Exact Answer: 2 weeks
After a person gets a wound, there are chances that they have to go through some surgery and also get stitches. The stitches and stitched areas are very vulnerable and prone to damage and infection.
One needs to take good care of the stitched area. Even after stitches are removed, one is not completely free.
The wound heals after stitches are removed and it is suggested that one should avoid putting a heavy burden on the stitched area. The patients are also suggested to avoid doing exercise after stitches are removed.
In that case, one may wonder how long after getting stitches removed, one can do exercise.
How Long After Stitches Removed Can I Exercise?
Stitches are very vulnerable and prone to infections. One needs to be really careful when they have stitches on their body. They cannot even allow water or dirt to come in contact with the wound else they can have major infectious problems.
After the wound is healed mostly, the stitches are removed but the area is still weak hence no pressure should be put on the wound.
When a person exercises, their whole body comes into action one way or another. This puts some pressure on each part of the body. Which means the pressure is put on the wound as well.
This can harm the wound and can make it worse. Putting too much pressure on a wound could create a situation where a person again has to get stitches. That is why it is recommended that one should avoid exercising after getting stitches removed.
There is no fixed timeline to avoid exercise but it is said that after getting stitches removed one should wait for up to two weeks to start exercising.
Even then, one should put light pressure on their would and not put too much exercise which could create a problem. Overall proper exercising can be done either after the wound is completely healed or after approval by the doctor.
Contacting a doctor is a good habit as it prevents the risk of any further damage and provides proper guidance about taking care of the wound in a proper manner.
| Exercise Type | Time after removal of stitches |
| Light exercise | After 2 weeks, if the doctor approves |
| Heavy exercise | After the wound is completely healed |
Why Wait That Long To Exercise After Stitches Removal?
As said before, stitches are done on deep wounds. Deep wounds are very weak and can take damage very easily. When a person does any sort of exercise they end up putting a lot of stress and pressure on the body.
The whole body is indulged in the workout and it is under a lot of pressure. This can cause damage to the wound.
There can be a situation when the person damages the wound so badly, that it becomes worse than ever. Even doing light exercise for a longer duration can damage the wound badly.
Hence it is recommended to avoid exercising after the removal of stitches. But after the removal of stitches, one needs to take care of the wound for a while.
As the wound eventually heals without stitches it is a signal that the wound soon will go away and the body part will become strong as normal.
But this takes some time as the wound is still there, so till the wound completely heals, it is recommended not to put any pressure on the wound by exercising rather, the patient is asked to wait.
The patient can start doing light exercise after a few weeks once they have consulted with the doctor but if even after a little exercise, the patient sees severe pain around the wound, they should immediately book an appointment with the doctor.
This way they, can prevent from causing any major harm to the wound.
Conclusion
After the removal of stitches, a wound is still weak and not in its full strength. Henceforth, the patient is asked to avoid exercising. At the initial stage, a patient is allowed to do light exercise after a period of two weeks.
But, for the heavy exercise, the patient is asked to wait until the wound heals completely.
In some cases, the doctor may not approve light exercise even after 2 weeks if the wound heals very slowly so it is better to consult a doctor before starting regular or light exercise.