Whether you just had knee or shoulder surgery, it is important to take good care of yourself. If you take good care of yourself, you can recover from surgery a lot faster. Here are five surprising ways to speed up recovery from surgery.
Eat a Nutritious Diet
One of the most important things you can do after surgery is eat a nutritious diet. Even if you do not have an appetite, you should eat wholesome meals every day. If your diet is filled with whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables, your body will receive the fuel it needs to recover faster. Also, make sure to drink eight glasses of water every day to flush the toxins out of your body.
Get Moving
Although moving around might be the last thing you want to do after having surgery, it is important. If you get some physical activity in your life, you can feel stronger and prevent complications like pneumonia. Even if you just walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes every day, you can improve your recovery. If you have trouble moving around on your own, consider using a KneeRover.
Wash Your Hands
When you get out of surgery, you are more susceptible to catching diseases. That is why you should wash your hands even more than usual. Wash your hands with warm water and soap before you eat a meal and after you go to the bathroom. If you wash your hands regularly, you will be less likely to get an infection.
Don’t Lift Anything Too Heavy
It is not a good idea to lift anything too heavy right after surgery. If you try to lift a heavy item, it can put pressure on your incisions and prolong the recover process. If your job requires heavy lifting, you should ask for some time off.
Go to Your Follow Up Appointments
Keeping up with your follow up appointments might seem obvious, but some patients do not go to all of their appointments. Even if you feel fine and your incision is healing well, you should still go to your follow up appointment. Your doctor will examine the surgical site to make sure it is healing properly.
If you follow these helpful tips, you can recover from your surgery a lot faster. If you ever feel excessive pain during the recovery process, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible.