Why You Should Exercise After A hysterectomy
After a hysterectomy, it is normal to rest and sleep a lot. In fact, rest is crucial to your recovery, but did you know that exercise is too? In this article, you will learn that there are many reasons why you should exercise after a hysterectomy.
How Soon Should You Exercise After A Hysterectomy?
Listen to Your Doctor
It is common for patients to be advised to do some walking as early as the first day of recovery. Walking is probably about the only exercise you should be trying to do for at least a week or two.
How soon you should exercise after a hysterectomy depends on when your doctor says it is OK for you to. You should prioritize their advice first! Always listen to your doctor!
Listen to Your Body
You should also listen to your body when deciding how soon you should exercise after a hysterectomy.
For example, if your doctor tells you that you can 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, stop exercising for the day, and try it again when you feel more lively.
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 to get moving!
Why You Should Exercise After A Hysterectomy
How Fast Does Muscle Deteriorate?
While lying in bed during your recovery, you may be worried about muscle deterioration, but it takes a while for that to happen.
According to Healthline, “If you take a few weeks off from exercising, your muscle strength won’t take much of a hit. We know that skeletal muscular strength stays about the same during a month of not exercising.”
Whew! That’s a relief! Take the time you need to rest, rest, rest! When you are ready to exercise, your body will tell you.
Exercise Speeds Up Recovery After Surgery
Physical therapists at Manatee Memorial Hospital say that exercise speeds up recovery after surgery in a few ways:
- Exercise helps you regain mobility, strength, and flexibility.
- Exercise maintains lung and heart health and reduces the chances of a blood clot or infection.
- Exercise reduces pain and inflammation.
- Exercise increases blood flow and improves circulation, which carries nutrients and oxygen throughout your body.
- Exercise can reduce internal scar tissue which helps you regain your flexibility.
Exercise Relieves Post-Surgical Depression
Post-surgical depression is so powerful that even the most positive people can be affected by it. On top of the physical trauma, you are dealing with feelings of helplessness and anxiety. Fortunately, exercise relieves post-surgical depression!
In an article I posted called, “13 Ways to Stop Being Depressed Without Medication,” I talked about how big of a role exercise plays in mental health.
According to Dr. Michael Craig Miller, in an article from Harvard Health Publishing called, “Exercise is an All-Natural Treatment to Fight Depression,” research shows that exercise is as effective as antidepressants for some people.
Dr. Miller explains that neuroscientists have noticed a connection between depression and a smaller than normal hippocampus region in the brain. The significance of this finding is that the hippocampus helps regulate moods. Dr. Miller explains, “Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression.”
There are psychological benefits to both high-intensity and low-intensity types of exercise.
Your body releases endorphins during exercise resulting in feelings of euphoria, since endorphins are basically, “the body’s feel-good chemicals.”
Physical activity also prompts your body to release neurotrophic growth factor proteins that cause nerve cells to make new connections and grow. This advanced brain activity makes you feel good.
Exercise Relieves Post-Hysterectomy Constipation and Gas Pain
There are 2 types of horrific gas pain that you may experience after surgery: surgical gas pain and bowel gas pain. Exercise relieves both of them!
Surgical Gas Pain
Laparoscopic surgery is popular, because it uses smaller cuts than open surgery, resulting in a faster and less traumatic recovery time as well as less scarring. If your hysterectomy was performed using laparoscopy, your belly was inflated with carbon dioxide gas so the surgeon could see the robotic arms via a camera.
The downside to laparoscopic surgery is that some of that gas stays trapped in your belly for at least a few days after surgery, causing bloating and pain. Sometimes, it can linger for up to a week.
In an article I posted on Medium called, “Hysterectomy Recovery: The First 24 Hours,” I talked about how difficult it was for me to get sleep because of the pain caused by surgical gas. It didn’t hurt when I was sitting upright or standing, but when I tried to lie down, I experienced the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
It felt like something was stabbing my shoulder which caused me to jump up, screaming and sobbing. The pain went away shortly after I stood. When I called the doctor, she said the affliction was caused by surgical gas, and she advised me to walk as much as I could to help the gas dissipate and relieve the pain. It didn’t make sense to me that surgical gas for a hysterectomy would hurt my shoulder.
When I Googled it, I found out that lying down caused the gas to float into my diaphragm which irritated my phrenic nerve and sent referred pain to my shoulder.
So, I did what my doctor said. I walked as much as I could to relieve the surgical gas pain. It took time, but it worked.
Bowel Gas Pain
Bowel gas pain is another common side effect of having a hysterectomy because during the procedure, your organs shift around in unnatural ways which can cause gas to get trapped in the intestines. On top of that, some of the pain medications prescribed, like hydrocodone, cause constipation and bowel pain.
Exercise is crucial to help relieve this gas pain. You may only be able to walk for the first few weeks of recovery, but it will help you tremendously to do so!
Exercise Helps You Sleep
While it is true that rest is good for your recovery, it is also true that too much rest can create a feeling of… well… restlessness! One huge reason why you should exercise after a hysterectomy is because it will help you sleep.
If you are lying in bed trying to sleep, and your legs, body, and mind are full of energy, that means it is probably time to get some exercise. Wear yourself out, but remember not to overdo it! When your body has moved enough, it will let you know, and you may feel tired again.
How You Should Exercise After A Hysterectomy
Now that we have examined all of the reasons why you should exercise after a hysterectomy, you may be wondering how you should exercise after a hysterectomy!
Check out this article called, “11 Post-Hysterectomy Exercise Ideas,” for inspiration! These are all hand-picked exercises that saved my sanity during my hysterectomy recovery.
I Wish You A Speedy Recovery!
A hysterectomy is a major surgery. I feel for you and wish you a speedy recovery. Take care of yourself, and know that you will heal and return to your normal self!!! It just takes time.
Thanks for reading!