Posture exercises after heart surgery

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After heart surgery, your child can practice a series of exercises to help them improve their posture and range of motion. Review the photos and instructions below to help your child perform each exercise correctly.

Key points

  • After a sternotomy or thoracotomy, your child can practice some exercises to help them improve posture and range of motion.
  • Each exercise should be performed slowly and in a controlled manner. These exercises should not increase or cause pain and your child should stop performing them if they do experience pain.
  • Perform these exercises 2-3 times per day for the first 4-6 weeks after surgery or until your child’s movements have improved and their posture is back to normal.

Below you will find some exercises that can help improve your child’s posture and range of motion after having a sternotomy or thoracotomy.

  • Sternotomy: A surgical incision in the centre of the chest
  • Thoracotomy: A surgical incision at the side of the chest

General guidelines

In general, your child should try to use their arms as normally as possible, within comfortable limits, for things like eating, dressing and toothbrushing. This will help their recovery. In the first few days after surgery, your child can start to perform each exercise daily. This may prevent stiffness. Aim to perform these exercises 2-3 times a day as you become more comfortable with them.

The activities below can be performed for the first 4-6 weeks after surgery or until your child’s movements have improved and their posture is back to normal.

  • When performing these activities, they should be within your child’s pain comfort limits.
  • The exercises should not increase pain.
  • Perform the exercises in a slow and controlled manner.
  • If your child experiences significant pain that does not improve over time please speak to their doctor or nurse practitioner (NP).

Exercises to perform after surgery

Posture Check (sitting up straight)

Check your posture frequently during the day to make sure you are sitting or standing straight and not leaning forward or to the side.

  • Sit with your feet flat on the floor.
  • Sit or stand up straight, with your shoulders pulled back and down.
  • Your shoulders should be stacked above your hips and you should not be arching your back.
boy sitting in chair with back straight and hands on knees
girl sitting in chair with back straight and hands on knees

Shoulder rolls

To encourage good posture and improve shoulder movement while maintaining neck posture.

  • Sit in a good posture.
  • Slowly and gently roll your shoulders in circles forward and back.
  • Focus on relaxing them down within pain free limits.
  • Repeat 5-10 times.
1. Shoulders forward girl sitting in chair with shoulders rolled forward
2. Shoulders up girl sitting in chair with shoulders pulled up under her ears
3. Shoulders back girl sitting in chair rolling shoulders backward
4. Shoulders down girl sitting in chair with shoulders down

Chin tucks

To encourage good posture and prevent forward chin posture which can cause neck discomfort.

  • Sit in a good posture.
  • Sit up tall, drawing your shoulder blades towards the centre of your spine.
  • While holding this posture, focus on bringing your chin back so your neck is long.
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds to feel the stretch. Repeat 5-10 times.
Starting position side view of girl sitting upright in a chair
Chin tuck side view of girl sitting in chair tucking her chin

Arm lifts

To encourage good posture and improve shoulder movement. Can be done sitting down or lying on your back.

  • Sit in a good posture.
  • Sit up tall, drawing your shoulder blades towards the centre of your spine.
  • Lift one arm so that your elbow is beside your ear and then lower your arm.
  • Repeat 5-10 times and perform with both arms.
Starting position Side view of boy sitting upright in chair with arm by his side
Arm lift side view of boy sitting in chair with arm raised above him

Exercise to perform 6 weeks after thoracotomy

Trunk side flexion

To improve stiffness that can happen with a side incision.

  • Sit in a good posture.
  • Lift the arm on the incision side straight up, like in the arm lifts exercise.
  • Bend away from the incision to give it a stretch (i.e. if the incision is on the right side, bend to your left).
  • Breathe, in, then breathe out and return to the starting position.
  • Repeat 5-10 times.
Starting position Girl standing with left arm raised
Side bend to right girl bending to the right with left arm over head
Starting position Boy standing with right arm raised
Side bend to left boy bending to the left with right arm over head
Last updated: October 20th 2021