Bodybuilding After Tummy Tuck

Are you ready to get back in the gym? It’s true that many people have to wait a while before they can start lifting weights again, but it’s not impossible. After your tummy tuck, we’ll give you tips on how to safely return to the gym.

First, let’s talk about why it’s important to stay active after plastic surgery. Many people don’t realize this, but staying active is crucial for recovery and healing. When you’re working out, your body releases endorphins—meaning that when you’re working out after plastic surgery, your body is going through its own healing process! It will help your body heal faster and better because those endorphins are helping it repair itself from all the trauma caused by surgery.

Second, let’s talk about what kind of exercise is best for someone who has just had plastic surgery. You know how some people say, “running is bad for your knees”? Well… running isn’t bad for everyone! In fact, running may be good if you’ve just had surgery on your stomach or any other area with scarring (like breast augmentation).

Tummy tuck binder vs compression garment

Part of a successful recovery is wearing your tummy tuck compression garment, also known as a binder. Wear the item as directed for an easier and faster recovery.

A tummy tuck compression garment is a heavily elasticized cloth that stretches around your midsection, much like a girdle. It fits quite snugly, applying even and constant pressure on the encased area. The garment typically covers the area below your breasts down to the hips or pelvis — everything that was treated during your tummy tuck, including the immediate surrounding area.

Why do I need to wear a compression garment after my tummy tuck? This is a question we often receive from patients. Because it fits so snugly, some patients find it rather uncomfortable to wear. However, you should know to wear it as advised. A compression garment can help a great deal in your recovery after abdominoplasty. Here are the top four reasons:

1. A reduced risk of seroma

Excess serous fluid collection filling a pocket under the skin is technically referred to as a seroma (when it is blood, it is known as a hematoma). Seromas are considered the most common complication associated with abdominoplasty, according to several studies, including one from 2002 published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery. The constant, even pressure applied by your compression garment is designed to push down on tissues that were rearranged during your surgery so that pockets where fluid could collect are minimized or eliminated. The garment also promotes circulation. We believe these two factors can decrease the incidence of seromas.

2. Better circulation

And since we’re on the topic of circulation, we all know that keeping your blood going during your recovery is key to getting better, since it’s how beneficial nutrients are delivered to the treated areas to promote healing. The process also reduces swelling and bruising, as well as the risk of blood clots, which can be serious or even fatal.

3. More comfort

Your compression garment helps keep tissues in place while you move around. Your compression garment protects damaged tissues and incision lines from pulling or straining. That means you’ll feel more comfortable. Some patients prefer to wear their garment for weeks after they can stop because it feels better.

4. Better contouring

Even though we take great care to tighten your midsection and minimize any contour irregularities, uneven contours may still appear. Many contour irregularities can become permanent if they’re not corrected early on in your recovery. A compression garment helps to flatten out any lumps and bumps that appear.

Are you having difficulty breathing?

We’ve had patients complain about having difficulty breathing while wearing their compression garment. While it should be snug, your garment should never prevent you from breathing properly. It should also not cause you any pain while you wear it. If it does, let us know as soon as possible so we can get you another one.

In some cases, patients find it difficult to breathe not because of the garment, but because they’re breathing unnaturally.

Breathing right

When you breathe, there are three parts of your body that are involved: the intercostal muscles, diaphragm and abdominal muscles.

The intercostal muscles are located between your ribs. When you breathe in, these muscles contract upwards and outwards to allow your lungs to expand with air. At the same time, your diaphragm moves downward toward your abdomen to create more space for the lungs as well. With proper and natural breathing, you’ll see your chest rise and widen while your stomach expands. It’s precisely how we breathed when we were younger.

Best compression garment for tummy tuck

A compression garment is a special clothing item designed for a range of physiological issues and is a standard part of post-operative care for those who have undergone tummy tucks. After undergoing a tummy tuck, it is normal to experience a range of symptoms associated with the operation, such as swelling, bruising, and fluid retention. Using a compression garment, also known as a surgical binder or girdle, can alleviate these symptoms, and selecting the appropriate one can significantly impact your recovery from the tummy tuck procedure. (sometimes referred to as a surgical binder or girdle) can help reduce these symptoms and finding the right one for you can make all the difference in your tummy tuck recovery.

Why is a compression garment needed for Body surgery and tummy tuck patients recovery?

There are several reasons why compression garments are worn after tummy tuck surgery to assist with your recovery period. These include, but are not limited to:

• You can minimize your discomfort by helping to control swelling. Swelling is a normal phase of postoperative recovery, but it can cause some discomfort. A compression garment helps alleviate some of this discomfort by assisting in controlling the amount of swelling a person experiences after their tummy tuck.
• This procedure minimizes your discomfort by helping to prevent bruising and hematomas. Some bleeding is expected after tummy tuck surgery, but a compression garment can help reduce the swelling by helping with circulation and pressing down on areas that are susceptible to developing hematomas or intensive bruising.
• The goal is to minimize fluid retention.  Compression against the skin helps the body to absorb the excess fluid that normally develops after a tummy tuck procedure.
• To help prevent hypertrophic or keloid scarring.  A compression garment helps keep the surgical scar flat and smooth.
• We promote healing to help you return to your daily activities more quickly!

