Care & recovery · Lungs
Chest Physiotherapy & Breathing
After an operation, the simplest thing you can do to avoid a chest infection is to breathe deeply and move. These exercises take only a few minutes an hour and make a real difference.
What it is
Chest physiotherapy is a set of breathing exercises and gentle techniques that help you take fuller breaths, move air to the bottom of your lungs, and clear any mucus that has pooled there.
Why you have it
Anaesthetic, pain and lying still all make you breathe shallowly after surgery. Air doesn't reach the bases of the lungs, tiny air sacs collapse (atelectasis) and mucus settles — the perfect setup for a chest infection. Regular deep breathing reopens the lungs and clears the mucus before that happens.
Day-to-day care
- Sit as upright as you can — in a chair or well propped up. Upright lungs expand far better than slumped ones.
- Breathing control. Start with a few relaxed, normal breaths using your lower chest, shoulders loose. This settles you between the harder breaths.
- Deep breaths. Take a slow breath in through your nose, as deep as is comfortable, and hold it for 2–3 seconds before breathing out gently. Repeat 3–4 times — this reopens the lung bases.
- Huff to move mucus. Take a medium breath and breathe out fast through an open mouth, as if steaming up a mirror. A huff shifts mucus upward without the strain of coughing.
- Then cough to clear it, supporting your wound (see below). Repeat the whole cycle — relax, deep breaths, huff, cough — a few times.
- Support your wound. Hold a folded towel or pillow firmly against your incision when you huff or cough. It hurts far less, so you'll breathe more willingly.
- Do it often. Aim for a few deep breaths every hour you're awake, especially in the first days. If you have an incentive spirometer, use it as your reminder and target.
- Move and drink. Sitting out of bed and short walks open the lungs better than any exercise done lying down, and staying hydrated keeps mucus loose and easy to clear.
When to call your team
- A fever, or feeling shivery and generally unwell.
- Coughing up green, yellow, brown or blood-stained phlegm.
- Getting more breathless, or breathing faster than usual at rest.
- Chest pain that's new, or that's worse when you breathe in.
- Mucus you simply can't shift despite the exercises.
Frequently asked questions
Won't coughing burst my stitches?
It's a very common fear, but supporting the wound firmly with a pillow or rolled towel as you cough protects it. Properly closed wounds are stronger than they feel — clearing your chest matters more than the fear of coughing.
How often should I really do these?
A few deep breaths and a huff every waking hour in the first days after surgery is the usual advice. It feels repetitive, but that frequency is exactly what keeps the lung bases open and prevents infection.
What's the point of the huff versus just coughing?
A huff — a fast breath out with an open mouth — moves mucus up the airways with much less effort and pain than coughing, and it's less tiring. You then need only a small cough to clear it the rest of the way.
Do I still need this if I'm up and walking?
Walking is excellent and does a lot of the same work, so if you're moving well you may need the formal exercises less. Many people do both — a walk, plus a few deep-breathing cycles when resting.