site enough that I didn't want to jog. It didn't feel "right" so I didn't do it. Took me a while to get to that. I can't remember how long.

    The point is: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
    You will be in body repair & recovery mode. This is not the time to be attempting to break new records.

    The first couple weeks I spent walking. Several times a day. Increasing distance each time.

    I started back at pushups not by doing the real deal, I started with 'counter pushups', where I do them against the kitchen counter. Pay attention to your body/the surgery site. I graduated to the bathroom counter (it's lower than the kitchen counter), then "girl pushups" on my knees, then to the full pushup. That's how I eased back into core exercising.

    At the same time I was doing lots of dumbbell exercises. Eventually I graduated back into the Stronglifts 5x5. Light weights at first. As I said, I was tentative, not wanting to mess up what the good doc had performed on me. I can't remember how long it was before I was back at anything and everything full force with no reservations.

    LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. You'll feel at first like you've been set back in your training and your ability. And you will have been. That's okay. You will very soon catch up to your current ability and be on your way to being more awesome than you are now!

    Good luck with your surgery. Look at it like it's a vacation (that's what I did).
  • michaelmadonna
    michaelmadonna Posts: 105 Member
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    You doc is right--no core exercises for 5 weeks! I never felt the urge to "push" that envelope and try to get into them asap because of the thought of messing up the hernia repair---can't afford to go through that again!

    This ^ ... Listen to your doctor. I had mine done about 2 years ago and I was weight lifting at the time. It was very difficult to stop for that time (my Dr. told me 6-8 weeks - on a follow up visit after 6 he let me start). You won't want to or even be able to do much for the first week or two anyway. At that time I wasn't counting calories (though alwasy trying to lose weight) but I was very careful with what I ate because I was going to be sedentary for so long, I actually ended up losing quite a few pounds over the 6 week period.

    Your body needs time to heal ... let it ... no sense in causing further injury or damage to the surgical site.
  • DisneyLuvnGal
    DisneyLuvnGal Posts: 10
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    Thanks for the replies! Take it easy and listen to my body - check!

    I guess I'll start with walking and see how it goes! I was kind of baffled that she suggested running as that puts a lot of strain and jostling on the core area. So walking and definitely watch my diet a bit better while I am healing. I really really do not want to mess this up!!
  • michaelmadonna
    michaelmadonna Posts: 105 Member
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    Thanks for the replies! Take it easy and listen to my body - check!

    I guess I'll start with walking and see how it goes! I was kind of baffled that she suggested running as that puts a lot of strain and jostling on the core area. So walking and definitely watch my diet a bit better while I am healing. I really really do not want to mess this up!!

    No that you had me thinking abou it again, I was out of work about a week and a half and I have predominatey a desk job, I just couldn't do my commute which is about an hour to an hour and a half drive. It was very uncomfortable for the first 2 weeks, and my surgery was less than they anticipated, the hernia was small enough that he didn't need to use the mesh and was able just to close it with sutures.

    Lotsa luck for a speedy recovery!
  • janeensan
    janeensan Posts: 66 Member
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    Just like Michael, I too lost weight during my time off!

    I just can't see the doc recommending running. Tried it---did NOT work for me!

    I had a month off, as I regularly do lifting up to 40 lbs at my job === vacay! Oh, and yeah, I had the patch put in. I'm really pleased with how it all turned out. Very happy I had it done.

    Have fun :)

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