Facing surgery can be a significant event, and adequate preparation is essential to optimise your body's resilience and enhance the overall recovery process. Here are some general guidelines to help you prepare physically for surgery:

• Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
• Regular Exercise
• Quit Smoking and Limit Alcohol
• Stay Hydrated
• Follow Preoperative Instructions
• Discuss Medications with Your Healthcare Provider
• Address Existing Health Conditions
• Manage Stress

Following each of these steps will aid your recovery process.

How Long after surgery until I'm 100%?

How long it takes you to fully recover from your surgery will depend on many things, including:

• your age
• your health before the surgery, pre-operative preparation (Rehabilitation)
• the extent of your injuries
• the success of your rehabilitation
• the amount of rest you get.

For some people, recovery will be slow, while others will be back to normal within a noticeably short amount of time. Unfortunately, if an injury is severe enough to require surgical treatment, then it is possible that a full 100% recovery may not be attainable.

Tips to Speed Up Recovery After Surgery:

• Listen to the advice of your specialist
• Keep pain under control
• Maintain a healthy diet to support healing
• Most Importantly Get moving – but don’t push yourself

During recovery, avoid staying in bed or on the couch. As soon as you are able to walk, you will likely be advised to do so by your physician, physio or pain management specialist to prevent blood clots and get your digestive system moving.

Continuing this movement at home will help prevent other complications post-surgery, like pneumonia or deep vein thrombosis. Don’t push yourself to get up and about before your body is ready, as it’s important not to put pressure on your body – particularly your incision – before it is ready.

Ask for help from friends and family until you can get moving. Once you are ready, a short walk every hour or two will help decrease the risk of complications and improve blood flow for speedy healing.

Once you are recovered enough, your physio can further help you get your body back on track to its pre-surgery abilities. It can be particularly important to rehabilitate with a physiotherapist after major hip or knee surgeries, so speak to your physio for advice.

Overall, recovering from surgery is a straightforward process. It is important for a full recovery to support your body’s natural processes and let it works its magic.

Most of our clients who go through physiotherapy after surgery get back up and running much quicker with less complications compared to our clients who predominantly self-manage.

If you think you need help getting your body back up and running post-surgery, you can book an appointment with one of our physios!