Post-Op Recovery for Women: What Doctors Don’t Always Tell You

There is a lot to say about port-op recovery. I fully intend to expand the conversation. For this post, I would like to stay in our women’s health discussion and concentrate on recovery strategies for women post-surgery.

Surgery recovery can be a lot—and if you’re a woman, there’s a whole layer that often gets missed: your hormones.

Doctors are great with their focus on incisions, stitches, and physical healing timelines. They do the work, repair the damage, potentially provide referrals for physical therapy, and send you off to recover. And yet there’s a missing piece that deserves at least honorable mention.  We need to talk about how hormonal shifts can make or break your recovery.

Here’s some facts:

• Estrogen influences inflammation and collagen production. If you have too much or too little estrogen, you’re healing slower. That might be something worth talking about – pre- and post-op.

(If you’ve been following along with the blog posts in this series, you may notice that estrogen is a common character that has a lot of influence)

• Having surgery during different phases of your menstrual cycle = different outcomes. If you’re on your period or in the luteal phase you can expect more swelling and fatigue.
• Hormonal birth control or menopause impacts circulation, fluid retention, and lymphatic drainage. (there’s that lymphatic drainage again)

These important considerations rarely get mentioned in post-op instructions.

That’s where I come in.

At BodyTech, we support your whole system—not just the surgical site.

Here’s how we help your body heal better:

• Lymphatic drainage massage to reduce swelling and help your body clear out cellular debris
• Corrective movement that gently reintroduces mobility without taxing your system
• Hormone-informed recovery strategies tailored to your phase of healing and your hormonal reality

You don’t need to feel like you’re failing at recovery because your body doesn’t bounce back like the textbook says.

Your recovery deserves nuance. And your hormones deserve a seat at the table.

👉 Ready for recovery support that gets the full picture? Book your session today.

👉 Post-op and feeling stuck? DM me—I got you.