One Foot in Front of the Other: A Podiatry Collection

3 Useful Tips When Recovering from Foot Surgery

12 February 2020 by Elijah Turner

If you have a foot problem that's hindering your movement, you may need to have foot surgery. You should expect specific instructions from your surgeon concerning the recovery period, but you can further improve your recovery by keeping these tips in mind. 

Keep Foot Elevated

How you position your foot after surgery is something you need to take into consideration. Otherwise, blood may not flow properly and this can result in excessive swelling. That's the last thing you want to worry about after one of these procedures.

So that everything goes smoothly, keep your foot elevated as much as you can throughout the day. This may require you to lay in bed for long stretches with the operated foot up on a couple of pillows. Then, you can promote blood flow and speed up this recovery process.

Utilize Ice Therapy

There may be points during your recovery after foot surgery where your foot starts to swell. That doesn't mean you need to sound the alarm. Rather, you may be able to get the swelling down with ice therapy.

Get a cold pack and apply it to the area that's swelling. Keep it on for a bit of time and see how your foot responds. The pain should subside and the swelling should as well. Keep applying the cold pack throughout the day to see optimal results. There are all sorts of cold packs you can purchase today, too. Just go with something you can be comfortable having on your foot periodically throughout the day. 

Try Physical Therapy

If you had a major operation performed on your foot, such as to repair ligaments, then the recovery may be longer than traditional surgery. The best thing you can do in this situation is to try physical therapy.

A professional physical therapist will monitor your recovery and put you through a series of exercises. They're intended to increase your range of motion and get your foot working like it once did. With a physical therapist's help, you'll be able to get through recovery a lot quicker and you'll have a support system to rely on. 

Having your foot operated on may cause you a lot of stress, but it doesn't have to be that bad. You just need to take the recovery process seriously and know how to get through it from start to finish. Then, you'll be on your feet in no time. 

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