“Why do I need to keep my foot elevated after surgery?”
I am a 49 year old male. I want to know why do I need to keep my foot elevated after surgery?
11 Answers
The reason is one to stay off of the surgery site, two is to reduce swelling, three is to reduce pain, four is reduce the risks of blood clot.
Keeping the foot elevated above the heart helps with swelling. So yes it is recommended to keep the foot elevated after surgery
We ask patients to keep their foot elevated so as to decrease swelling because swelling can cause complications such as incisions not healing and softly tissue not healing.
Elevation helps to reduce swelling. Swelling results in pain. So, elevation helps to reduce pain.
Tammer Elmarsafi
Podiatrist (Foot and Ankle Specialist)
The foot is very unique in the sense that gravity is constantly working to keep fluid pooled in your feet and legs. Walking helps to move fluid, but after surgery, you aren’t able to do so. This, in addition to the swelling from surgery, will result in increased pain, and can be avoided with elevation.
Swelling is the most common problem after surgery. Want to think of gravity pushes fluid down and to get fluid back out there are valves that have to work which use the calf muscle to do this. Elevating above heart level gives the valves a rest and allows the fluid to flow from the foot after surgery back into the system to be flushed out.
Elevation of the operative foot will help reduce swelling which will reduce pain and help the healing process. Discuss with your surgeon for best way to accomplish this in your particular case
To reduce swelling and the pain associated with swelling.
Elevating prevents the blood and bodily fluids from collecting in the feet and legs due to gravity, thusly, reducing or preventing swelling in the surgical area(s). Icing also reduces swelling by preventing inflammation and increased fluid collection in the feet and legs.
Because the foot will swell and be more painful if you let it hang on the ground
After any injury (surgery is basically a controlled injury), you will experience a great deal of swelling. Too much swelling can be detrimental to the outcome of the surgery, and can cause other issues with healing. Elevating helps to keep the swelling down, and helps with pain control. When you elevate, you should be elevating your extremity above the level of your chest, if possible, for the first 72 hours to 1 wk after surgery, then it is ok to elevate a little bit lower than your chest. Blood, like any fluid, flows 'downstream.' So elevating above the level of your heart makes the blood have to travel 'upstream,' decreasing the amount of swelling
