Walking v. Recumbent exercise bike?

I have a question for post-op surgery. I know that they want you to get up and walk as much as possible after surgery, but what if you can't walk that far due to back pains and asthma, especially in this heat? Is riding a recumbent exercise bike efficient enough for walking, until you can get out and walk or would it be wiser to go to a gym and use the treadmill?

I haven't had surgery yet, but expect to in early to mid August. I'm riding the recumbent bike now trying to get into the exercise mode, but just walking across a parking lot causes my back to hurt and my asthma to act up. Any help/suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

You don't have to walk very far for it to "count" post op as far as preventing blood clots.  You can just walk a shorter distance but do it more often.  I had a strong history of blood clots so the walking was even more important for me.  I had my surgery at the end of August, though, and it was close to 100 degrees in Ohio that summer, so I just walked in circles around the house.  If you have that much trouble walki, I would think it would be pretty frustrating to drive someplace to walk for a few minutes then have to stop and wait awhile before you could walk some more.  At least at home walking in the house it is convenient to start and stop as needed.

You should ask your surgeon, but walking exercises your leg muscles in a different way than cycling does (especially with a recumbent bike)  and part of what they want is the muscular action on the veins in your legs to help push the blood back up from your legs into your torso, and I would be concerned that a recumbent bike would not do that.  (Many of the valves in the veins in my left leg are shot because of damage from previous blood clots, and the recumbent bike does nothing to help me if my lower legs and ankles are swollen from pooled blood, whereas walking DOES help.)

I have bad knees, including one that needs replaced, so I primarily use my recumbent bike as my exercise because it hurts my knees far less that walking or regular cycling or an elliptical machine.

Lora

Right after surgery they suggest walking because it helps the gas move.  For exercise walking is suggested because it is low impact.  you could join a gym and do water aerobics also.  try walking like 5 minutes.  as you lose weight this will get easier.  keep in mind moving your whole body is going to burn more calories than doing recumbant bike.



Tamara

 Walk in the mall (or WalMart or Target)!  It's air-conditioned, and no need to run a marathon in there. Just go at your own pace. You'll speed up in time. 

The benefit of a gym is the equipment usually has settings to adjust the weights and strength of whatever you are working on. You can also switch your routine around for variety and effectiveness. If you can afford it that is the way I would go but if not, walking around your neighborhood, consistently, will do wonders for you. I just hate to walk so I go to the gym. There's also a little social interaction with others.

My problem with the recumbent bike when I was bigger was that I would end up with bruising under my belly due to my knee****ting there when I pedaled... otherwise I enjoyed it as an occasional break from walking.

Audrey