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'.