Exercises after an operation

During an operation, it is always important to follow the surgeon’s instructions regarding load, movement and resilience as a matter of priority! Initially, after a spinal surgery, rotational movements are often restricted or prohibited. This means that they should be avoided during therapy until they are released.

The exercises for basic tension are best suited to gently exercise the back after an operation. Targeted tensing and releasing not only improves coordination and strength in the affected area, but also the supply of blood, which transports nutrients and oxygen, and the removal of metabolic products are improved. This promotes healing.

After an operation, the back muscles, which go from vertebra to vertebra and stabilize our spine, are often inhibited. This musculature can be gently reactivated by the basic tension. In addition, a muscularly stabilized position of the lumbar spine protects against incorrect strain in everyday life.

After an operation, transfers from certain postures should always be carried out with a good basic tension. This protects the injured structures from shear forces. This means that the patient should consciously tense his or her core muscles especially when getting up from a lying to a sitting position or from a sitting to a standing position.

If not much training is allowed in the back yet, the peripherally damaged structures can be taken care of particularly well after an operation. This means that it is not the damage to the back that is trained, but the consequential damage in, for example, the legs. For this purpose, gymnastic exercises for the leg muscles can be used, a gait training in parallel bars, on supports or free, or also a sensitivity training.

If the operation sequences allow it, the leg press is also very suitable for strengthening the thigh muscles in a targeted manner. In addition to improving strength, as soon as mobility has been released, mobility should also be practiced again within the permitted range. The back can be mobilized by simple movements to the side (lateral inclination), tilting the pelvis (see above) forward and backward, or careful rotation, for example on a stool).

Later, the stabilizing muscles can be activated by coordination training. For this purpose it is also advisable to initiate exercises via the arms and legs. If the arms are moved quickly back and forth beside the body in an upright, healthy position (see above), as in sprinting, the upper body tries to move along with the swing of the arms. If you consciously hold against this movement, you tense the entire deep torso muscles and practise stability.

Exercises for at home

After a herniated disc, it is particularly important to learn how to deal consciously with your body. A homework program is essential and should be urgently worked out in the physiotherapy. Good exercises for at home are the gymnastic exercises mentioned above, as no equipment is needed for this.

Bridging (lifting the buttocks from the basic tension in the supine position) can easily be done on the floor, the sofa or the bed. If abdominal muscle exercises are well and safely mastered, they can also be performed at home. In addition, back-friendly handling is best trained in the home environment.

Lifting from a laundry box, at first empty and later perhaps weighted down, offers good conditions for learning how to lift with your back in mind and can also be used to strengthen the leg muscles (knee bends). A stretching and mobilisation programme should be carried out in addition. This includes, depending on the symptoms and cause of the herniated disc, e.g. the torsional stretching position or the package seat.

For the rotational stretching position, the knees are turned from the supine position to one side towards the floor, the opposite arm and head are turned to the other side. For the parcel seat, the buttocks are placed on the heels while kneeling, the forehead is placed on the floor, while the arms are turned back beside the body. Basically there is a wide range of exercises after a slipped disc of the lumbar spine for home use.

A suitable tailored program should be worked out with a therapist. In physiotherapy, the exercises (described above) should be explained and practiced until the patient can perform them safely and correctly. If necessary, the patient’s body perception should be trained and improved.

Independent practice is absolutely necessary for the success of the therapy. In addition to exercises, soft tissue techniques and mobilisation techniques are also used in the therapy. Here, damaged or altered structures (e.g. tense muscles and fasciae, blocked vertebrae) are specifically practiced, which the patient cannot do alone at home.