While waiting at home you can get ready for your surgery by doing these exercises. When you come to the hospital, these exercises will be reviewed with you by your physiotherapist.
Deep breathing
The first few days after your surgery you will have more mucous (phlegm) in your lungs than normal. You will be encouraged to deep breathe and cough often. This will help your lungs and prevent you from having a chest infection, like pneumonia.
To practice deep breathing at home follow these steps:
One quick test:
- Sitting, breathe with left hand on belly, right hand on chest. If only right hand moves, breathing is to shallow.
- Good breathing uses diaphragm (divider between chest & belly).
- To develop this, focus on left hand (& belly) moving out on inhale and in on exhale.
- This uses lower lobes of lungs and oxygen reaches all parts of body.
- Repeat five times, rest a few minutes and repeat five more times. Do these exercises twice a day.
- If you have any chest pain while deep breathing; stop and rest. The next time you try, do only two or three deep breaths at a time.
Coughing
After your surgery your chest will be sore. This is normal.
Practice at home by:
- Holding a small pillow in front of your chest will make coughing more comfortable and prevent strain on your chest
- Take a deep breath in.
- Cough two to three times in a row as you breathe out.
Daily leg exercises
Moving your legs in bed after surgery will help prevent blood clots.
Practice these exercises at home; twice a day:
- Move your foot up and down five times, each foot.
- Move your foot around in a circle five times, each foot.
- Bend your knee up and down five times each leg. If you have a graft taken from your leg your leg may be a little stiff and painful. This exercise will help to reduce the stiffness and pain.
You will do these exercises daily after your operation.
