To reduce swelling and promote comfort, elevation is very helpful. Elevate the foot/ankle above the level of the heart, using several pillows, for at least 14 days after surgery.
Cast Instructions
The injured area should be elevated well above the heart. Remember “Toes above your Nose”. Also, rest and elevation greatly reduce pain and speed the healing process by minimizing early swelling.
If you don't keep your affected limb raised, gravity causes fluid to collect in the foot, which can be painful and slow healing. Elevation can also help prevent blood clots and edema.
To minimize the swelling in your leg, you need to elevate your operative leg above the level of your heart. This should be done at least three times per day for 30 minutes each time.
One of the easiest ways to manage swelling is to elevate (raise) the swollen limb. The goal is to elevate the swollen limb slightly above the level of the heart. This helps the extra fluid move back towards the heart for circulation to the rest of the body.
The more the swelling and the longer there has been swelling, the longer and more frequently your need to elevate your legs. Start with 20 minutes twice a day. This might do the trick. If not, go to 30 minutes or even an hour.
Don't elevate your legs on a table or desk without a cushion to prevent the edges and corners from digging into your skin. This can cause leg pain, bruising, spider veins, and nerve damage to the area. It's also counterproductive, as it hurts circulation to the area due to excessive pressure.
Your doctor will want you to rest as much as possible right after surgery. Your foot will swell, and may become painful, when it is left hanging down. So, when you are sitting or lying down, keep the leg elevated to help keep the swelling down and reduce pain.
Sleep on Your Back
The sleeping position makes it easy to keep the leg straight, which helps proper blood flow. To ensure your knee is getting the proper support, you can prop up your leg with pillows, just make sure the pillow is underneath the length of your knee and calf to avoid bending it.
Putting any weight on an operated foot or ankle can damage the repair that's been done. Bones need time to heal. Plates or screws that may have been added during surgery need the bones to heal around them. Adding weight too soon can interrupt this important internal healing process.
Ice & Elevation
We don't recommend putting heat on your leg since it can increase swelling. Elevate your leg several times throughout the day by lying flat with your foot on three to four pillows, so your knee is above your heart. Do this for 30–60 minutes, four to five times a day (or as needed).
To help reduce swelling and pain in limb injuries, elevation is very important. In fact, it helps drain the excess fluid from the site of your injury, and this may reduce pain and speed up healing. In order to get the best results from elevation, you should raise the limb above the level of your heart.
This helps to reduce swelling, improve circulation, and minimize the risk of postoperative complications, such as blood clots. Simply walking around the room or to and from the bathroom several times a day is usually sufficient for the first several days after surgery.
Raising your legs while you sleep can improve circulation
This has several benefits, including the prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which is caused by a blood clot in the veins of the lower parts of your body, which can cause serious harm and required urgent medical attention.
One of the best sleeping position after going through any surgery is resting straight on your back. If you have had surgery on your legs, hips, spine, and arms, this position will benefit you the most. Moreover, if you add a pillow underneath your body areas, it provides more support and comfort.
Non-Weight Bearing (NWB): Do not place any weight through the surgical/injured leg. This includes resting your feet or toes on the ground. While walking and sitting, make sure to keep your foot elevated off of the ground at all times.
We understand that after surgery it may seem like a good idea to put a pillow under your knee. However this is something you should not do. Placing a pillow under your knee would allow your knee to stay slightly flexed. This can cause contractures or problems with how far you are able to extend your knee in the future.
After sleeping with upper body slightly elevated on your back for at least four to six weeks, you can usually transition to just sleeping on your back, flat on your bed, for a few weeks.
This helps minimize swelling and avoids irritating your healing incisions. You can sleep in a recliner or propped up on large pillows. You might find u-shaped pillows or pillows with “arms” helpful to prevent yourself from rolling over while you sleep.
Elevating your legs can reduce the amount of fluid in the tissues, thus lessening the swelling. Lowers blood pressure.
It's recommended to elevate your legs more than 45 degrees, so your legs should be lifted and propped approximately 8 to 12 inches above your hips. Keep your legs elevated for approximately twenty minutes. Elevating your legs as often as possible will help ease the swelling of the lower extremities.
Most of the time, your legs are below your heart, and your body has to work against gravity to pump blood back up from your legs and feet. Elevating your legs reverses the gravitational pull, making it easier for stale blood to flow back to the heart and lungs and be replenished with fresh oxygen.
We're going to cut to the chase: sleeping with your legs and feet up is NOT dangerous. In fact, sleeping elevated is a smart move, for many reasons. Not only does sleeping with your legs elevated help with spinal alignment, it provides a whole host of other health and lifestyle benefits too.
Raising your legs above your heart is the recommended height for more serious pain relief, but is not always necessary for less problematic conditions. You can enjoy the benefits of sleeping with the legs elevated by using just one pillow first, which will raise them a small amount.