One of the wonderful people on my life’s journey is about to undergo a medical procedure that require some healing and recovery. So I decided to make this week’s blog about some pointers on recovery and healing.
My Healing and Recovery Credentials
At the time of writing this article, I am 50 years old and I heal more quickly than most people. I don’t usually get sick, but the times that I have gotten a cold/flu over the last 5 years, I’ve #1-spent only 10-25% of the time being sick that all of my coworkers, friends, and/or family have; #2 Typical abrasions that are bleeding enough to require intervention to stop or control the bleeding are completely sealed within 12 hours, have new pink skin within 24-36, are at indentation level within 2 days, and are unnoticeable by the 4th day; and #3 Unfamiliar physical activity (finding those muscles you didn’t know you had) and high performance/output trauma (light damage from excessive weight, repetition, shock, etc.) show up as sore within a few hours (not next day or the day after) and are alleviated within 24 hours of incident.
My Ventral Hernia Surgery Walk Through
Day 1 (Friday) Had surgery, was told recovery time would be 4-6 weeks before I could lift 10 lbs. It would also be 2-3 days before I could return to work or walk around for more than a bathroom break. Surgery was a little complicated and needed 2 meshes put in, one on each side of the wall. Was told healing may take a little longer because of the issues.
After getting home, I started walking around the house every time I woke up, only a few steps away from the couch and back to lay down and sleep or rest again to start out with. But every time I would wake up or felt that I could move at all, I would get up and take a walk for as long as I comfortably could. Drank as much water as I could take in, rested, and walked for the rest of the day.
Day 2 began walking on treadmill, started at 0.5 MPH and worked my way up to 1.5 MPH. Kept downing water and resting. No work.
Day 3 continue with treadmill, started at 0.5 MPH and worked my way up to 2 MPH. Kept downing water and resting. No work.
Day 4 Went to work, no lifting. Treadmill at 2-2.5 MPH. Lots of water and adequate rest at night.
Day 5 – 7 went to work and lived mostly normal life with no lifting. Treadmill 2.5 MPH. Lots of water and adequate rest at night.
Week 2 – worked treadmill speed up to 3.5 MPH and stretched. Careful with lifting weights at work 10 lbs. max per physician recommendations. Lots of water and adequate rest at night.
Week 3 – Felt normal, started more aggressive stretching/yoga poses and upped my weight restriction for work (lifting up to 30 lbs.). Lots of water and adequate rest at night.
Week 4 – Went in to have stitches removed. Skin had already completely grown over stitches so it didn’t make sense to remove them. The female nurse had NEVER seen anything like it in her “decades of experience” (I never ask a woman’s weight or age unless I’m coaching them so I don’t know how many decades she was talking about and won’t be meandering a guess here). I asked if she wanted to know “how”, but she wasn’t interested in how it was possible. I asked her and the surgeon about exercising with weight and they both said not for at least another 1-2 months. Against their recommendations, but in line with my intuition, I went home and started exercising with light weight. If they weren’t interested in how fast I was healing, I decided to take responsibility for my own therapy and timelines.
Week 5 – By this time I had progressed to non restricted lifting at work, movement, and weight lifting.
So, it was supposed to be 6 weeks before I could lift 10 lbs. Here I was healed completely.
The Secrets
So, how did I cut my recovery time by 67% or better? We’re all unique human beings with different physiologies, but here are the principles that work for me.
Movement
Walking as much as I comfortably could as often as I could. The human body was made to move. Mobilizing myself kept my joints and muscles from the weakening of being sedentary and allowed my lymphatic system to continue to function optimally. It was also great for my mental health to actually “feel” like I was still part of the functional world.
Rest
Resting and keeping myself in a positive frame of mind is immense in my ability to recover, as well as live a happy life and being successful in everything I do. In my opinion, proper rest and stress control are the most overlooked healing factors. The body needs rest for some healing and hormone resets. The mind needs to be relaxed in order to control the amount of stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline, etc.) released into our system.
Water
When I’m sick, enough water is a key ingredient in my healing process. Drinking a decent quantity of it also gets me walking to the bathroom once every few hours. It cleans, dilutes, transports, cools, and has many other essential functions in the body.
Nutrition
Good food in, good results will follow. We are very literally made from the building blocks of the food we eat and the liquids we drink. Supplying the proper nutrition for the body to heal can’t be stressed enough. My article “Food: What I Choose To Eat and What I Choose To Skip” gives more background.
Bonus
I’ve covered the basics, but other things that I’ve found to be helpful depending on the recovery I’m looking for is visualization, meditation, cold therapy, infrared sauna, salt therapy, and deep breathing, to name a few.
I hope this helps you out. Please feel free to let me know any questions you have and I’ll do my best to answer them.
That’s it for now. Thank you for reading. Make it a magnificent week. If you have an idea for an article or want to engage my consulting or research services, please contact me.
Wishing you happiness, health, and success!
-Gregg
