Specific care is a must following a sports surgery. Post-operative instructions include medicines, therapy, exercises, and other recommendations provided by your sports medicine doctor. A number of follow-up appointments is needed in order for your condition to be monitored well by your doctor.
These tips are helpful for a successful hand surgery:
1. Waterproof Surgical Bandage or Plastic Bags
As your bandages protect your incisions, make sure that your dressings and bandages are always dry so as to avoid infections. Do not let them get wet so when you’re taking a shower, cover the part with dressing with a plastic bag. You can also use a shower sleeve which could also help you immensely when moving. There are waterproof surgical bandages too. Talk to your doctor on the options to keep your incisions from getting wet.
2. Preparation
Depending on the surgery, recovery takes time and oftentimes frustrating. But with proper care, each day post-surgery will get better and your recovery will improve as you go along. Just follow your orthopedic surgeon or sports medicine doctor’s advice and be on track for your therapies to regain your body part’s function and go back to your normal activities.
3. Know Your Body
After a surgery, expect that it would thins may be inconvenient to do or uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are tools and items available to lessen the inconvenience caused by surgery. Your orthopedic surgeon will help you and give you advise on pain meds to ease the pain and discomfort. Everyone has different pain tolerance and as you undergo recovery, you will determine yours. Be vocal and honest to your doctor in how you feel so they could provide the medication and support that you need.
4. Be Fit
Therapy is an integral part of your post-surgery recovery. One should gradually go back to doing some basic stretching and exercise routine that’s appropriate to your condition and fitness levels and it shouldn’t be overlooked. This will help you speed up your recovery and improve your strength. Physical therapy is essential for hand surgeries. Include it on your daily activities and make sure to keep your exercise schedule consistently to be able to recover quickly and successfully.
5. Minimize Swelling
For those who had hand surgery, it helps to raise your hand above your heart to minimize pain and swelling. Do this after 2 to 5 days after your surgery, as per your doctor’s recommendation and approval of course. Prioritize this to avoid further swelling. You could prepare your home or areas in your home where you could do this and spend time exercising comfortably. Make sure that you’re comfortable by adding extra pillows on the bed to make sure that you keep your arms elevated. A chair with armrest is also great because you can easily place a pillow there to elevate your arm and heal quickly.
There are ways to enhance the quality of your recovery but the primary thing that you should do is to look for a sports medicine doctor that has the experience and 5-star recommendations so that you will have a successful surgery, post-surgery care, and recovery. A caring, intelligent, and reliable doctor like Dr. Gregory Kolovich could help you in quickly detecting your issues and could easily provide you with the precise recommendations and suitable treatment options for your condition. Dr. Kolovich finished his Doctor of Medicine (cum laude) at the Ohio State University. He also attended Harvard University for his fellowship that was centered on Hand and Micro-surgery. Dr. Kolovich is the President of the Georgia Society for Surgery of the Hand and is also the co-developer of the state-of-the-art Micro C handheld fluoroscopy device. He is an orthopedic hand surgeon also specializing in sports medicine based in Savannah, Georgia.
The above tips and recommendations are general tips and make sure to ask your doctor for the best advice suitable to your condition.
Are you looking for an orthopedic surgeon or a sports medicine doctor in Georgia, USA? Go to OptimHealth
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