Benefits of Prehab
In general, if you prepare for surgery, you do better. Preparation creates a safety margin to better withstand the stress of surgery.
Multiple studies have shown the benefits of participating in a comprehensive prehab program before surgery.
These include:
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Decreased fear and anxiety
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Providing a sense of purpose
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Offering structure and distraction
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Elevated mood and positive attitude
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Feeling more energized
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Feelings of empowerment
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Providing a sense of control
How much benefit can an individual anticipate? It all depends. Where they are starting from, how much effort is put into prehab, and the duration of the program all matter.
Potential benefits include:
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A quicker return to your pre-surgery self and quality of life
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Maintaining your mobility and independence
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Improved pain control
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Decreased length of stay in hospital
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A greater ability to return home to independent living
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Reduced post-operative complications
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A greater ability to withstand complications if they happen
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Getting back to loved ones sooner and work earlier
Surgery can be a major stress on the body and mind. This stress can continue for days, weeks or even months after the surgery, as your body repairs, recovers, and fights off infection.
Your functional ability - your capacity to carry on normal activities of life and daily living - includes such factors as how well you move, your strength, your energy, the ability of your heart and lungs to do their jobs, and many others.
If we plot your level of functional ability before and after surgery, it would look something like the graph above. With surgery, your functional ability dips. This decline is normal as your body transitions to a rest and repair state. And the larger the surgery, the larger the dip and the more help your body needs while recovering.
Depending on many factors, it could take weeks to months to return to your pre-surgery functional ability … before you are back to your daily routines, normal sleep patterns, normal recreational activities, normal emotional state. Some people will never return to this level. One of the largest studies on recovery found up to 50% of people over the age of 60 had not returned to their pre-surgery functional ability 6 months after major abdominal surgery.
As well, despite tremendous progress in the field, complications can still happen after surgery – heart attacks, blood clots, strokes – and other “bad stuff.” Commonly these unpleasant events occur when your body is weakened and vulnerable after the operation (the dip in the curve) leading to even further setbacks.
So, how can prehab help?
By improving your health before surgery, you increase your functional ability and enhance your tolerance to surgical stress. Your baseline functional ability is raised so that the dip after surgery is not as low. The curve returns to pre-surgery levels sooner and you regain your independence and normal life activities sooner.