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HELP!!! Post hernia repair surgery exercise tips

TheMizzHill
TheMizzHill Posts: 2
edited February 26 in Fitness and Exercise
I am 1 week post emergency umbilical hernia repair surgery. I know I have to take it easy for quite some time & I have every intention on asking my doctor for advice when I have my post op visit in 2 days. However, I'm turning to my fellow myfitnesspal friends to help guide me. My main question is have any of you reading this had this surgery? If so how long did you have to wait to do more than walking? What kind of exercises did you do? I'm 2 pounds away from reaching 50 pounds lost & while I have a long way to go I refuse to let this set me back. I know I can't go back to lifting weights anytime soon or any hardcore fitness classes. The main things I want to get back to ASAP are getting in some cardio via the elliptical & also taking some zumba & zumba like classes. From what I read walking & swimming are good forms of exercise after this type if surgery, so are aqua fitness classes appropriate? Any & all help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. :)

Replies

  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 906 Member
    Can you do anything weight-bearing with your arms? Suggest some dumbbells (or some heavy cans) for lifting. Also, some leg lifts and other similar exercises might help (you'd still get the exercise, but not intense enough to aggravate the post-surgery pain).
  • catb58
    catb58 Posts: 239 Member
    I'd skip leg lifts or anything that pulls on your stomach at all. Last thing you want is to cause any problems with whatever they did inside. If you really can't wait, put a call in to the doctor and get his opinion. He'd probably be the one who knows best what is ok and what isn't.

    Hope you heal quickly. :flowerforyou:
  • estelle74uk
    estelle74uk Posts: 465 Member
    Hi I had it last September. Hope your not hurting too much! Just be careful you don't want to over do it. Listen to what the doc tells you. I got back to proper training probably just after 8 weeks I think. I didn't do much before that to be honest. I looked after it because I didn't want to pull the stitches inside. Just take it easy, your body will tell you when you can do stuff.

    Take care of yourself. :)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Let your body repair itself.
    Walking is great exercise.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Probably depends a bit on how invasive it was. As far as I know, you have to be careful of any strain / lifting for about 6 weeks after most operations. Even walking uphill could be too much at the beginning.

    Definitely ask your doc and take care of yourself.
  • TheMizzHill
    TheMizzHill Posts: 2
    Thank you all so much for your input. I have my follow up with my doctor tomorrow & I have a ton of questions for him. I'm not going to push myself to fast to hard. I did wonder if dumbbells while sitting would be OK to not lose the muscle I've built in my arms. The big thing I want to do asap is some aqua fitness classes. They are affective but aren't as hard on the body as out of water classes. I've been walking some but nothing long distance. I'm working my way up to that. Just don't want to be at a stand still with my weightloss.
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