How you wear your compression garment will depend on the individual manufacturing of the garment itself. Because compression garments designed for tummy tucks will avoid the area directly affected by surgery, the opening for these garments is usually found at the side.

Why are postoperative garments important for body surgery patients?

Most body sculpting surgery requires the post-operative support provided by a specifically designed compression garment.

Garments provide support in these seven different ways.

1. Reduction in postoperative swelling.

Swelling is very normal following body contouring surgery and generally affects the area close to the incision site; initially, patients can experience swelling of the hands, feet, and face within the first few days of surgery. This quickly settles, but the skin near the incision sites often experiences an increase in swelling and bruising during the first few weeks after surgery. Expect this stage, which is a natural healing process after body contouring.

Persistent swelling is often more pronounced in abdominal or limb suture areas. This swelling is due to the effects of gravity and your body’s ability to absorb and remove internal fluids. This swelling can take weeks or months to fully resolve.

The cause is as a result of the actual operation, where skin is moved or removed altogether and liposuction or liposculpture is used to contour body tissue to create the desired effect. It is a normal response as the body struggles to understand the cause of this sudden trauma and retains fluid to facilitate healing. Swelling is uncomfortable; it causes bloating, pressure, or even burning pain.

2. Reduction in nerve pain,

There will be a reduction in pain associated with bloating, general bruising, hematomas, or underlying skin swelling. Some bleeding within the skin tissues is expected following cosmetic surgery (you feel this—tender areas or firm rounded swelling—and see it in bruised, discolored skin). (burning or shooting occasional unpredictable pains). Swelling can cause pressure on the narrow channels that nerve fibers travel through, such as the elbow or groin; reducing swelling helps reduce this occurrence or severity.

A firm compression garment can reduce risk and control this by providing firm pressure at the wound site by compressing the skin firmly and therefore improving circulation within the body.

3. Reduction in fluid retention

Compression encourages the body to reabsorb additional fluid from the dermal layers while compressing the skin firmly to discourage additional fluid buildup.

4. Warms the scar lines which encourages blood supply for healing

The thick and elasticised structure of the garments provides an optimum healing temperature to the skin

5. Reducing scarring and scar stretching

wearing garments to support scar lines enhances timely healing, which in turn reduces the risk of scarring due to keloid scars or suture line breakdown by keeping the scar line flat and smooth.

6. Provides support for your incision

in the same way your seatbelt provides support and driving without it makes you feel unsafe and unsupported, your garment provides support to your body, reducing the movement of skin that needs additional support.

7. Promotes skin retraction and contour

Body contouring surgery is a highly skilled procedure, shaping the internal contours while also ensuring enough skin remains to provide a pleasing result. This often depends on the body’s ability to facilitate skin retraction in response to the gentle yet firm pressure of a fitted garment.

How long do I wear the compression garment?

Your surgeon will discuss with you how long you will need to wear a compression garment after your tummy tuck. The length of time can vary from person to person, but typically you will need to wear your compression garment for a minimum of 6–8 weeks following surgery. Although this may seem like a long period of time, it is to promote healing and to ensure you gain the best possible results from your tummy tuck. In some instances, you’ll only be required to wear a compression garment for a much shorter period of time.

Wearing your garments day and night for the full 6–8 weeks post-surgery will have the most beneficial effect from a surgical post-op perspective. The longer, the better.

It may feel very unnatural or constricted at first if you are not used to wearing compression garments. Your recent surgery may have left you swollen and, most likely, sore.

It does take a little while to get used to the firm feeling of compression. Please persevere, as the more the garment is worn, the faster you will heal, the lower the risk of skin healing complications such as scarring or suture line breakdown and, of course, the less swelling you will experience.

You have invested a lot of time, thought, and indeed money into your surgery; it just makes sense to use all the tools available to ensure the very best outcome is achieved.

‘Not all garments are created equal.’ There is no doubt that garments are costly, but they are well designed, have surgical-grade compression, use shaping to graduate the fitting, and are made with extended zips or closure devices using the very best materials available.

When Can I Do Cardio After Tummy Tuck

The ideal exercises for six weeks after a stomach tuck are cardiovascular and lower body exercises. Start lifting some modest weights as well.

8–12 Weeks After Surgery

At this stage, you’ll start to feel like yourself. After receiving Dr. Turner’s approval, you can start doing abdominal workouts again.

Conclusion

Although the types of compression garments can vary depending on what they are being used for and how they are manufactured, there are design elements common to the majority of compression garments for tummy tuck patients.

These include the use of an elasticized (or stretchy) material, seams that are incorporated into the garment to avoid any areas directly affected by surgery, and other features that promote recovery. The types and sizing of compression garments used for post-tummy tuck procedures also vary, depending on how far along you are with your tummy tuck recovery.

Your surgeon will discuss different options with you and help you select the best compression garment for your postoperative care.