General exercise (not Kegel/pelvic floor) after prostate cancer surgery

It is now the 11th day after surgery. I’ve been doing a bit of walking within the house and a tiny bit outside. But now I’m ready to do much more.  [In addition to the list below, also see this]

GIVE INTERNAL INJURIES TIME TO HEAL

It takes at least 6 weeks for a firm scar tissue to develop in both your wound and in the areas where you had surgery. If you over-do before that time, you may disrupt the delicate connection between your bladder and urethra. This could lead to long term problems with urinary control or a hernia in the incision. [Source]

Before beginning any exercise program, talk to your physician about adapting a regimen to your level of health and fitness. If you participated in vigorous activity, such as running, before surgery, you may be able to resume your fitness plan after giving your body plenty of time to heal. [Source]

SHORT WALKS, MANY TIMES A DAY

The foundation for this program should be frequent short periods of walking. Depending on your age and general condition of health, it may be enough the first week to walk 6 or 8 times for 5-10 minutes inside of your home. See how you feel but each time try to go a little farther. As you feel comfortable or as you need to get out of the house, move your walks outdoors, at first to the back yard. Then walk the block. In time you will be walking a block then two then a mile and so forth. Remember at first to keep the walks short and do them several times a day with rest in between. Use the rest time to read, relax, and learn something new. [Source]

From week 3, longer walks up to 90 minutes + even longer after 5th week.  So also treadmill in the gym.

STRETCHING

Go slowly and move into these smoothly and easily.

1. Stretch on an empty stomach. Wait at least 2 hours after a meal
2. Wear loose fitting clothing
3. Practice in a warm room after warming up the muscles, for instance, after walking.
4. Do not hold your breath during the exercises but breathe evenly throughout the stretch.

Standing in place. First check your posture by standing against a wall. If standing correctly your buttock, shoulders and back of head should be pressed against the wall. Straighten your back and legs and feel the stretch. BREATHE. Gently tighten your stomach muscles by pulling them in to the wall. Stop if you feel any discomfort. Do this several times, for a couple of minutes each time. As you feel able, you can do the same stretch on the rug or floor.

Bending. With time you will be able to work on bending more during the stretch. A modified toe touch is performed by starting in the standing position and gently bending your neck then shoulders forward. Stop if it hurts, but do a little more each day. The object is bending and loosening your back and shoulders, not to touch your toes.

Simple yoga positions to build your muscle strength. Get down on your hands and knees on a comfortable surface like a rug. Concentrating on your lower back, gently arch your back like a cat stretching. Your hands and feet should not leave the ground. Work to feel each vertebra in your spine move upward. Breathe and then relax. Now bend your back downward like a saddle-worn horse, again feeling each vertebrae move toward the floor. Breathe and stop if any pain or discomfort. [Source]

WEIGHTS

“Do not lift over 20 pounds for the first 3 weeks.” [Source] (Some people recommend even less, such as 5 pounds!)

Best to start after 8 weeks (in my case from 7 October – I.E. DURING THE ENTIRE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, DO NOT LIFT WEIGHTS IN THE GYM OR ELSEWHERE

TENNIS

“It was not until approximately three months after surgery, however, that I felt that my full strength had returned.” – take it easy – tennis can wait three months – start it in November

THIS ARTICLE HAS AN EXCELLENT TABLE FOR EXERCISES