Despite looking easy, recovering from a leg surgery, whether for a knee, foot, or ankle, might become arduous. Usually, it happens in cases where the operated individual doesn’t follow and adhere to the given aftercare instructions, which causes the postoperative landscape to become troublesome. It’s on your part as well to follow through with certain measures that could help you out on your recovery journey. We at SNUG360 fully comprehend the cruciality of recovering fast from a leg surgery and for it, here we've mentioned some of the best tips for a faster recovery from a leg surgery.
1. Rest Well
Getting adequate rest is essential in all sorts of recovery, whether it’s related to surgery or a sport. You need to provide your body with an ample amount of rest time so that it can heal itself. While you might be furious to get back on your knees to continue with your daily normal routine, you need to understand the fact that recovery is what would help your body heal and recover. The human body recovers and heals itself more during sleep. Because of this, it’s advisable to form appropriate sleep practices that would facilitate cellular repair, which is essential for postoperative healing. Before going to bed, try minimizing your screen exposure, practice reading a book or listening to some soothing music, and keep the surroundings quiet and dark. Avoid having caffeine or heavy meals before going to sleep. While resting, be sure to provide your legs ample support as well.
2. Eat Nutritional Food
Your body’s ability to heal itself is affected by the stuff you eat as well. Consuming the right nutrition helps fortify your body’s natural building blocks. You can consult a dietician to help you create a diet plan consisting of all the viable nutrition that the body needs for proper recovery. Any previous health conditions should also be taken into account while getting a nutritional plan prepared. Corroborating this diet plan would also reduce your chances of facing issues like infection, falls, and delayed recovery that normally prevail post-surgery. To be brief, you must focus on consuming foods that are high in iron, protein, and other essential nutrients. While recovering from the surgery, try avoiding processed food, alcohol, and items rich in added sugar.
3. Wear Anti-Embolism Compression Stockings
Choosing to wear a pair of anti-embolism hosiery could be one of the best decisions you can make while recovering from a leg surgery. Also known as TED stockings, these anti-embolism compression stockings provide graduated pressure to the legs. This applied firm pressure improves blood circulation in the legs, which helps the body push back blood to the heart more conveniently. This way, blood pooling in the veins is prevented and the risk of the development of nerve-related ailments like blood clots (deep vein thrombosis, DVT) reduces accordingly. Wearing these stockings not only reduces the risk of blood clots but also helps with post-surgical swelling. Anti-embolism stockings based on a compression level of 14–18 mmHg are generally considered suitable for surgical recovery.
4. Avoid Smoking
Smoking is linked to an increased risk of facing complications and reduced recovery time after undergoing surgery. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the wound site, which might lead to infection and slower healing. It is also found to weaken the immune system, cause breathing problems, and make the blood thicken and clot more easily. If you've got to go through surgery in the future, it’s best to stop smoking at least eight weeks before the surgery. Even studies have pointed out that people who follow this recommendation experience better wound healing than those who continue to smoke.
5. Practice Physical Therapy
Based on the type of surgery and severity of the treated complication, you might be required to remain immobile for the first few weeks. After that, the concerned healthcare expert would recommend physical therapy. Doing so would help you recover fast from your leg surgery by enhancing blood flow in the surgical area, reducing inflammation, improving the range of motion, fortifying muscles, preventing scar tissue formation, and helping the body regain its complete functioning ability as quickly as possible. Light exercises like foot and ankle pumps, knee flexion and extension, and knee extension hold normally go best in the early postoperative phase. Other than that, the physical therapist might suggest using heat or ice packs to alleviate the postoperative pain and discomfort.
6. Use Supportive Devices
Other than anti-embolism compression stockings, supportive devices like crutches, canes, wheelchairs, braces, or walkers might also be used to help speed up the recovery process after undergoing leg surgery. Using these devices helps the patient provide stability to the injured leg, facilitates early mobilization, minimizes pain levels, and reduces swelling as well. Moreover, these devices help maintain proper alignment and prevent excessive movement at the surgical site, enabling patients to regain their mobility and independence much faster. Based on your progress made, you’ll be allowed to wear off these mobility aids.
7. Ensure Proper Hydration
Just stuffing yourself with nutrition-rich food won’t be enough, as providing your body the right amount of hydration is equally important. Providing your body with an ample amount of fluids will ensure that the body’s cells are adequately hydrated and that all physiological functions are working well. Make it a priority to fulfill your body’s daily fluid requirements that would help reduce pain levels, flush out toxins, and support wound healing as well. You also need to address your body’s electrolyte requirements as well. Taking electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and chloride would aid neuromuscular function and fluid balance. Any sort of inconsistency in these levels could lead to muscle weakness, cramping, and even serious cardiovascular issues. So be observant of common signs of dehydration like dry mouth, lightheadedness, or concentrated urine. The best thing you can do is establish a hydration plan for yourself that would ensure your fluid consumption needs are being met.
8. Monitor Surgery Site
Along with caring about your food and fluid intake, you need to inspect the surgical site as well. Examine the incision or surgical site for any signs of infection, bleeding, redness, swelling, warmth, abnormal healing, or unusual pain. Identifying these signs of complications at the earliest stages would allow you to opt for timely treatment. You need to duly follow the surgeon’s instructions regarding wound care and dressing to keep the incision site safe from any possible contamination or infections. Following these measures would prevent the chances of you getting deviated from timely recovery.
Closing Thoughts
A successful recovery after a leg surgery requires adhering to several measures, all combinedly. All the above-mentioned tips are found to be effective in helping you return to your previous daily life routine. Be mindful of eating the right foodstuff, duly practice the advised exercises, halt smoking for a while, consume adequate amounts of fluid, inspect the surgery site well, and wear anti-embolism stockings for a while. For your TED hose and anti-embolism compression stockings needs, you can trust our brand SNUG360. Fabricated in the USA, our range of compression stockings is made using the right blend of spandex and nylon, making them ideal for everyday wear.