When can you exercise after cataract surgery? Well, it’s a major operation for your eye. It’s friendly for general health, but it’s a major operation for your eye. I do want people to take good care of their eye in those early days after cataract surgery. But with modern surgical techniques, the eye is very strong, very soon after the surgery and I like my patients to be getting back to some gentle exercise within two or three days after cataract surgery.

I don’t mean heavy lifting and the gym trying to max out the bench press or exceed their PB, but I do want some gentle walking, sitting on an exercise bike or cross trainer and just doing a gentle workout is fine. I think that it is a good idea after a few days if that’s something you’re used to and part of your normal routine. Then you can gradually build up.

If you’re someone who’s able to still participate in contact sports that do need to be left for at least six weeks after the cataract surgery. But golf for example, if I operate on a Tuesday morning, I’m quite happy to have you play golf on the weekend.  So the gentle stroll and taking golf swing a few days after cataract surgery is fine.