Muscle Mass Helps You Recover From Illness & Surgery
If you’ve ever needed a really good reason to start or continue lifting weights in midlife, here it is
When we think of womanhood, the lady parts always spring to mind, as they’re often the subject of scalpels and scans. But there’s an organ that is proven to help each of us through illness and surgeries, and most doctors won’t mention it: Muscle.
Your system of over 600 skeletal muscles is considered an organ. In concert, these muscles help you maintain everything from posture to hormones to metabolism. They also help the body regain optimal health when it’s been invaded by disease or assaulted with surgery. How it happens is really quite fascinating.
Cortisol in surgery
Our bodies are incredibly smart and designed to keep us alive first and foremost.
When we undergo surgery or severe illness, our bodies go into high alert mode. Our brain tells our pituitary gland which tells our adrenal glands to release cortisol—the stress hormone—which keeps the entire body engaged. Cortisol triggers a cascade of other events to prime us for a fight.
Without science-ing you into a stupor, suffice it to say that all systems snap to action, increasing the availability of glucose for energy, upping blood pressure to circulate oxygen and vital nutrients, and slowing digestion to prioritize survival. But the most interesting thing (to me) is how our body sacrifices itself to save itself.
Cannibalization
When our body has been through something traumatic, it calls on its own muscle to break down into usable protein that can be sent to the liver to make amino acids so it can rebuild. (I find this as fascinating as how a fetus will leach calcium from its mother’s bones if it needs it. Nature amazes me.)
What happens when our body cannibalizes itself to save itself? We lose muscle rapidly. “Resting” after surgery, which is often required, further atrophies our muscles just when we need them most.
What can we do about it?
The best defense is a good offense. Having adequate muscle before you need it for surgical recovery is a smart move. Not only does muscle help you stay strong, mobile, functional, and stable, it also helps you bounce back if you ever need surgery or face a serious illness like cancer.
You’ve heard of rehab; what about prehab?
Patients with less muscle tend to have worse outcomes after surgery. They wind up in the hospital longer, their rehab goes slower, and their recovery is more difficult. To counter these scenarios, we can all stand to do a little more ahead of time. Whether you push weights in the gym or use resistance bands at home is less important than the concept of connecting with, moving, and making demands on your muscles daily.
If you know you’ll be having surgery in the coming months, you can ask your doctor to prescribe pre-hab with a physical therapist or other fitness professional. Together, you can customize a plan to help you build muscle before your procedure as well as establish a regimen for getting back to exercise afterwards.
Long gone are the days of Jane Fonda VCR tapes.
Even if you’re not working with a trainer, you have plenty of options. It’s easy to search up free YouTube workouts to suit your fitness level and preference, whether that’s yoga, pilates, HIIT, or something else entirely. Be sure to incorporate movement that strengthens your core as it’s fundamental to whole body movement.
Don’t forget the fuel.
To build muscle, you need to give your body the right nutrition: lean protein, vegetables, rest, and hydration. Limit the sugar. Limit the stress. Limit the processed junk. Remember: you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.
Our muscles act as a biological reserve tank.
Strong muscles correlate with faster recovery and better health overall. Therefore, we all should be moving and taxing our muscles regularly to preemptively prepare for any potential future needs we may have.
Whether you’re weight training, doing cardio, or ideally a bit of both, consider it an insurance plan for your body’s future renovations.
Wow I didn’t know that. I knew that lifting weights and muscle helped women during menopause but I didn’t know it translated into better outcomes from surgery and illness as well
Great article. Take a peak at HMB— it stands for hydroxy something or another. Look at the scholarly research. It helps seniors Maintain the muscles they build. I’ve been using it for 2-3 years. I dance everyday and I now maintain tone even if I have to miss a couple. (I don’t sell it — I just benefit from it)