Recovery

[SMILE4BULLETS]

Gents (and ladies of course),

Researched this and couldn't find any hits on it so here goes: I had an appendectomy in late June. I'm finding it harder than I thought to recover physically as far as getting my run times back down, more pull-ups, etc. I know all this stuff takes time, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this after a major surgery. I commission in December so I'm preparing for TBS. Anyone got any suggestions, good workouts, etc? Thanks,

S/F

 

[pdx]

I had a pretty hellacious appendectomy in 1998 (14 days in the hospital), so I can relate. What is your idea of a long time? It took me about 2 months before I could do situps and run, and 3 months to be in shape for contact sports again. From there, it took me another month to return to pre-op shape. As a comparison, "normal" appendectomy recovery time is only about a month. Then you have to deal with the effects of the time off training.

If you are having a significantly longer wait than this, make sure you keep talking to your doc. There are things that can go wrong that impede healing.

 

[SMILE4BULLETS]

well i dont think anything is seriously wrong, the area is still tender and yes sit-ups hurt like a mofo, so does hanging from a pull-up bar. did your appendectomy have any implications for API, etc? im going down to NOMI on 11 Sept. to have my flight physical so i hope it doesnt cause any major problems...

 

[pdx]

I had zero problems with API and with NOMI, but I had 5 years or so between the operation and my flight physical. An appendectomy is completely waiverable, but you will have to demonstrate complete recovery and pass all the physical requirements.

 

[red92gt]

Ahh..I know this subject well as of late
Last season (I was on Crew at my college) during winter training I injured my leg snowboarding, and was out for a month and a half. I got back from that, finished the season and started training for OCS, and got hit by a car and broke my foot. I still can't run, but I can cross-train for the first time in 2 months. Yeah, I lost everything I've built up. The key to recovery, at least for endurance, is this-
If it hurts to run, try things like a stationary bike, rowing machine, swimming, or even one of those elliptical runners. Measure your heart rate, keep it between 125-150bpm. To make this easier to check, you heartrate should be ~22-25 beats every 10 seconds. I know you will probably want to do harder stuff (trust me, I've been there), but you will recover faster this way. Especially with things like the rowing machine (if you know how to do it, if you haven't been trained at all you could hurt yourself..look up technique online), you will build your muscle back at a much faster rate than any other exercise. Good luck, PM me with any questions

 

[pdx]

I would totally concur with red's post. I bought a heart rate monitor and followed it religiously. I had never run on the treadmill (hate it), and I had no feel for training on other equipment. Since the appendectomy is in your core region, it hurts to do everything (bike, rowing, etc), but if you can find something that lets you get your heart rate up without busting your gut (literally) do it. I had a buddy with a recumbent bike and that worked well for me. I could slouch a little and take the pressure off my abs while still getting a passable cardio workout.