Here are five steps you can take to effectively ice your body postoperatively:
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Check with your doctor: Before you begin any postoperative icing regimen, it's important to check with your doctor to make sure that it's safe and appropriate for you.
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Use a cold compress: Apply a cold compress or ice pack to the affected area for 15-20 minutes at a time, several times a day. Be sure to wrap the ice pack in a towel or cloth to avoid direct contact with your skin, which can cause frostbite or skin damage.
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Elevate the affected area: Elevating the affected area above your heart can also help reduce swelling and inflammation. This can be especially helpful for areas like the legs or feet.
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Follow a schedule: Stick to a consistent schedule for icing the affected area. For example, you might ice the area for 15-20 minutes every 2-3 hours.
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Monitor for complications: While icing can be helpful in reducing pain and inflammation, it's important to monitor for any signs of complications, such as skin damage or prolonged numbness. If you experience any concerning symptoms, contact your doctor right away.
Post Operative pain can cause muscle atrophy, joint stiffness, and range-of-motion loss. It's good to know that most of this pain can be avoided. It's essential to quantify pain when treating it. To evaluate the effectiveness of pain management, the gold standard is the patient's self-assessment.
Disclaimer: Sky Medical Supplies provides affordable equipment, supplies, and products to address your
patients' acute and chronic pain management solutions, including electrotherapy, hot and cold therapy, creams and ointments, and pharma products. Here are the five ways you could control post-operative pain entirely or partially.
Before beginning surgery, your surgeon should deploy local nerve blocks during preemptive anesthesia.
After the nerve-numbing medications are thoroughly injected into the tissue, most patients can start their range of motion exercises within a couple of hours of the procedure.
Use of ice therapy machine/cryotherapy
This is partly because swelling prevents the collagen fibers from healing correctly due to swollen tissues. Therefore, all tricks must be employed to reduce swelling. Intense compression with wraps is the best way to reduce swelling. Ice effectively dampens the nerve fibers while decreasing swelling. In combination with elevation, the swelling subsides quickly. The higher the elevation, the greater the benefit of gravity will be. It is essential to turn around in bed and put your foot against the wall if possible. You can elevate your legs with a wedge pillow. There are several options for getting an ice therapy machine; for example, the donjoy ice machine is best when used with the right pad. You can also use the vive health and pain management Arctic Ice Clear Machine with Universal Pad for past pain relief.
Ice therapy benefits
The pain can be excruciating during the early postoperative period, preventing recovery. It is crucial to control pain during mobilization, but narcotics have side effects that can decrease activity and extend hospital stays, morbidity, and patient satisfaction. Minimizing those side effects is crucial to adequate pain control. Generally, intermittent cooling with ice or a device is prescribed 24 to 48 hours after TKA to help reduce swelling and pain.
A cold therapy session can provide many benefits, especially when you are recovering from surgery or when you have been injured. This technique is part of the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) healing method and is widely used around the globe. An ice pack with an elastic bandage is one way to utilize cold therapy.
As a result of technological advances, cold therapy can now be applied at any time. A device that circulates water through ice reservoirs provides cold treatment. This reservoir is connected to a wrap that may help reduce swelling by adding a compression element. When you use a cold therapy unit, you benefit from cold therapy and target pressure to heal faster.
No 3: It is imperative to begin physical therapy and exercise immediately.
During soft tissue massage, called effleurage in Europe, the swelling moves from the lower leg northward. Increased blood circulation by exercises designed to protect and repair injured tissues (while elevating the heart rate) reduces swelling. Perform at least one hour of exercise each day after surgery. Exercise boosts the range of motion and heart rate and elevates endorphins, adrenaline, and pheromones. The circulation of these substances improves your feeling of well-being when you exercise.
Invest in reclining lift chairs.
Lift chair recliners can significantly assist patients who have recently undergone surgery. It can be challenging to move around after surgery due to soreness and discomfort. The recovery process can be made easier for the patient and caregiver with the help of a lift chair.
The doctor may recommend an infinite position or zero gravity lifting chair to promoting proper spinal alignment, improve blood circulation, and increase lung capacity. In this position, the feet and legs are elevated above the heart, and the chair is oriented in what is known as the Trendelenberg position.
Also, lift chairs can help patients sleep better at night. Most people find it challenging to find a comfortable sleep position following a significant operation that allows them to enjoy the restorative sleep necessary for a full and quick recovery. As a result, you can get deep, quality sleep without tossing and turning because lift chairs can be adjusted to your comfort and reduce pain.
We do not recommend the idea of renting a lift chair. It can be near impossible to locate a rental lift chair, and is often unsanitary. Purchasing a lift chair will likely cost less than renting one, and you may be able to recoup some of your investment with a sale.
No 4: Every individual requires different medication.
Initial treatment involves Tylenol (acetaminophen) plus Toradol (ketorolac). Their pain-relieving properties, swelling reduction, and non-drowsiness, make them great. Begin with the lowest dose and shortest-acting narcotic, as narcotics impair muscle contraction, cause constipation, and generally make people feel bad. Most patients use cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, CBN, and CBG to reduce stress and decrease narcotic usage. Because the Federal government does not approve these cannabinoids, we do not prescribe them; however, we understand that self-medication is often an essential part of recovery. The use of these medications has replaced traditional sleeping pills.
No 5: People can shower immediately after surgery with waterproof dressings, shower bags, and other accommodations.
In addition to making people feel better, this simple act also aids in the return to normalcy in their lives. Even though some operations don't involve invasion, they often cause fresh wounds to be treated afterward. Even though you may have to return to your doctor to have dressings changed and drains removed, some scars can be taken care of at home, so you are advised to stock up on medical supplies for yourself or anyone caring for you.
Here are some examples of wound care supplies:
- Alcohol pipes and disinfectants
- Pain-relieving medications
- Gauze
- Bandages
- Medical gloves
Final thoughts
Recovery is challenging after surgery, and the body takes much time to heal. Simple strategies can help relieve pain and speed healing after surgery, so prolonging recovery is unnecessary. Your overall well-being will benefit from taking control of your recovery. After surgery, bed-ridden patients should stock up on essentials before hospital admission. To make your post-operative experience as easy and comfortable as possible, we recommend the purchase of the above-listed post-operative medical supplies. Find out different varieties of post-operative medical supplies at Sky Medical Supply's official website.