Optimizing Exercise and Nutrition Before Surgery Boosts Patient Outcomes

The “prehabilitation” approach studied in this review involves structured support before an operation, such as exercise programs, nutrition advice, and education. Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles analyzed 23 randomized controlled trials involving more than 2,100 patients to examine whether these measures could reduce hospital stays and lower the risk of complications after surgery.

Across all the studies, prehabilitation produced clear benefits. Overall, patients who took part had nearly half the risk of postoperative complications and spent about 11 percent less time in hospital. Exercise-based programs produced the largest reduction in complications, lowering the likelihood of problems by 55 percent compared with standard care. Nutrition-based programs, which often included supplements, were particularly effective at shortening hospital stays, reducing time in hospital by around 14 percent.

The review also found that exercise-based prehabilitation improved patients’ general wellbeing and ability to manage daily activities after surgery. Researchers noted that the type of surgery may influence which approach works best. Exercise programs were more common in orthopedic operations, for example, while nutrition-focused interventions were mainly used in gastrointestinal and cardiac surgery.

To learn how surgery sharply drains the body of vitamin C, often pushing patients into deficiency for weeks or even months, see this article on our website.