While dining out the other night, I overheard a woman at another table explaining why she was removing her rings from her fingers before dinner. This festive group had salt rimmed margaritas and bowls of salty tortilla chips generously spread before them.

This woman shared that she knew how much she would regret not removing her rings now – otherwise she would risk having to get them cut off in the morning when her fingers turned into huge sausages.

Like most people, you’ve likely experienced that swollen feeling where your fingers or feet feel like they’ve doubled in size.

Excess water in the body tissues is commonly associated with too much salt intake. The sodium present in salt can cause some uncomfortable swelling in the fingers and other areas of the body.

Salt makes a person thirsty, so we consume more fluid – but retain it due to the sodium.

Sodium is one of the “usual suspects” with recent fluid retention and will normally resolve itself with proper diet.

Another culprit, though, could be edema (medical lingo for retaining water in the body) following a recent surgery. This is a more serious fluid retention situation and the best course of action is prevention.

Lying in bed (especially without being able to shift positions often) can lead to excess fluid buildup. Preparing for surgery requires lying still in the bed for a period of a couple hours during prep.

Recuperating, then, also requires some bed rest. However, a proper diet and exercise following surgery can make a big difference.

An important stipulation of course is to follow the proper discharge orders. However, people very often follow the “plenty of rest” aspect of the order while ignoring the “light exercise” clause.

Ongoing water retention following a surgery normally requires additional doctor’s visits and even more medications. Wouldn’t it have been better to circle the room a few times about every couple hours than to have to make an added visit to your follow-up appointment?

A little relaxing, deep breathing and light walking can make a big difference during a recovery. Not only can it help prevent excess water retention, but can help prevent other problems such as blood clots and even fluid in the lungs that are a higher risk post operatively due to immobility.

In addition to those benefits, breathing exercises and light movement can also improve your emotional well being and increase your stamina. All of this results in a much faster overall surgical recovery.

Again, it is important to get the okay from your medical professionals before undergoing any activities following medical procedures – especially major surgeries.

However, my all natural, non strenuous blood pressure exercise program accommodates nearly every level of movement ability. Best of all, you don’t have to suffer high blood pressure to benefit from these simple methods. Yes, they are great for those who need to normalize blood pressure but they can give your recovery an extra boost as well.

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