Exercises I can do after spinal surgery?

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fluffyja100
fluffyja100 Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What the title says, any tips? Suggestions? (Please no physical therapy exercises. Been there done that. Although helpful, they do not help you lose weight.) I can't lift any weights yet, cant run, cant jog, cant go to the gym, (yet) cant do anything pertaining to the back. Like situps or pushups. So......any help? Anything will be appropriated.
Thanks!!!

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  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    Weight loss is achieved with calorie deficit, not exercise. Just wanted to throw that out there, given what you wrote.

    Good luck with your recovery!
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    fluffyja100 wrote: »
    What the title says, any tips? Suggestions? (Please no physical therapy exercises. Been there done that. Although helpful, they do not help you lose weight.) I can't lift any weights yet, cant run, cant jog, cant go to the gym, (yet) cant do anything pertaining to the back. Like situps or pushups. So......any help? Anything will be appropriated.
    Thanks!!!

    This is really something you need to be running by your surgeon and physical therapist. And yes, you should be doing physical therapy. A simple, "what exercise can I do outside of what I'm doing in physical therapy" is a good opener.

    Signed,
    Someone who has had multiple surgeries, including back surgery
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,190 Member
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    It sounds like your surgery was recent. I really think you need to check with your surgeon /physio at this point. You do not want to do anything to make it worse. Are you allowed to go to the pool?

    And as above, you can lose weight without exercise, just stick to a calorie deficit.
  • lesdarts180
    lesdarts180 Posts: 2,729 Member
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    I went back to the swimming pool after my spinal surgery. It was the best way to get moving as the water takes the weight off your legs and back. My daughter came with me the first couple of times as I was still nervous about walking especially in slippery conditions. My surgery was 25 years ago so I can't remember the timing of when I started to do things. Swimming led to waterobics which is a fantastic way to get good exercise and suprisingly good an introduction to working with weights as you work against the water. I did eventually start lifting - doing a bodypump class, when my back was strong enough (probably about 5 years post surgery)
    Good luck with your recovery.

    PS I'm going in for major surgery next week - a hysterectomy - and I'm now having to plan a similar long period of recovery.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    Anything in water: swimming, water aerobics, acqua-cycle, etc.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited January 2020
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    There are so many back conditions and surgeries, it's going to be specific to your situation. I wouldn't want random internet advice on this one. Talk to your PT about what you were doing before surgery and which of those exercises are safe to do now. I wouldn't start anything new until you get through rehab.

    You asked about exercises to lose weight. Weight loss happens primarily in the kitchen by managing what and how much you eat. It is generally advised to eat at maintenance during surgical rehab period because your body needs the nutrition and energy to promote healing. This would be a good time to get in the habit of weighing all your food on a food scale and developing good logging habits. Set MFP to maintenance or max .5 per week for now. Read the sticky posts for lots of tips on how to do this. Hope you are moving well again soon!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    If you're NOT losing weight it's NOT because of exercising. It's because you're consuming more than you need to. As for exercising for HEALTH reasons, you SHOULD be consulting a specialist before embarking on any exericses from surgery that don't complicate recovery.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    This would be a great question for your physical therapist.
  • Tq43
    Tq43 Posts: 85 Member
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    Ask your surgeon and physio.
    A healthy diet would be a very good start and drink plenty of water.
    I'd imagine walking would be good exercise for you and maybe swimming , but again, if I were you, I would not do anything without the approval of my physio and surgeon.

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