Rehab progression after abdominal surgery

[Dcramsey]

Here's the short version. I'm a 6'4" 232, 45 year old male. In August of 2004 I had emergency surgery to correct a perforated diverticulium. In November I had the reversal. The second surgery left me with a large ventral hernia that I had repaired April 11, 2007. I'm two weeks post op and doing very well. I'm wondering if Bill Hartman would be kind enough give me an idea of the progression of movements to rehab. I have read:
Until a client can perform:
Plank: 2 minutes
Isometric held hyperextension: 2 minutes
Side Plank: 90 sec.
They are not allowed to load more than 20% of their bodyweight in external lifting"
How do i get there from here?
David

[bryanc]

Hey David,

What kind of ventral hernia did you have (and where was it located?) and how was it repaired?

You are two weeks post-op, so I would say that while you're probably recovering well, there's still a risk of re-herniation for a few more weeks yet (especially if you're increasing intra-abdominal pressure with lifts and even "deconditioned" planks). Bill's recommendation has more to do with joint injury prevention than a global activity criteria.

[Dcramsey]

The second surgery left my rectus abdominus seperated. My right rectus was where my right oblique is. There was a hernia sack that had protruded through and was visable through the thin scar tissue. The surgery on April 11th removed all the old scar tissue. They took down one layer of the left rectus and folded it over the right rectus and stiched it down. They used a "biological material" to use as a patch underneath the repair. I agree it's way to early to start any meaningful activity. I am walking. I walked 15 minutes on a treadmill today at a 8.1% incline at 3.1 mph. I don't expect to start until I'm pain free. I just thought I could get a plan together. Thanks in advance.

D.

[RobLL]

Different abdominal surgery, and I'm older, but after mine it was 6 weeks before any major activity was allowed. After a couple of mishaps of overdoing it I edged my way back into my previous routines (I was using machines at the time), and it was about six months before I was back to previous weights.