Preparing For The Unexpected With Daily Movement

Daily exercise allows you to maintain the best version of yourself.

As a nurse, I routinely see patients before and after surgery. Simple procedures as well as complicated traumas arrive to the unit and are cared for until they are able to discharge, either to a facility or home. The difference in where a patient goes following medical clearance, depends on a number of factors, including PT's assessment. One of the most important forms of care provided to a post operative patient, is physical rehabilitation. Movement to strengthen and develop the necessary ability to care for oneself in a safe and competent manner is vital to recovery.

Physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) see patients following most procedures, for a large number of admissions, and for those that show a decline in daily activity due to their current state, acute and chronic. For some patients, a decline in ADLs is simply a road bump that needs a little bit of time in order to fix. Depending on where you began, many times, determines where your new normal will be.

Having an average or above average ability physically allows someone to take a bigger hit from an acute stress versus someone who has difficulty with standing and walking on a daily basis. A patient unable to walk prior to surgery, no matter how serious, is going to have even greater difficulty following their procedure. All body systems can potentially take a hit, as laying supine and in a bed for any amount of time starts the body to begin to decondition. It becomes an uphill battle to regain whatever is lost, and get back to the norm of what each person's physical ability once was. For some, they will never get back to their preprocdure fighting shape, causing a decline in everything from their mental health, to their quality of life and a dependence on others to care for them.

On the other end of the spectrum, is an individual who observes daily activity and consistent exercise as part of their every day life. Someone who can run miles and miles and lift heavy weight and consider it normal or enjoyable, is going to have much greater success after any type of procedure. When you fall to a lower level of activity, it helps to start at the top floor. Getting through the post procedure phase is similar to exercise in a number of ways. PT/OT is essentially working out, with less intensity, until you've reached a level of proficiency that ensures you will be safe to care for yourself once you are discharged from the hospital. Not only is the physical portion like exercise, the mental aspect is as well.

Mental and emotional outlook can determine a lot when trying to make it through a rehabilitation program. "I can't do it," is one of the most devastating statements an individual can make that ensures they will have difficulty rehabilitating. Not used to pushing yourself physically and mentally? Then rehab is going to be hard, maybe even impossible at times. But having exercised routinely for some time and knowing you can push your body to points of near exhaustion or at least through fatigue, is a valuable tool.

Traumas coming into the hospital; gunshot wounds, stabbings, car accidents, falls, and acute illness; gallbladder, appendix, bowel obstruction, cardiac issues, are all things that typically are unexpected. Although we don't know when they may occur, we can understand that as people, we will face a hospitalization likely at some point for some ailment. We can't know for sure when or what is going to happen, but we can take control by making sure we are in the best physical shape possible to handle whatever it is we may have to someday deal with.

Making sure you live an active lifestyle is not just about looking better, feeling better, or saying you can do things others can't. It's about allowing your body to be efficient and capable of what it is meant to do. Sitting for hours at a time without engaging our muscles is not something we were meant to do. "Use it or lose it" is exactly what happens to the human body, even more so during times of stress. Engaging in a routine physical activity plan will ensure you are ready to deal with anything life may throw at you. Again, this does not mean you have to prep and run a marathon or max out the heaviest stack at your favorite machine at the gym. It means you should be able to take care of yourself physically for as long as possible without declining simply because you didn't move enough.

Throughout your day, stand more, Get up and walk when you're scrolling on your phone. Actively pursue something that is a little more difficult today, like taking the stairs or parking in the furthest spot at work or the store. Most of us need a reason to get up and do something. I can't think of a better reason to get up and move, than the benefits and outcome you receive from getting out of your chair and going for a walk.