Exercises to Help Learn to Walk After Back Surgery

The primary purpose of back surgery is to correct alignment in the spine and to relive severe pain. Back surgery is a major undertaking and exercise plays an important role in learning how to walk again and balance your body. Rest and pain control are the initial steps after surgery and ice, heat, and electrical devices are used to alleviate pain and prepare you for physical therapy.

Exercise Programs

• An exercise program needs to be tailored to your needs and needs to take into account the specific surgery, conditions of your tissues in your back and your body type. Exercise programs focus on muscle facilitation, which is when the muscles receive special retraining to gain strength and stability following back surgery. The small muscles that work around the vertebra and stabilize the spine are focused on and are responsible for helping you relearn to walk. Many patients, after back surgery, have issues with the shoulder and hips and attention is given to those areas as well. All exercises selected need to be safely done around the back to prevent further injuries.

Stretching Exercises

• Stretching exercises are vital in the recovery from back surgery and are designed to help you relearn how to walk. Massage therapy is going to be used initially to improve circulation in your back and legs and reduce scar tissue after surgery. Stretching exercises are going to improve mobility and flexibility in your body and help prepare your body for learning to walk again.
  Lying down on your back, place your hands on the back of your thighs and pull your legs toward your chest. Hold for 15 seconds and feel a gentle stretch in your back.
  Lying on your stomach, place your hand on the ground and begin to prop yourself up. Continue to straighten your arms and begin to feel a stretch in your back. Hold for 15 seconds and lower yourself back down.
  Flexing your foot and ankle can help improve coordination and prevent these parts from dragging when relearning to walk.

Walking Exercises

• Swimming is going to be an important part of learning how to walk again.
  This type of exercise forces the body to start working again and is effective because the body is 10 times lighter in water than on the ground. As strength in the back and legs begin to return, you can exercise on parallel bars and use your upper body strength to help you take steps.