2 Things You Can Do To Help Heal From Ankle Replacement Surgery
If you have damaged your ankle, your doctor may suggest that you get a total ankle replacement. If you do that, you want to make sure that you are doing everything possible to make sure that you are healing as well as possible. Getting a total ankle replacement is a major surgery, and you don't want to have to go through another surgery before you have to. So, what can do you do to make the healing process go as easily as possible?
Listen to Your Doctor
You may have the urge to fudge the doctor's instructions a little bit, maybe by putting some weight on your ankle before you're supposed to or walking around a lot when you shouldn't, especially toward the end of the healing process when you are feeling better and stronger. However, you need to do exactly what your doctor says for as long as they say. If you have questions about what you can and can't do, make sure that you ask your doctor. You can write a list of your questions and take it to an appointment so that you can get the answers that you want.
Arrange Your House
Another thing you can do to make your healing process go well is to make some new arrangements to your house before you have surgery. Since you will be spending the first few weeks off your feet as much as possible, you want to make sure that you have your house arranged so that you can have everything you need as close to you as possible. That can include doing things like arranging a snack cache near your bed or couch or putting a footstool and additional pillows where you will be so that you can raise your foot to aid in healing and swelling reduction. You should also move things like area rugs so that you don't slip and furniture so that you have more open spaces to walk around, especially if you are going to have to use a cane, crutches, or a walker. If you have a pet that needs to be walked, talk to a friend or family member about walking your pet for you, as well as talking to them about helping you take out trash and do laundry.
When you are planning on getting a total ankle replacement, you want to make sure that you are doing everything you can so that you can heal as quickly as possible. There are things that you can do that will make it easier for you to heal quickly and make your surgery a total success.