Post-Surgical Rehabilitation

The early days — protecting your chest

After an operation, pain and reduced movement can let parts of the lung close down and secretions build up, raising the risk of a chest infection.¹ Early physiotherapy counters this:

• Get moving early — sitting out of bed and short, frequent walks are among the most effective ways to prevent chest and circulation complications.²
• Deep breathing and airway clearance — regular deep breaths and supported huffing/coughing (hugging a pillow over the wound helps) keep the lungs open and clear.³
• Good positioning and pain control — being upright and comfortable lets you breathe and move more effectively; time your exercises to your pain relief.

The weeks after — rebuilding

Once you are safe and healing, rehabilitation shifts to restoring what surgery and rest took away:

• Graded exercise — steadily increasing walking and activity to rebuild fitness and stamina.
• Strength and movement — restoring muscle, joint range and function for everyday tasks, within any surgical precautions.
• Breathing efficiency — continued breathing work, and inspiratory muscle training where helpful.
• Confidence and pacing — learning how much to do, and how to build up safely without over-doing it.

Working within your precautions

Your surgical team may set specific restrictions — for example limits on lifting or arm movements after cardiac or breast surgery (sternal or wound precautions). A good rehabilitation plan respects these while still keeping you as active as is safe, and progresses as your surgeon allows.

References & evidence base

1. Boden I, Skinner EH, Browning L, et al. Preoperative physiotherapy for the prevention of respiratory complications after upper abdominal surgery: pragmatic, double blinded, multicentre randomised controlled trial (LIPPSMAck-POP). BMJ 2018;360:j5916.
2. Reeve JC, Nicol K, Stiller K, et al. Does physiotherapy reduce the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications following pulmonary resection? Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg 2010;10(3):384–387.
3. Agostini P, Naidu B, Cieslik H, et al. Effectiveness of incentive spirometry in patients following thoracotomy and lung resection. Thorax 2013;68(6):580–585.

References are numbered in citation order (Vancouver/BMJ style) and were current at the time of writing. Guidelines are living documents — verify against the latest version before clinical use.