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Recovering from Podiatric Surgery


Getting Back on Your Feet after Podiatric Surgery

Podiatric surgery can greatly improve patients’ quality of life, relieving chronic pain and improving mobility. Foot surgery will keep you off your feet for a time, and during recovery, care will have to be taken to avoid disturbing surgical wounds or reducing the effectiveness of the surgery. Compliance with your foot specialist’s orders and a commitment to foot care will help patients quickly get back on their feet and enjoy the benefits of podiatric surgery.

Foot Surgery Recovery

About 75 percent of Americans will encounter foot problems at some point in their lives. Many of these problems are temporary and may resolve on their own, while others are more serious and can cause chronic pain or mobility problems. Older people tend to have foot problems requiring a podiatrist’s help more often than the general population.

Many people with long-running foot problems do nothing about them, mistakenly reasoning that foot pain is normal. The truth is that many causes of foot pain are easily treatable, often without surgery.

Foot pain can greatly impact patients’ quality of life. In a recent survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association, about half of all adults said that foot pain interferes with their activities. More than 80 percent of survey respondents who say they suffer from regular foot pain said foot pain interferes with their daily activities. The most common complaints were that foot pain interfered with walking or standing for extended periods. It also had a discouraging effect on exercising. By seeing a foot specialist and obtaining treatment, patients can stop foot pain from impacting their daily lives and restricting their activities.

Common Foot Problems Requiring Surgery

According to the Florida Podiatric Medical Association, podiatric physicians tend to about 42 million patient visits per year. Of those, about 20 percent will involve surgical procedures. Ten percent of those will involve surgery affecting bones, muscles, tendons, or joints.

There are a variety of ailments that podiatric physicians will need to treat surgically. Some of the most common include:

Recovering From Foot Surgery

To properly recover from foot surgery, patients need to follow their physicians’ advice concerning rest and care. Following your foot doctor’s advice will speed up the recovery process and help deter infection or re-injury.

Some common best practices for foot surgery aftercare:

Proper foot care, including visits to foot specialists like Dr. Sean Ravaei, can help ensure that patients detect and treat foot problems that can lead to mobility issues. This is especially important to older adults. Regular foot care can also help in the early detection and treatment of other ailments. Problems with the feet can often be a warning sign of other health issues. Early symptoms of arthritis, nerve problems, circulatory issues, and diabetes often manifest first in the feet.

By visiting a podiatrist, obtaining needed treatment, and following good aftercare practices, patients can quickly recover from foot surgery and begin enjoying the benefits of less pain and greater mobility.

Sources:
http://www.ipma.net/?page=15
https://www.fpma.com/what_is_podiatric_medicine.php
http://www.apma.org/files/APMA2014TodaysPodiatristSurveyAllFindings.pdf
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