Health Guide

As a nurse working in an Outpatient Surgery department, part of my job involves taking care of patients during the post-operative period and getting them up and discharged home. Some people want to go home as soon as they can but others have a hard time waking up, they’re hurting (or think it will hurt when they move) or they’re nauseated and they just don’t want to move. Or maybe they are feeling all of these things and they just want to stay there and be taken care of. But it is called “Outpatient Surgery” which means people have surgery and then go home without spending the night in the hospital.

Sometimes the hardest part of my job is getting my patient up out of bed and out the door. I spend an hour taking care of them, trying to help them feel as good as possible and then tell them they have to get up and move, even if it hurts. It isn’t easy to convince someone who is already in pain that getting up to walk will help them feel better, especially when taking just those first couple of steps from the cart to the chair are exhausting. Not only am I a RN, but I’ve also been a surgical patient and I remember well how difficult it was to take those first steps that first time I got out of bed after having a cesarean section… I never imagined that walking could hurt my abdominal area so bad! But most patients who get up and move around a little bit every hour find out that it’s easier and feels better than staying in bed all day and then attempting to move. Personally, I can tell you that after those first few steps, it did get easier… not right away, but it did get easier and actually felt better being up and moving than it sitting all the time.

Now, obviously, some patients, depending on what they’ve had done, can’t and shouldn’t be up on their feet all the time, especially in the first day or two following surgery. But even when we tell someone to go home and keep their leg elevated for the first 48 hours after surgery, we tell them to wiggle their toes, rotate, flex and extend their ankles, take deep breaths, cough, and move as much as possible. Moving, taking deep breaths, and coughing after surgery are important to help prevent problems that come with inactivity, including pneumonia and blood clots.

Just like activity is important for surgical patients to heal faster and get healthy, activity is also important for the rest of us if we want to stay or get healthy.

If you feel like I have for most of my life, then you don’t like exercise very much. But, if you want to maintain your health as it is today, get healthier or lose weight, you need some sort of exercise in your life on a regular basis. So, maybe we should just not talk about exercising… instead let’s just decide that we need to move more.

If you want to start going to a gym, aerobic classes, or taking part in an organized sport on a regular basis, that’s great, but moving doesn’t have to be something that makes you feel tired and worn out just thinking about it. Moving can be as simple as doing household chores and yard work, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking a walk outside on your lunch break, or parking your car at the far end of the lot so you have to walk a little further. Take your dog for a walk or push your infant or toddler in a stroller. Go for a bike ride with your family… not only will you be moving and getting exercise, you will be having some great family time!

Exercise can…
- Increase metabolism
- Improve indigestion and sleep
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve cholesterol levels
- Help slow the progression of osteoporosis
- Increase mental alertness
- Strengthen muscles and bones
- Increase flexibility
- Improve stamina
- Reduce depression
- Improve self-esteem

You don’t have to become an athlete to see changes in your health & how you feel. Just add a little movement to your life every day.

- Walking briskly 30-45 minutes a day at least 3 days a week provides the regular aerobic exercise that helps strengthen your heart, lungs, and cardiovascular system and helps improve blood circulation.
- Everyday activities can make a difference – yard work, housework, taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- The key is to develop a regular physical activity habit, something you enjoy doing (or at least don’t mind doing) – and will keep doing – month in and month out.

As a general goal, we should all aim for 30 minutes of physical activity at least five days a week. For greater health benefits or weight loss, we should get 45-60 minutes of activity five or more days a week.
If you don’t think you have the time in your schedule for 30 minutes or more a day, don’t let this be an excuse to keep you from moving. Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits… if you can’t fit in one 30-minute walk, try three 10-minute walks instead. And if even that sounds like too much, just decide to move, even if it’s only for 10 minutes. Remember, even moving around the house or yard counts as activity. A little exercise is better than none!

Although I enjoy watching sports, I’ve never been athletic. I tell myself that I don’t like exercise, but I don’t think that’s true… I went to aerobics classes three to five times a week for about five years. I loved the way I felt when I was working out! I quit going to the classes when my job schedule and my kids’ activities changed. Unfortunately, when I quit going to the aerobics class, I quit doing anything. Now, I am 30 pounds heavier, trying to lose weight and I know that’s not going to happen if I’m not moving. I’m learning to like moving again… my activity of choice these days is walking and I actually look forward to it. I’ve always thought I’d like to be a runner but then the voice of resistance speaks up to tell me I can’t do that. I’ve decided to quit listening to that voice! The last couple of days when I’ve went for my walk, even in the heat and humidity, I have jogged – very short distances, but I’m doing it!

You can do this too! Stop listening to the voice of resistance telling you that you won’t like it or you can’t move enough. And when resistance is telling you there isn’t enough time, don’t forget that a little exercise, no matter what it is, is always better than none.

For your health… to look better, to be better, and to feel better (mentally and physically)… just get up and move every day! You can enjoy moving and even look forward to it. Whatever makes you move more is the perfect thing for you to do!
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