Do newly spayed puppies really need to be confined?

We got our 4½ month old puppy spayed yesterday. We got her home at 5:30 and she slept until this morning, save for a couple bathroom breaks we woke her up for. She seemed fine, but tired. Today, she was back to her old self.

We were told to keep her from running, playing, jumping, and climbing stairs. In order to do this, we have to keep her in her pen (indoors), which is about 10 square feet of space with her bed, toys, and food/water. She’s normally in the pen from 8AM until 4PM with one bathroom/lunch break and then she’s out with us from 4PM until 9PM, running around being a very hyper puppy.

She’s already stir crazy in the pen, and this is supposed to last 7–10 days. She’s eating and going potty fine, she’s not acting like she’s in pain, and I know she’s dying to jump up on the couch and play tug of war with us. It’s just impossible to keep her from jumping and running unless she’s in her pen.

I don’t want to compromise the healing process, but is it truly necessary to keep her locked up for so long? I feel bad!