When people think of physical therapy, they think of exercising on machinery or using bulky dumbbells to take care of their muscles. Nevertheless, with some common household items you can strengthen your muscles in between physical therapy visits and get healthier as you are rehabilitating after your surgery.

One of the most important things is that you are able to do these exercises within a small confined area:

Exercising your upper extremities

It is quite simple to use common household items to strengthen yourself. Here are some simple exercises you can do to help improve your muscles. They 

• Use some 14 ounce cans of fruit to do bicep curls. The key to strengthening your muscles isn't the size of the weights, but the resistance is the key to improving your strength. Do these curls as slowly as you can. Hold each position for as long as you can as you bring your fist to your shoulder. As you are returning your arm to a resting position, do it as slowly as possible to work your muscles.
• Put these same cans of fruit in your hands and lift them slowly up over your head. This will strengthen your back and shoulder muscles. As with the bicep curls, hold each position for as long as is safely possible on both the way up to their full extension above your head and then back down to a resting position.
• Get a pull up bar. These bars can go over any standard door frame and use the strength of the frame to be able to hold any weight. Do as many pull ups as possible. If you can't do any, start by going as far up as you can and back down. Repeat this exercise up to 5 times, then rest. As you build your muscles, work in more repetitions.

Exercising your lower extremities

It can be more challenging to exercise your lower extremities in a small area, but there are still simple exercises that you can to do strengthen your leg muscles while you are recuperating.

• Get a peddle exerciser. These are quite small and can fit under a desk or table. When you are sitting down, peddle around while you are eating or working. You will get great exercise while you are otherwise stationary. If you need to have more resistance, simply increase the tension bar to get a better workout.
• Put books on your knees and lift your heels up off the ground, keeping the ball of your feet in contact with the ground. This will work your calf muscles. As you build strength, move to a standing position and do the same exercise.
• Tie bags of rice to your ankles and while you are sitting in a chair, lift and extend your legs until they are parallel with the ground. As your quadriceps muscles strengthen, increase the weight in the bags.

These simple exercises will help you to rehabilitate sooner and get independent again. For more information and help, contact a physical therapy professional.