Every year thousands of people decide to have foot surgery. Common procedures include bunion surgery, hammertoe surgery, and surgery for heel pain. Although there are many more types of procedures and there are different surgical techniques that vary between surgeons, the recovery process for patients is all the same. It is for this reason that coming up with a well-thought-out Foot Surgery Recovery Game Plan before your surgery is the best way to ensure that your recovery is a walk in the park!
Here are three things that you should consider after your surgery:
Have your prescriptions filled ahead of time. Imagine you have just returned home from the hospital and so far everything seems to be going great. Your foot was still numb when you returned home, however, moving around the house a little has caused the feeling in your foot to come back. You decide to start taking your pain medication to stay ahead of any discomfort.
The only problem is you forgot to fill your prescriptions ahead of time! Now you have to wait until somebody is able to drive to the pharmacy and back before you can start taking your medication. What if there is car trouble or a traffic accident, pharmacy lines are long, they are out of the medication, or worse yet, the pharmacy is closed? A million things can happen when you need the medicine the most. Don’t let this happen to you, as the delay in time that you take your medication can make all the difference in how much discomfort you experience. Staying ahead of the pain is the best thing you can do to make the immediate post-operative recovery a smooth process and the best way to start is by having your medication ready to go when you need it.
Stay off the treadmill! I had a patient once who had on Monday and on Tuesday she was working out on the treadmill! Clearly, this was not going to help in her immediate recovery and as expected, she had trouble getting back to her normal routine in a timely fashion. There are many variables in recovering from Foot surgery and it’s important to remember that your actions play an integral part in how successfully you recover. Everybody heals at a different rate and as you can’t control how effectively your body repairs itself, you can control your actions which do have an immediate impact on your healing. Use common sense, give your body a chance to heal, and follow the instructions of your foot surgeon!
Beware of the dog. After the surgery is when everyone and everything will seem to hit your foot. Whether laying on the couch or standing next to other people, your foot is always at risk of getting bumped or stepped on by friends, family, and pets! The best thing you can do is be mindful of your surroundings and be cautious. Especially in the immediate days after your surgery, use your protective device(s) (typically a walking boot) to protect your foot from unnecessary hits or stubs. The first few days are when your foot will be the most sensitive and so paying attention to your surroundings will help to ensure that accidental trauma to your foot doesn’t happen.
The three things listed above will help give you a better idea about preparing for your upcoming foot surgery. If you have more questions about what you should expect, call today to set up a time to speak with one of our specialists!
