01 Jul General Exercises to do During Recovery: from 07/01/2025
Exercises are so important! They help circulation, range of motion, and to maintain and build strength. Exercising is an important part of your recovery and beyond.
There are 3 keys to a good exercise: Position, Challenge, and Safety.
1. Find Your Position.
Start in a position you can manage – lying, seated, or standing. It’s important to find a position where you are stable (think – you won’t lose your balance and end up on the floor), where you are moving with gravity (if you are very weak or painful) or against gravity (if you have the strength), and if you are supported or unsupported.
Here are some basic exercises to get you started:
Lying: start on your back.
Shoulder flexion – raise both arms straight up in front of you to rest your hands on the bed above your head (or as far as you can go).
Shoulder abduction – lift both arms straight out to the side to 90 degrees (the top part of the snow angel), slide arms along bed.
Bicep curls – position arms at sides, bend at elbows to lift hands toward shoulders.
Heelslides – start with legs straight, bend one leg at a time at the hip and knee, sliding your heel along the bed toward your hips, then slide heel back to starting position.
Hip abduction – slide straight leg one at a time along the bed out to the side to about a 45 degree angle (bottom part of snow angel), return.
Straight leg raise – lift straight leg one at a time so that your heel is not touching the bed.
Seated: (can do supported then progress to unsupported)
Arm exercises as above.
Shoulder external rotation – keep upper arms at sides, bend elbows to 90 degrees, rotate at shoulders to move hands in toward stomach and out and away from stomach, like you are pulling something apart.
Ankle pumps – position feet flat on floor, lift heels while pushing through balls of feet, then lift forefoot while pushing through heels.
Marching – alternate lifting right and left foot a few inches off floor, as if you were marching.
Long arc quad – one leg at a time, keep thighs in contact with chair surface, straighten knee by kicking foot forward and up.
Standing: (make sure you are in a safe place and have something to hold on to)
Arm exercises as above, alternate right then left to allow for balance support.
Marching – alternate lifting right then left foot off floor by bending hip and knee.
Hip abduction – one leg at a time, lift foot off floor by moving leg out to the side, keep toes pointed straight ahead.
Hip extension – one leg at a time, lift foot off floor by moving straight leg behind you (this will be a small movement, try to feel it in your glutes).
Heelraises – lift both heels off the floor by pushing through the balls of the feet. (tip-toes)
Start with 5-10 repetitions, 1x/day and progress from there. Listen to your body and watch your form. That will tell you how many you should do and when to progress.
2. Challenge Yourself
Challenging yourself is the only way to build strength and function. The exercises should leave you feeling tired and maybe a little sore. They should not exhaust you to where you cannot do anything else that day or cause sharp or persistent pain. Choose exercises that you can perform with good form and are able to complete at least 3 reps (but, when they get easy and you are doing 20+ reps, it’s time to make it harder!!) You can challenge yourself by increasing reps, sets per day, adding gravity / weight / resistance, or change from supported sitting to unsupported sitting.
3. Stay Safe!!
Follow your precautions. Do not attempt an exercise that will violate a movement precaution or a weight bearing precaution. Example – if you just had hip surgery and you have posterior hip precautions (your incision is posterior / lateral hip) DO NOT do the seated marching, because that will violate your no hip flexion greater than 90 degrees precaution. If you have just had open heart surgery, DO NOT do the shoulder abduction exercise because that violates your ‘stay in the tube’ precaution. If you are partial weight bearing on your right leg, DO NOT do standing exercises with your left leg, that violates the precaution of not bearing weight through your right leg (since you have to shift your weight onto your right leg in order to pick up your left leg).
Do your exercises in a safe place. I recommend the bed for lying exercises (when you are weak and recovering, the floor is a hard place to get up and down from), a comfortable and supportive arm chair for seated exercises, and the kitchen sink for standing exercises (though you can also use the back of a sturdy chair or your walker for balance and support). Also, if standing, keep a chair close by for rest breaks. Your risk for falls increases with fatigue and pain!
Have someone near-by. Especially if you are trying a new challenge. In case you do lose your balance or experience pain and need a chair, make sure there is somebody in the house that can assist you. Also, it is nice to have a buddy to do the exercises with or to keep an eye on your form.
If you are unsure about which exercises are ok for you and your specific situation, contact your healthcare team or reach out to My Rehab Answers.
Schedule a 1:1 consultation to talk through exercises, progressions, and form with our experienced physical therapists.
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