Current sports medicine reports
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Curr Sports Med Rep · Jul 2016
ReviewThe Impact of Fitness on Surgical Outcomes: The Case for Prehabilitation.
In recent years, a growing body of research has demonstrated that an individual's fitness level is a strong and independent marker of risk for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. In addition, modest improvements in fitness through exercise intervention have been associated with considerable health outcome benefits. ⋯ The concept of 'prehabilitation' is based on the principle that patients with higher functional capability will better tolerate a surgical intervention, and studies have shown that patients with higher fitness have reduced postoperative complications and demonstrate better functional, psychosocial, and surgery-related outcomes. This review focuses on the impact of fitness on surgical outcomes and provides a rationale in support of routine application of prehabilitation in the management of patients undergoing surgery.