Prehabilitation and complications: an educational article

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.

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.