Rehabilitation After Surgery: Just the Figures
Rehabilitation After Surgery: the whole thing in five minutes, for when you want the numbers and nothing else.
Regaining strength and function after an operation.
Key takeaways
- Prehabilitation: exercise and nutrition before surgery improve recovery
- Early mobilisation: reduces complications including clots and chest infections
- Most useful single change: Start exercises before the operation, not only after.
- Commonest mistake: Prolonged bed rest after surgery.
- See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.
The numbers, in one place
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Prehabilitation | exercise and nutrition before surgery improve recovery |
| Early mobilisation | reduces complications including clots and chest infections |
| Stopping smoking before surgery | reduces wound and lung complications |
| Rehabilitation | continues for months after discharge |
In one paragraph
Preparation before surgery affects recovery as much as anything done afterwards, and is usually the part nobody mentions.
Worth doing
- Start exercises before the operation, not only after
- Stop smoking beforehand
- Get moving as early as the team advises
Worth avoiding
- Prolonged bed rest after surgery
- Stopping exercises once pain settles
Where to go next
- Rehabilitation After Surgery: Common Myths and What Guidelines Say
- Rehabilitation After Surgery for Beginners: Where to Start
- Rehabilitation After Surgery — the reference entry
- Physiotherapy Services: What the Evidence Actually Says
- Occupational Therapy: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise
When to speak to a doctor
Seek urgent help for increasing pain, redness, heat or discharge at the wound, fever, or a sudden inability to weight-bear. Call 999 for calf pain and swelling, chest pain, sudden breathlessness or coughing up blood, which can indicate a clot.
Where this comes from
How this page was put together
Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.
Medical disclaimer
This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.
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