How Long After Plastic Surgery Can Exercise be Resumed?

There’s no catch-all answer to when exercise can be resumed after plastic surgery. The time a patient needs to recuperate before physical activity really depends and varies on the operation that was performed and how a patient's body heals. It’s imperative to follow a surgeon’s directions explicitly when it comes to exercise after any operation. Starting to exercise before it is absolutely safe puts the patient at risk for bleeding, swelling, bruising, stitch bursting or even faintness or much harsher consequences requiring medical attention.

Getting Back Into Exercise After Plastic Surgery

Walking is generally encouraged as a first return to exercise, as it encourages circulation. At the very least a patient should not risk undoing what his or her surgery’s goal was and, in the extreme case, should not risk a rush to the hospital for life-sustaining treatment, all because he or she tried to exercise too soon.

Resuming Activity After Breast Augmentation

For breast augmentation and/or lifts, patients are generally encouraged to start getting around the second day, and maybe return to work after a week if there’s no heavy lifting involved. As for exercise, many patients can start a slow walk routine, for short bursts of time, after about two weeks. The doctor can recommend the correct bra to wear to minimize skin stretch or drooping of the breast.

Some doctors do not recommend high impact aerobics or other exercise for those who obtain sub muscular implants, and to go easy on the weightlifting. Frequent muscle contractions from these two forms of exercise might cause the implants to displace, at least temporarily. Again, there is no absolute rule to this, so the candidate should question his or her doctor and follow the doctor’s suggestions.

Exercising After Facial Surgery

Eyelid surgery usually allows the patient to get around independently by the second or third day. The patient can usually return to work in about a week, but exercise is not recommended for at least two weeks, in order to keep sweat from interfering with tear ducts or stitching. Also, swelling around the eye might make it a bad idea to try exercising if the line of vision is compromised.

With a facelift, a person can usually get around without help by the second day, but probably won’t feel comfortable going out in public for at least a week. The patient can usually return to work by two weeks after surgery, but exercise is not recommended for two weeks, and even then, it should be kept light. A person can return to a regular exercise routine 4-6 weeks after the procedure, as long as he or she is recovering at a normal rate. This same information goes for rhinoplasty (nose job) as well.

Exercise After Liposuction

Liposuction varies too greatly to make any generalizations, because it really depends on how much has been performed and where on the body it has been done. Many doctors recommend, if it has been done in one spot, gentle walking within 3-4 days to get circulation going and help to heal the body.