Warding off post-op back/shoulder pain? Stretching before surgery?

[jyg]

After hearing about potential back and shoulder injury before open heart surgery, I've been wondering (with 8 days left) if it would help to acutely stretch those and/or other areas of the body. Any experience or advice with this? Any physical therapists on the forums?

 

[Debbrn]

I did the same thing before my surgery. I also brought something a heat back I could put in the microwave that fit around my neck. I got the very common stiff neck pain. It worked like a charm. Better than any medicine.

Debbie

 

[pellicle]

can't help much with the pain stuff, but can suggest that a thick strong knotted rope attached to the foot of your bed will help you with getting up.

Keep the elbows tucked in to your sides and pull from down at your groin and it helps you to get up unassisted.

I have read that current view is DO NOT use a rope from suspended above the bed.

make DAMN sure that the rope is well secured.

The rope should be soft yet strong, not a nylon one. If there is a climbing group you know then some abesiling rope that it out of its safety (due to wear) will do the job perfectly. Should be able to get a few meters for next to nothing.

also, since its 8 days left. Do you like Korean food? Do you live anywhere you can get KimChi? If yes then get your hands on some KimChi (just the ordinary variety, not any of the ones with fish or squid in them) and take that into hospital (or have a visitor bring it). This will help you to 'move' properly after surgery. If you don't start the bowels up (as is actually common) they're going to give you things to have that happen.

I have found (from experience) that this happens to me and that KimChi on the side with lunch and dinner helps that. See my post on that here (showthread.php?41667)

also, I found that the nights were cool, but that hospital blankets (and the bedding) made me sweaty. So I got my wife to bring me in a thin micro-fleece blanket (as we use outdoors). Weighs little and really helped me from getting chills and without as much of the sweats.

Take also a tablet or laptop so you can entertain yourself (and us) posting about stuff that happens in there).

Personally I think you're doing really well at the moment!

 

[gerrychuck]

After hearing about potential back and shoulder injury before open heart surgery, I've been wondering (with 8 days left) if it would help to acutely stretch those and/or other areas of the body. Any experience or advice with this? Any physical therapists on the forums?

As a matter of fact, there are physical therapists on this forum! Stretching in advance may help reduce post-surgical neck and back stiffness - a bit. However, during surgery your ribs (and therefore the joints between the ribs and the thoracic spine) move well beyond their normal limits and in directions that can't happen with an intact sternum. That being the case, you can't really stretch in any way that will effectively prevent all of these problems. For me, there was only minor, occasional upper back discomfort after surgery; when I did experience it I had to think for a bit to figure out where it had come from. Getting moving as quickly as possible after surgery will probably make more of a difference than stretching in advance. Hope that helps!

 

[jyg]

Awesome suggestions, thank you so much. Heat pad, check! Foreknowledge that its just a fact of the surgery, check! Kimchi, check! (After all, my wife is Korean, hahaha).

p.s. Pellicle, I gotta say when I eat kimchi I really go to town on it and it doesn't have that effect on me. I eat insanely spicy things without a problem on either end :biggrin2:. But, prunes... oh yeah.

 

[T in YVR]

I think you can stretch all you want before surgery on your own, but it may not help that much. I agree with the point that you are moved in unnatural ways during surgery. If I was to do it over I would go to a massage therapist and get 3 or 4 appointments lined up before my surgery to help further loosen things up around the shoulders, neck and back. That may be helpful (IMHO). And then you definitely need to get moving pretty quickly afterwards to loosen things up post surgery.

 

[Jkm7]

I found the mandatory walking to be extremely helpful in dealing with the neck and shoulder pain. I must have been swinging my arms just enough in just the right way for the movement to provide relief. The walking is the single best thing we can do to aid our healing, IMO.

 

[LubDubLubDub]

I was quite sore from those ribs being abused. At my hospital, they provided a simple rice pillow that they heated in a microwave. I'd put that between my back and a seatback, and the relief was immense. Bring your own rice pack, or ask if they'll have them there for you.. You'll be fine.

 

[Guest]

I found that buying a cushion similar to one you might use in a truck proved to be quite a bit of help. I placed a pillow at the back board of the bed then set the cushion against it. There were two small arms on the cushion so I could place my arms on them; so slept more or less sitting up.

The pacemaker I had implanted hurts (and still does) so this helped quite a lot as well! I walk as much as I can and this seems to also help; since I can't swing my left arm (pacemaker side) as much as my right.