Question from Klaus B.: After having a tooth extracted a quarter of a year ago, a large abscess in my upper jaw had to be opened a month ago. I lost another tooth, took antibiotics and painkillers for a week and was banned from sport. However, my dentist is not a sports doctor and probably wants to be on the safe side. I'm wondering how I should get back into training now and would also like to know something about rehabilitation after operations, including other types. I am 57 years old and otherwise in good physical condition.
Answer from Dr Robert Eifler: Such purulent inflammation of the tooth root is a bacterial infection, so there is a risk of other organs being involved, such as inflammation of the heart valve - antibiotic treatment over several days is therefore necessary. Post-operative bleeding can also occur, which is why physical activity should be avoided immediately after the inflammation - at least for the duration of the antibiotic treatment. Very light exercise such as walking is of course possible.
Under no circumstances should you try to make up for the missed training by increasing the intensity as quickly as possible. Following antibiotic therapy, you should first complete five to six easy, increasing units in the basic endurance range (GA 1) before training more intensively. Otherwise, the training programme after surgery depends primarily on the type of operation and your fitness level. Abdominal operations such as appendectomies and hernias usually require a training break of 14 days to three weeks, depending on age and fitness. Broken bones that do not require surgery take about six weeks. After this, a new, slow training programme is advisable.
