Care & recovery · Comfort
Positioning & Pressure Care
How you sit and lie after surgery affects your pain, your breathing, your skin and your circulation. A few simple habits — and changing position regularly — make recovery smoother and head off problems.
What it is
Positioning is simply the way you arrange the body — sitting, lying and turning — to stay comfortable, protect the surgical wound, breathe well, and keep blood and skin healthy while you're less mobile than usual.
Why you have it
Staying in one position too long after surgery causes real problems: pressure sores over bony areas, stiff and painful joints, mucus pooling in the lungs, and sluggish circulation that raises the risk of clots. Regular, supported movement prevents all four.
Day-to-day care
- Change position at least every 2 hours while resting in bed — even a small shift of weight relieves pressure on the skin and joints.
- Use pillows to support, not just to prop. A pillow under a healing arm or leg, behind the back when turned onto your side, or between the knees keeps you comfortable and takes strain off the wound.
- Protect the bony points. Heels, tailbone, hips, elbows and the back of the head take the most pressure. Lift heels off the bed with a pillow under the calves, and avoid lying directly on a fresh wound.
- Sit upright for meals, drinks and breathing — at least 45 degrees. It helps swallowing, digestion, and keeps the lung bases open.
- Get out of bed the gentle way. Roll onto your side first (a "log roll", keeping your body in line), push up with your arms as you lower your legs over the edge, then sit a moment before standing. This protects tummy and back wounds and avoids dizziness.
- Keep the blood moving. Even in bed, circle your ankles and gently bend and straighten your legs now and then to lower the risk of clots.
- Keep skin clean and dry. Moisture from sweat or leaks weakens skin over pressure points — change damp clothing and bedding promptly.
- Sit out of bed and take short walks as soon as your team allows. Nothing protects skin, lungs and circulation better than being upright and moving.
When to call your team
- Skin over a pressure point looks red and doesn't fade, or turns purple, blistered or broken.
- Pain, swelling, warmth or redness in a calf — a possible clot — or sudden breathlessness or chest pain (treat that as an emergency).
- You can't move a limb, or a position that was comfortable becomes suddenly very painful.
- Wound pain that's steadily increasing, or a wound that gapes, leaks or smells when you move.
- You feel too weak or dizzy to change position or get up safely on your own.
Frequently asked questions
How often do I really need to change position?
Roughly every two hours when resting in bed is the standard guide for protecting the skin. Sitting in a chair, shift your weight every 15–30 minutes. If you can move freely yourself you'll do this naturally — it matters most when movement is limited.
What's the safest way to get out of bed after abdominal surgery?
Log-roll onto your side keeping your body in a straight line, drop your lower legs over the edge of the bed, and push yourself up sideways with your arms — letting your arms, not your stomach, do the work. Sit a moment before standing to avoid dizziness.
Can I lie on the side I had surgery on?
It depends on the operation — ask your team. In general, avoid lying directly on a fresh wound or drain. Pillows to prop yourself slightly off it let you rest on that side more comfortably once it's allowed.
What does an early pressure sore look like?
The first sign is a patch of skin over a bony area that stays red — or looks darker or purplish on brown and black skin — and doesn't fade when you take the pressure off. Catching it there, by relieving pressure, usually stops it going further.