This article provides 13 post-hysterectomy exercise ideas to ease into while you are in recovery.
Exercise plays a crucial role in maintaining muscle mass, speeding up recovery, and helping you sleep. Working out also helps relieve post-hysterectomy depression, joint pain, gas pains, and constipation.
Click here to read Why You Should Exercise After a Hysterectomy.
In an article that I published on Medium called, “Hysterectomy Recovery: The First 24 Hours,” I go into detail about the horrific pain I experienced due to excess surgical gas getting trapped in my diaphragm. When I called my surgeon, she told me to walk and move around because movement was the only thing that would relieve the pain. It worked.
However, after a few weeks into my recovery, walking only helped so much. I needed more exercise ideas.
13 Post Hysterectomy Exercises
How Soon Should You Exercise After a Hysterectomy?
Listen to Your Doctor
Prioritize your doctors’ advice above anyone else’s. Your doctor will clear you for exercise when they feel you are ready.
In most cases, you will be advised to walk within the first few days after your hysterectomy. As time goes by, your doctor will clear you to do non-strenuous exercises, but they may not give specific advice for what kind of exercises to do.
I made this article to share some post-hysterectomy exercise ideas that helped keep me healthy and sane while I was recovering from my hysterectomy.
Listen to Your Body
You should also listen to your body when deciding how soon to exercise after a hysterectomy.
For example, if your doctor clears you to do gentle exercises 2 weeks after your hysterectomy, but the exercises hurt you, definitely stop doing them! You should not do any exercises that cause you even the slightest pain while in recovery.
Pay attention to your energy levels too. If you feel fatigued and want to take a nap, do it.
However, if you find that gentle post-hysterectomy exercises make you feel good, then keep it up! When your muscles are thirsty for exercise, you may feel a restless sensation in your legs, also known as “kicky legs,” (according to me, haha!) This restless feeling can make it difficult to sleep, and it’s your body’s way of telling you that you need exercise.
I was doing some of the exercises in this post as early as my second week in recovery, but I started doing a lot more of them around week four.
1. Laying Side Leg Lifts
Lay on your side and lift your leg as seen in the photo below. You may want to lay your head flat and cradle it in your arm if that feels more comfortable. Only raise your leg as high as comfortable. Do as many reps as you like for each leg.
2. Standing Side Leg Lift
The standing side leg lift may look similar to the previous exercise, except this one works the calf muscles on the unmoving leg. In addition, it will gently strengthen your core and help you improve your balancing skills. If you need to hold onto something for balance, that is OK! Do as many reps as you like for each leg.
3. Standing Hip Thrust Squat
Don’t let the exercise police get you down with their incessant squat rules. Yes, you should have good posture. Yes, you should look forward. But, no, you do not have to squat low if you aren’t up for it!
Also, there are many different types of squats that work different muscle groups. This isn’t your standard squat. See images and captions below.
4. Standing Hip Circles
This exercise was one of my best post-hysterectomy exercise ideas because it helped me loosen and relax my back muscles after being stuck in bed for so long. In addition, it gently strengthened my pelvic floor.
Place your feet a little wider than shoulder width and slowly rotate your hips like a belly dancer. Do as many circles as you like in both directions.
5. Standing Calf Raises
The standing calf raise was another one of my favorite post-hysterectomy exercise ideas because I was able to do it very early in my recovery – around week two. I like to snowboard and skateboard, so I needed a way to keep my calves strong, and these workouts helped me achieve that goal.
If you have trouble balancing while doing these exercises, grab onto something for support.
6. Standing Toe Raises
The standing toe raise is another gentle exercise you can do early in recovery. Simply rock your weight onto your heels and feel the muscles around your shins and quads go to work! Grab onto something for balance if needed.
7. Kneeling Knee Spread
The kneeling knee spread exercise is great for your pelvic floor. See images and captions below.
8. Standing Triceps Arm Lifts
This gentle exercise will help your arms stay toned while you are recovering from a hysterectomy. Try positioning your arms as seen in the photo below and doing small lifting motions, raising them as high as you can behind you. You’d be surprised how tiring this can get with a lot of reps!
9. Arm Overhead Lifts
Another gentle exercise is the arm overhead lift. Start with your arms to your side and then raise them above your head as seen in the image below. Do as many of these as you like. Forgive my intense expression in the photo below. I must have seen a squirrel out the window.
10. Lateral Arm Lifts and Circles
Slowly and gently flap your arms like a bird. Move them in forward and backward circles. You can make the motions as small or as large as you like. Do as many reps as you like. This will wear you out and tone your arms if you do enough reps!
11. Ass to Grass Squat
The ass-to-grass squat is an excellent way to get your blood moving. See images below.
12. Hip Thrust from Chair
If you want to keep your booty in shape during recovery, the hip thrust from chair exercise can help big time! Tighten and tuck your butt when doing these exercises and don’t let your spine curve too much – try to keep it straight. Lower your butt as seen in the photo and then slowly thrust it too the sky until your stomach is flat with your thighs.
13. Triceps Chair Dips
If you feel up for a little more of an arm workout and have been cleared to do this exercise, it is a great way to keep your triceps fit. Dip low on the chair as seen in the photo below and then extend your arms until they are straightened. Repeat as many reps as you like.
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