The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Physical Activity

Taking part in physical activity before and after your surgery can have many health benefits. It can help prevent and manage some of the effects you may experience such as fatigue and low mood.

Why Should We Include Physical Activity into our lifestyle?

The current guidance of physical activity levels of all adults is 150 minutes per week. It has been previously advised that this is achieved by doing 30 minutes of activity a day, 5 days a week or for a minimum of ten minutes but the most recent guidelines from the Department of Health & Social Care suggest that these 150 minutes can in fact be accumulated in bouts of any length. This means even 3 or 4 minutes of activity, for example marching on the spot whilst the kettle boils, accumulates and can contribute to the overall 150 minutes.

The activity is to be of moderate pace, such as walking. The guidance now includes doing balance and strength exercises at least twice a week. However, everyone is different and exercise needs to be tailored to you, taking into account your overall fitness, diagnosis and other factors that could affect your health.

Benefits of physical activity include:

  • Managing side effects of surgery such as fatigue
  • Healthy heart function
  • Reducing anxiety and depression
  • Maintaining a healthy weight
  • Strengthening muscles and improving bone health
  • Improving flexibility and balance
  • Increasing confidence and self-esteem

How can we Manage Fatigue?

Exercise has been shown to be the most effective way to improve fatigue. Please click on the following link for more information on managing fatigue. Click here to view more information on how to manage fatigue

Physical Activity Doesn't Always Mean Exercise

The type of activity or exercise you do may depend on what stage you are at in your recovery. It may also depend on what type of activity you enjoy doing, this could include your every day activities...

Every day activities that can be incorporated into an active lifestyle:

pepe exercise

More energetic activities could include dancing, jogging, cycling and digging the garden.

Where can I Access Exercise Advice and Support?

Wellbeing Walks

The Yorkshire Brain Tumour Charity  have formed a partnership with  Good Footing, a social enterprise who aim to make a positive difference to people’s lives through innovative, engaging and transformative walking experiences. These experiences are available on either a 1 to 1 or group format, and give you the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors at a pace to suit you and your needs.

For more information, visit the Yorkshire Brain Tumour Charity's website by clicking here 

NHS Live Well

As part of the NHS Live Well campaign, the NHS have put together helpful information on how everyone can incorporate physical activity into their daily lives. 

Click on the link below to watch a short video on ways you can get your 150 minutes of exercise per week