Smooth Surgery: Preparation Matters
By Editorial Staff
While doctors often explore lifestyle changes or less invasive treatments before recommending surgery, sometimes it's the only option. When that's the case, what happens before you enter the operating room can make a major difference in how smoothly you recover after surgery.
A growing approach known as "prehabilitation" is changing expectations.
Clinicians are increasingly focusing on preparing patients in advance with targeted exercise and nutrition strategies that help the body handle the stress of an operation and bounce back faster.
The idea is simple: The stronger and better nourished you are going in, the more resilient your body will be coming out. Recent findings from a large review of clinical studies show that patients who participated in structured exercise and nutrition programs before surgery experienced better outcomes than those receiving standard care alone. These improvements included fewer post-surgical complications and shorter hospital stays.
Physical activity before an operation helps condition the cardiovascular system, build muscle strength and improve endurance – essentially training the body for the stress of surgery and recovery.
Across studies, exercise-based preparation was consistently linked with fewer complications after surgery, including reduced risk of infection and improved physical function during recovery. Patients who entered surgery in better physical condition were also more likely to regain independence sooner.
Even modest increases in activity levels – such as more daily walking – have been associated with improved surgical outcomes, reinforcing the idea that movement is a powerful form of medicine before an operation.
Surgery also places significant metabolic stress on the body, increasing the need for energy, protein and essential nutrients needed for healing. The review found that patients who received targeted nutritional support before surgery tended to recover faster and leave the hospital sooner than those who did not.
While exercise and nutrition each offer benefits on their own, the most meaningful improvements occur when they are combined into a coordinated pre-surgery plan. Across multiple studies, patients who followed combined programs experienced nearly a 50% reduction in complications and shorter hospital stays by around 10% or more compared to standard care.
