When recovering from a spine disease, there are things you can do to help yourself and things you should avoid. Here are 6 things you ought to do to speed up your recovery.
Back and spine surgeries are intense medical procedures that require a lengthy recovery time. Should you choose to opt for minimally invasive surgical procedures, this can minimize the recovery time. Otherwise, open spine surgeries come with a long recovery and ongoing pain until you make a full recovery. Here are 6 things you could do to help speed that recovery time and ease some of your pain.
The 6 Things to do to Recover from Degenerative Disc Disease
If you would like to speed up and ease your own recovery after surgery, here are 6 things you could do to help yourself.
1 – Rest First
When you have a procedure like an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, the back will need longer to recover than from other procedures. Although the surgeon can graft the bone between your discs, it takes time for the bones to fuse themselves after the surgery. You will feel excessively tired for the first few days, even for a full week after your surgery. The body does most of its healing when it is asleep. Do not fight the process. Allow your body the extra sleep it needs to heal.
2 – Avoid Exercise for 1 Week
It would be wrong of any medical professional to tell you to completely avoid any exercise, but for those first few days, you should stay off your feet. Don’t allow yourself to vegetate, get up and walk around if you can. However, avoid exercise for the first few days. Light exercise can resume after the second week, but don’t push yourself if you don’t feel able. If you feel intense pain in the days post-operation, you should see your doctor about a potential infection.
3 – Light Exercise and Activities After 2 Weeks
You ought to wait for two weeks minimum before you start doing small tasks around your house again. Things like running the kids to school or washing dishes are smaller tasks that you can build up to during this time. Do not push yourself. Rest when you get tired, and be patient with yourself. Pushing yourself too hard at this stage could cause your injuries to worsen.
4 – Try Breathing Exercises
It is important that you maintain a patient attitude with yourself. Recovery times can vary, but it will inevitably frustrate you when you can’t do the things you can normally do for weeks on end. Invest some of your time in learning some calming techniques. Breathing exercises can help. Stress-busting exercises and even guided meditations from YouTube can help. Be careful with ordinary stress-eliminating techniques. Taking a brisk walk or spending time in nature is not as easy after spine surgery.
5 – Don’t Return to Work for 6 Weeks
Not returning to work for at least 6 weeks allows you to rest your injury and gives you plenty of recovery time. If you try to return to work in 4 weeks, you may aggravate your injury. You should wait until this time until you attempt your hobbies or plan to spend an entire day outside of your home.
6 – Nothing Strenuous for 12 Weeks
Lastly, don’t try to do any heavy exercises until at least 12 weeks after your spine surgery. If you want to stay on track for speedy healing, do not do anything which risks your regression. Other factors which will speed your recovery include eating a healthy diet, moving around every thirty minutes from sitting, and taking any prescription medications the doctor issues you.
Recover From Back Surgery Faster
Using these recovery tips, you should recover from back and spine surgery faster.
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