ERAS and early mobilisation: a 2022 review
2022 review of early mobilisation in ERAS pathways: complications, walking again, hospital stay. A summary, not a new study.
Blog · Steps and oxygenation
Prehabilitation and complications: an educational article
2025 educational article: what prehabilitation is, with exercise and protein before surgery. Its figures do not name the study they come from.
Prehabilitation is a programme that prepares the body in the weeks before surgery. A 2025 patient-education article on a medical practice's website reports that programmes combining moderate exercise and nutritional support can reduce complications after surgery by as much as 36% and shorten the hospital stay by nearly a day. The article does not say which study the 36% comes from, or for which operations it holds: read it as a reported order of magnitude, not as a result to expect.
What a prehabilitation programme includes
According to the article, a structured programme combines aerobic and resistance exercise with a high-protein eating plan. Stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol before surgery are part of it too.
What to do, and how much, is decided by the care team, person by person.
Look at which group of people the study followed.
The role of protein
The article explains that protein helps rebuild tissue and produce collagen, and that vitamin C supports collagen synthesis. It also says the benefit is greater for older people and for patients with a higher anaesthetic risk (ASA class).
What the article does not say
It is a text for patients, not a study: it does not describe a group of people followed over time, and it does not say how the reduction in complications was measured. A verifiable figure needs the original studies.
The Digital Twin and this research
The Digital Twin lines up the data your devices write to your phone, such as steps, heart rate and sleep, and shows you how they change over time. It does not certify that you are ready for surgery, it does not set the programme and it does not diagnose: what you read here describes groups of people, not you. Preparation for surgery is decided and followed by the care team.
The source is at the bottom. Open it.
The source
This summary starts from research by others. It is not medical advice for you: talk it over with your doctor.
Their study. Your data.
Related reading
Exercise and lung surgery: a meta-analysis of seven studies
Meta-analysis of seven studies, 404 people having lung cancer surgery: those who exercised first had fewer complications. The 5,000 steps come from one.
Exercise before major surgery: a 2014 review
2014 review: high-quality evidence for exercise before cardiovascular surgery; for other surgery, only circumstantial.
More studies, same rule: read the source.