The following question from our forum is from a man who is thinking of getting a tummy tuck but would like to know how soon he can return to strenuous exercise after the tummy tuck.

Date: 03/22/2010 Submitted by: Spaddict

Hi, Thanks for your website it’s just what I was looking for. I am also going to be having the Tummy tuck in the next few months after losing 140 lbs. My main concern was how soon I can return to strenuous exercise. Unlike you I like it very hard. It just does it for me and keeps me interested in the sport of seeing how far I can push my body now that I am fit for the first time in my life. I totally agree with the loud music while exercising I cannot train without it. How long was it till you were allowed to go into the pool? Does being in the pool for a long time (60 Minutes) maybe prevent scar healing as good? Cheers.

Spaddict

RESPONSE

Date: 03/22/2010 Submitted by: Tanner

Spaddict,

I had my tummy tuck in December and even though I live in Florida, going into the pool wasn’t high on my list of things to do because the pool water was way too cold. April is the earliest I go into the pool so I can’t give you a good answer. 4-6 weeks would be my guess but that’s just a ball park guess. I would think that even if you asked your surgeon he would not be able to give you a definitive answer and would say it would depend your level of healing and medical condition at the time.

With regard to staying in the pool for a long period of time preventing or delaying scar healing, you would have to ask a doctor but I personally would not think so. If I would have gone swimming, after I got out I would have showered with fresh water, washed the wound area with antiseptic soap, dry, then coat the wound/incision area with a layer of Neosporin and wrap it with gauze (I used toilet paper/paper towels after I ran out of gauze) followed by the compression bandage. You can buy anti-scarring gels but I found that they are too expensive for the small amount that you get. I purchased some and used it but I couldn’t tell you if it worked better than Neosporin or Vaseline petroleum jelly.

Right after the tummy tuck is not the right time to see how far you can push your body. It may be hard for you to do, but you may have to curb your enthusiasm for strenuous exercise and start out slow letting you body and your surgeon tell you how far to push it.

Going into the pool is one thing. Swimming is another. Any form of exercise that will tug or pull on your wound area is bad and swimming seems like an unavoidable way of pulling at these areas. The last thing you want to do is to hurt yourself and hamper your recovery (especially after all the work you did to get there).

The good thing I found after I had my tummy tuck is that I could do lots of exercises and weight lifting that did not affect my stomach or waist area. I could lift dumbbells to exercise my hands, arms and shoulders as much as I wanted. I wouldn’t think that your surgeon would have any objections to that as long as you didn’t overdo it.

It’s great that your doing all this exercise before your tummy tuck. I firmly believe that it is one of the reasons that my recovery went so well. Good luck.

Tanner