Let’s just be honest about it: Nobody really enjoys the recovery period after a foot or ankle surgery. Depending on the nature of your procedure, you can generally expect to spend at least a couple of weeks—and in some cases a couple of months—off your feet. Some rehabilitation will likely follow, and then probably a gradual return to your previous activity levels. It won’t pass as quickly as you want it to. It won’t always be easy. But it doesn’t have to be miserable!
In fact, there are many things you can do throughout your recovery to not only make the experience easier and more pleasant, but also to accelerate the healing process and achieve the quickest possible recovery. Our experienced Centerville foot doctors at Sunshein Podiatry understand what you're going through, and offer our top five things to do when you're recovering from foot or ankle surgery to stay healthy, stay sane, and plan for a better, more active future!
Tip #1: Stock Up and Get Ahead
It's a good idea to make sure you’re all set for at least a couple of weeks on common household consumables, including paper products, garbage bags, pantry foods, and so on. If you have time to make some meals ahead of time and freeze them, that saves you not only a trip to the store but also a lot of time and stress in the kitchen.
Plan to complete any semi-regular chores before the procedure so you’re not scrambling for a clean shirt or a fresh towel a few days after surgery. Tasks such as laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, taking out the trash, or even preparing meals can become surprisingly difficult when mobility is limited. You likely won’t be able to bear any weight—and we mean this seriously—for quite some time, making everyday responsibilities far more challenging without preparation or help.
Tip #2: Coordinate With Your Caregivers
For some people, this will be no problem at all. For others? Not so much. Not every person has an easy time asking for help. When you’re recovering from foot surgery, though, it’s important to make sure you have people around to support you, especially during those first few days and weeks after your surgery.
In addition to having someone on hand to drive you home immediately after the procedure, it’s good to make sure you’ll at least have a family member, friend, or neighbor drop by on a daily basis, or just be on hand to shop for you, clean for you, or help you with other tasks you can’t accomplish on your own.
Tip #3: Prepare Your Home to Be a Place of Healing
In the days and weeks after surgery, you’ll prefer to avoid any preventable accidents when moving around the house or up and down stairs. To help make your home easier to navigate, consider:
- Adjusting your primary sleeping, dressing, and bathing areas to a single level or concentrated area.
- Thoroughly clean your home of clutter, unnecessary furniture, cords, or other obstacles that could pose tripping hazards.
- Setting up more night lights around the house so if you do have to move about in the dark, you can always see where you’re going.
- Relocating any frequently used items, such as pantry items, cookware, clothing, and so on, to places where you won’t have to reach up high or bend over to access them.
- Installing grab bars, tub chairs, non-skid mats, and other aids in bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas where extra stability is needed.
Tip #4: Follow Your Post-Surgical Instructions Closely
We can't overstate this: being mindful of post-operative care is often just as important as the surgery itself in terms of both the speed and quality of your recovery. Hopefully, this is your first—and last—surgery. This is all new for you.
However, our ankle and foot surgeons at Sunshein Podiatry have conducted thousands of them since 1991. So trust us when we say that we’re not just making this stuff up. Our guidelines are meant to protect you and help you heal as fully, safely, and quickly as possible. So even though you may be tempted to “cheat”—especially if things seem to be going well—make sure you stick to the treatment and post-surgical protocol outlined for your recovery.
Some general considerations and components we may include in your plan include:
- Rest. Surgery recovery requires a lot of effort from your body. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t take as many measures as possible to avoid using it as a treatment option. Since it is, though, you will need to give your body the chance to perform its natural healing processes after the procedure.
- Medication. Depending on your procedure and situation, we'll likely recommend or prescribe some form of medication for you. The pain-relieving properties of medicine certainly play a role, but the anti-inflammatory ones can be immensely helpful in assisting with your recovery.
- Hygienic practices. The potential for infection is a significant risk associated with surgery. This risk doesn’t end once the procedure is completed, though. It's essential to keep any vulnerable areas clean to reduce the chance of developing an infection in recovery.
- Restricted movement. Over time, your amount and range of movement will increase, but we may advise limiting the movement of the affected area for at least a certain period.
- Assistive devices. We may issue or prescribe braces, casts, or other devices to help you keep weight off the repaired limb while still allowing you to be mobile.
- Physical therapy. As you recover, it'll be necessary to gradually ease into physical movement. To that end, physical therapy plays a key role in post-surgical care. Stretching and strengthening exercises are essential for making sure your movement is as natural as possible.
- Follow-up appointments. Don’t worry, you’re not on your own after the surgery! Our team schedules regular post-operative evaluations to monitor your progress and ensure everything is mending as it should.
We might also suggest MLS laser therapy to help your recovery, as it can help lessen pain, reduce swelling, elimiante the need for medications, and even help the surgical site heal more quickly.
Tip #5: Keep Your Brain Engaged
Boredom is one of the most challenging aspects for many people to overcome when recovering from foot or ankle surgery. This is especially true if you’re used to being extremely active in your daily life. So think about what you might like to focus on for the few weeks when you’ll need to rest your feet. Here are some ideas many of our patients have shared over the years:
- Pick out some shows and movies to watch. Get up to speed on the latest dramas all the kids are talking about these days, or take some time to re-watch or catch up on the classics.
- Select some new books. If you take a trip to the library a couple of days before surgery, you can arm yourself with hours upon hours of enjoyment as you recover.
- Try different games or puzzles. Whether you prefer jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, sudoku, or massively multiple online role-playing games, now is the time!
- Develop a new skill or hobby. Did you always want to learn to sew or play guitar? Make more time for your scrapbooking? Learn how to code? While you’re waiting for your foot to heal, what’s stopping you?
- Write some letters. A hand-written card or letter to someone you haven’t connected with in a while can be a meaningful experience—for you and the person you’re writing to!
As your foot continues to heal, we may clear you to begin reintroducing some non-impact or low-impact exercises to help you get moving again.
Put Your Trust in Us
Our podiatrists fully understand that nobody enjoys dealing with the aftermath of a foot or ankle surgery. However, if we recommend it, you can take comfort in the fact that we’ve helped hundreds of patients in Greater Dayton find relief from pain and improve foot function through skilled surgical care—and we can do the same for you.