How Long After a Rhinoplasty Before I Can Resume Activity?

My guidelines for resuming activity after rhinoplasty are as follows:

1) Light activity (walking, normal daily activities): 1 day after surgery

2) Moderate-Heavy activity (running, cycling, yoga, swimming, etc.): 10-14 days after surgery

3) Contact sports or activities in which pressure may be placed on the nose (basketball, football, diving, etc.): 8 weeks after surgery, to give the nasal bones time to heal. 

Before considering diving, it is important to make sure that you are able to equilibrate the pressure in your ears. After rhinoplasty there can be a few week period of nasal congestion which can make this process challenging.  

Regards,

Dr. Mehta

You may resume light activity after just a few days. We want you to walk and move around right away and not be inactive. Light exercise, such as active walks and light jogging can resume after 1-2 weeks. Most patients can resume full aerobic exercise and lifting weights after 2-3 weeks. Contact sports or sports where there may be incidental self injury (including skiing and snowboarding) should be postponed for 6-8 weeks. Some physically demanding professions (soldiers, scuba divers) and competitive athletes may get temporarily de-conditioned, and it may be 2-3 months before they return to their elite level of performance. Therefore we recommend that if someone is actively competing or performing extremely physically demanding jobs, they have their surgery during an off season.

Thank you for your question. After surgery, there will be some swelling. The swelling can take many months to resolve, although most people stop noticing it after a couple of months. People are usually back to performing most activities after a week and resuming all activities after two to four weeks.

Patients who undergo rhinoplasty are often eager to resume their normal exercise routine. Unfortunately, any maneuver that elevates blood pressure in the immediate post-operative period can result in bleeding. The risk increases when septoplasty is performed in combination with rhinoplasty.
                For this reason, we recommend avoiding most exertion for about two weeks following surgery. Strenuous activities such as diving, running, and weight lighting should be avoided for six to eight weeks following surgery.

                It’s important to discuss these issues with your surgeon before resuming exercise. Your surgeon will be able to tell you when it’s appropriate to resume your normal exercise routine. 

Thank you for your question. Straining, bending and lifting should be avoided during the early postoperative period. In many instances, you may be able to return to work within 7 to 10 days after surgery. Most normal activities including exercise can usually be resumed within three weeks.It will be a few months before you can expose your reshaped nose to direct sunlight. Your nose will be sensitive during this time, and you must be conscientious about using a sunblock to protect your skin. If the bones of your nose were altered, it may be a number of weeks before you can wear glasses without special support such as tape. Best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double board certifiedPlastic surgeonHoffman EstatesBarringtonOakbrookChicago

The initial swelling will subside in a couple of weeks to a month, then residual swelling may last for up to a year or so. I recommend patients avoid exercising for about 6 weeks, and this includes swimming. Of course you should ask your surgeon for their advice as it may be different.

In general, I allow of my patients
to resume most daily
activities a week after surgery at which removal of  the
splints are done. However, doing
most physical activities and increasing your heart rate more than 100, usually patients
need to wait 3 to 4 weeks. For activities such
as diving, one should wait 6 to 8 weeks
.

Six weeks is probably enough time to ensure any trauma suffered by scuba diving would be tolerated by the post-operative nose. 

Post-operative restrictions will vary tremendously depending on the surgeon's preference and the techniques used. Generally the vast majority of healing has been achieved by 6 weeks. Diving, however, may involve excessive pressure due to the tight fitting mask as well as the generalized discomfort of pressure from descent. Restrictions may therefore be as much as 12 weeks.

A rhinoplasty, or nose job, typically requires 7-10 days of recovery at home after surgery.  You may have some bruising around the eyes that should resolve after 1 week. 

Most of my patients can get back to normal work out activity at 2-3 weeks.  I recommend patients wait 6 weeks after surgery before pursuing any contact sports or activities such as diving where there is pressure from the mask.  Hope that helps.