Gum graft diary: Day 7 & exercise

Things look ugly

The contrast between the pink gum and the white donor tissue is even greater today.  As before, my top arch looks much worse than my bottom arch.  On the top arch, the gums are still swollen and cover large parts of my teeth - on the bottom, they have shrunk back down.  Swelling on the outside of my face is much better and there is only a little left. 

Today's theme: Exercise

If you don't love exercise, then the post-op instructions to take it easy will not have bothered you.  

On the other hand, I am sure there are others out there like me who need a daily hit of endorphins, and skipping so may gym sessions is a real struggle.   I did, however, spend a ton of time researching the issue so that I could find an excuse to get back to exercise faster.  Here's what I found:

• Post-op instructions vary in terms of the length of time you need to rest, from around 4-7 days specifically for alloderm - sometimes less for grafts with your own tissue.  My surgeon recommended 7 days off exercise and I will stick to it. Yours may suggest something different - so best to pay attention. In the case of alloderm, I feel you need to be extra-careful because it needs to be (mostly) covered by your own gum tissue if it is going to take. Otherwise it will just degrade, so you need to avoid anything that might put it at risk.
• Longer-term, exercise can help healing. OK, the evidence comes from cuts on people's arms, but the mechanisms are probably similar - through promoting blood flow and spikes in hormones that are beneficial for healing. This doesn't mean you can skip the rest stage, but you can feel better about easing back into an exercise regime once that rest period is over.
• Ease into activity. Low impact options like stationary bikes can be introduced sooner compared to higher impact exercise. With contact sports, you will obviously need to wait longer.  Obviously, do not engage in activity where there is any risk of being hit in the face.

This was the most frustrating part for me, although I know a lot of people will welcome the rest.  What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!