In life, one of the first things you are taught is how to take care of a wound. Even if you are not hurt, learning first aid is important as you can be prepared for the worst when the situation arises. Often before a game, people are prepped with medication to make the process smoother. But can you apply the same logic in healing from surgery? Sometimes people ‘pre-game’ certain things like, they eat fever medication before the fever reaches its peak and nip it in the bud. Sports people warm-up before a game to make sure their body is in game mode, even before the game starts. Similarly, we have prehab or prehabilitation to help your body recover better. Prehab is like getting your body ready for a big event, like a sports game or a race. In this case, the big event is surgery. It's about doing things before your surgery to help you recover faster and easier. Instead of just thinking about getting better after surgery, prehab is about making your body strong and healthy before you go under the knife. This might mean changing what you eat, exercising more, and even getting more support from friends and family. The goal is to make your body as tough as possible so it can handle the surgery better and heal quickly. It's like training for a marathon – you wouldn't just show up on race day without practicing!What Did the Study Show?A recent study published in the BMJ researchers looked at lots of different studies about prehab, including almost 16,000 patients. The researchers found that people who exercised regularly before their surgery had a much lower chance of having problems compared to people who didn't exercise. People who ate healthily had a lower risk too, and the people who did both exercise and ate well, and had good social support had the lowest risk of all. The study also showed that prehab could help people leave the hospital a day or two earlier. While the study had some limitations, like some of the studies only looked at one hospital, the results are really promising and suggest that prehab can be a big help for people having surgery.How Does Prehab Help?Prehab helps by making you healthier overall before your surgery. This can involve a few important things. Regular exercise makes your heart stronger, builds your muscles, and gives you more energy. Eating healthy foods gives your body the good stuff it needs to work well and heal. And having people who care about you and support you can make you feel less stressed and more positive, which also helps you recover. By doing these things before surgery, you can lower your chances of having problems and might even be able to leave the hospital sooner. It's all about giving your body the best chance to get better quickly.Making Your Own Prehab Plans The best prehab plan is one that's made just for you. You need to talk to your doctor and other people on your healthcare team to get their advice. They know what kind of surgery you're having, what your health is like, and other important things. Your prehab plan might include changes to your diet, like eating more of certain foods, and an exercise plan. While the big study looked at lots of different kinds of surgeries, other studies have looked at specific surgeries and types of people. For example, a study published in the JAMA network showed that prehab is really good for people having bone and joint surgery, helping them move better, feel better, and get stronger. Other studies have found that prehab helps people with certain kinds of cancer surgery recover faster. But one study that looked at older adults found that prehab, while helpful, didn't make a huge difference in muscle strength. This means it's really important to have a prehab plan that's right for you.