Physical Therapy After Surgery: Regaining Strength and Mobility

During my medical adventure in 2022, I was bedridden for nearly 3 months. Hardly ate anything, lost 66 pounds.

Surgery was successful. Got the colostomy. Went home very weak. Three weeks post-op, I regained my ability to walk and returned to work. Gained back 30 pounds and have maintained a healthy weight. A year and a half later, I retired.

I have now discovered I'm in poor physical shape. My recovery after surgery allowed me to basically live my life... as long as I didn't "push" myself. I'm currently on a long vacation. Combining flying, driving, hiking, and lugging suitcases around. It's kicking my butt. I'm really weak, strength-wise. Getting out of bed, in and out of the car, up and down stairs. I'm sore all over, especially my pelvic area and lower back.

At home, I use a couch as a bed. I just roll over and stand up. A full-size hotel bed: I gotta prop myself up, swing around, then stand up. Sounds silly... but damn, I struggle. And as I stand... my lower back hurts.

I should have had physical therapy after surgery to build up my core strength. Returning to work right away was a mistake. My work was not physical, so even though I was weak, I could easily do it.

When I return home, I'm going to work on regaining strength. I know at age 67 I must be realistic about what can be accomplished.

So, if you spend time in a hospital bed, or in bed at home and are inactive... once you're on the mend, think about rehabilitation or physical therapy. Being able to walk is just the beginning.

Agree. After getting surgery for my ovarian cancer and ileostomy at the same time, I have lost 70% mobility and spend most of my time in bed. The nerves in my feet and toes also got affected, so I can't feel as much. When I finish my chemo and get a reversal, I will have to do physical therapy. My oncologist suggested it as well.

I had physical therapy, and it was enormously helpful. But I still can't even do as much as BB. I think you may need PT to repeat a couple of times. They get you to point A, and you leave with exercises to continue. When those exercises get easy, you may need help getting to the next milestone.

After surgery, I could not turn myself on my side or swing my legs out of bed. I had some arm strength but couldn't do anything that required abdominal or leg muscles.

My PT got me to the point of walking with a walker for short distances. I was discharged with a wheelchair for longer distances. I used it mostly for medical visits but used the walker at home. The walker was providing both balance and support because my strength was very limited.

At this point, we've gotten rid of the wheelchair, and I am able to walk decent distances. I can easily do long hospital walks, and I only use the walker for balance (peripheral neuropathy in my feet makes my balance a bit shaky). I am slowly increasing my "sit in a straight chair" capacity, but it's slow going.

I'm going to try to switch to walking sticks to see if I can walk in the yard or maybe on the dirt road we live on.

While I continue to make progress, I think I would really benefit from another round of PT.

I have some of the same issues. It's humbling... struggling to turn over in bed or get out of bed. Sitting in chairs has been a recent challenge. All those physical things I took for granted when I was younger. I have kyphosis; my neck extends forward of my shoulders. This causes upper back pain and prevents me from lying flat on my back. It was not bad until I spent 3 months in 2022 lying in bed and becoming severely malnourished. I lost about 3 inches of height due to my head tilting forward.

This trip I'm on was a little tough. But, with rest and staying hydrated... I kept on truckin'.

Beachboy,

I am also 67, and it does feel like the road back to normal strength and ability is very long and daunting. Being bedridden is very hard to overcome. After my 6 weeks in a hospital bed, I felt like a floppy puppet without marionette strings to hold me up.

Like you, I made a slow recovery to the point where I could at least sit, stand, and walk. But as far as the "normal" physical challenges of daily life, they became enormously painful. I love to garden, but couldn't yet get myself up off the ground, so I bought a little plastic stool that allows me to dig, plant, and weed without having to struggle as much to get back up. My legs are spindly and have no muscle strength.

I had a doctor's appointment the other day, and I had to park very far away. As I was slowly shuffling up various steep sidewalks and stairs, people seemed to be bounding past me, like I was standing still. Here I was, gripping the stair handrails for dear life, and others with coffee in hand seemed to be jumping around me. I felt downright frail at that time.

By way of background, I currently have multiple health challenges, just like so many others on this forum. Sometimes, it's difficult to decide which one to concentrate on first. Just when we think we have one issue under control, another one pops up.

I firmly agree that physical therapy and/or rehabilitation can teach us the right and wrong way to do things. The whole point is to get us moving on a daily basis. It might mean gently pushing past a certain discomfort to get us to where we want to go. Even a little bit of movement every day can show tangible gains at the end of the month.

xo

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Yes, it's easy enough to get close to the ground.... getting back up vertical is definitely the challenge. A stool sure helps. My wife was remarking the other day how thin my legs are.. and how my butt disappeared. Yep... I feel it every day.

When I returned home from the trip... I suddenly felt physically better. I could climb stairs with ease. Sit and stand easier. I kind of "got in shape" from the hustle and bustle of traveling. I can now sit without back pain. And a month later, I'm still feeling good.

I've been walking a lot and riding my bike. Also, I lay on my carpet and get back up. I repeat this 10 times, 3 times a day. It's not really exercise, but I'm moving around easier because of it.

Like you mentioned... gotta keep moving. And stay off the comfortable couch.😉

My neurologist suggested hiking sticks. I've been trying to use one instead of the walker. It's been great. I never got comfortable with a traditional cane, but the walking stick is much easier.

I find it helps me pick up stuff from the floor, both stabilizing me going down and pulling myself back up.

I spent three months in the hospital and 40 days in rehab. While in the hospital, during the last two months of my stay, I received 30-40 minutes of PT three times per week. While in rehab, I received PT/OT five times per week. Once released for home, I received a month of OT twice a week and two months of PT three times per week in-home. Next, I attended three months of external PT three times per week. I had lost 100 lbs. while dealing with reconnection surgery and fistulas the first two months and the colostomy the last month of my hospital stay. The extensive therapy was needed to build back up my core to the point where I could walk without an assistive device. PT can be long and arduous, but it is necessary to re-establish your core — I went from wheelchair to standard walker to sit-down walker with wheels to cane to walking unassisted. I never knew my core was that important.

Very good point about our "core." I'm now researching safe core exercises I can do with my colostomy and mild parastomal hernia.