If you’ve suffered a foot injury, it can be challenging to know how to best support your body as it recovers. You don’t want to do anything to worsen the injury, as that can delay your recovery. Understandably, you want to get up and get back to your normal life. However, the healing of injuries can take time, so you must be patient. Stick to your treatment plan, and let your doctor know if you are experiencing any issues.
Here are some self-care measures you can use to boost your healing and recovery. As always, make sure to consult a podiatrist who specializes in the treatment of foot conditions and injuries to get the best treatment plan in place.
Rest and Use Assistive Devices
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to foot injuries is to rest the affected foot as much as possible. This means avoiding any activities that put weight or stress on the foot and avoiding high-impact and strenuous activities that can slow down the healing of injured tissues. Depending on the severity of the injury, you may need to use crutches or another type of mobility aid to help support your weight while you move around. You may also want to use a compression bandage around the injury to minimize excessive movement of the foot.
Apply Ice Therapy, Elevate the Foot, and Take Pain Medication
Apply ice to the site of injury to bring down swelling and ease pain. You can wrap an ice pack around your foot and leave it on for 20-minute intervals. Do this throughout the day to reduce pain and inflammation and to stimulate the healing of the injury. Keep your leg elevated to reduce swelling. For pain relief, especially before you go to bed, take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. However, this is a short-term treatment, and you should need medication less as your injury healing progresses.
Do Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a critical part of recovery from a foot injury. A licensed physical therapist can teach you specific exercises that target muscles and tendons in the feet and calves and make them stronger and more flexible. A physical therapist can also use other modalities for greater pain relief, such as massage therapy, ultrasound therapy, and heat and cold therapy, which can increase your level of comfort and boost healing. What makes physical therapy so great is that it helps with not just speeding up the recovery process, but also preventing future foot injuries. There are some maintenance exercises you can do to keep your feet and ankles strong and flexible.
Don’t Miss Doctor Appointments
If you are seeing a podiatrist, it is important to follow your doctor’s instructions closely and attend all scheduled appointments. Do not miss follow-up appointments, as the doctor needs to monitor your progress and may need to adjust your treatment plan for the best outcomes.
Foot Injury Treatment in San Antonio, Boerne, Hondo, Floresville, Kenedy, Uvalde, and Live Oak, TX
At The Podiatry Group of South Texas, our highly trained podiatrists are experts at treating foot injuries. We are qualified to use a range of non-surgical and surgical methods and will prescribe the best one that will provide you with lasting relief and restore your feet to health. Our physicians have advanced training in sports medicine and regularly treat athletes, recreational sports enthusiasts, and weekend warriors.
To schedule an appointment with a podiatrist at The Podiatry Group of South Texas, call our podiatry office nearest you or fill out our online request form.
