Post-Surgery Care Guide: Recovering After Lumbar Spine Surgery
For a successful recovery after spine surgery, the following suggestions are made.
Activity
If you have to go out for personal reasons, don't do anything too hard. Stay away from danger. It is against the rules to lift more than 3.5 kg. It's best not to push or pull. It's all right to go up and down the stairs. Use the handrails and only take one step at a time to keep yourself safe. Take steps to keep from falling, and if you don't know what to do, ask for help.
Exercise
After surgery, you need to get up and walk every day. Add a little bit to the distance you walk each time. You should be able to walk farther and farther until you can walk about a mile one to two months after surgery. During the first month after surgery, you shouldn't wear high heels.
Take care of the cut
Keep the wound dry for at least 48 hours after surgery. Putting on an ointment is not needed. You don't have to cover the cut unless there is blood coming out of it. If the bleeding lasts longer than two days or you notice redness or swelling around the amount, you should call your doctor.
The stitches are taken out ten to twelve days after surgery.
When you're sick, it's essential to check your temperature, especially if you have a fever or chills. If your temperature is at least 38.3 degrees Celsius (101 degrees Fahrenheit), please get in touch with us as soon as you can. You can take a shower and get the cut wet after 48 hours. It would help if you didn't scrape the area where you cut. For the first month after surgery, don't take a bath, soak in a hot tub, or go swimming. This will keep the incision from getting wet. Even though it's normal for the place where the cut was made to itch, you shouldn't scratch it.
Driving
You shouldn't drive for the first two weeks. You can take a short car ride because short distances are okay. You will be given a prescription for pain medicine when you leave the hospital. If the pain medicine upsets your stomach, you can take it with a snack or meal. A restart of Sexual Activity Sexual contact can start up again. Take your time and stay away from situations that make you feel bad.
Diet
Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and don't eat too many fatty foods. It's possible that you won't want to eat after surgery.
Smoking
You shouldn't smoke for at least a few weeks after having surgery. When you smoke, your skin and bones take longer to heal. If you smoke, painkillers may not work as well either.
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