Calf lengthening all done - and a tip on swelling
Had my op yesterday to lengthen my left calf, so that it won’t do what my right calf did to my Achilles. The pain compared to the last op is no where no as bad. I forgot how slow it is to be in a moonboot and crutches, but the up-side is that it is only for 6 weeks this time. The surgeon said everything went really well, and said given the size of my calf muscle I should feel relief quite soon. However, I picked up a tip on swelling which I notice many of you are suffering from. One of the nurses said to eat pineapple, there are herbal supplements with it in (she didn’t give me names), but she said chop up some pineapple, put it in the freezer and then suck on it like an ice cube. Apparently, it is quite effective. Also she clarified what is meant by elevate, she said that this normally means that your leg needs to above your heart level, so I have found several pillows are needed, but I would strongly suggest that you double check this with your GP, surgeon etc so that it doesn’t put extra strain on your Achilles tendon. So from the land of the couch, I wish you all a good recovery.
September 17th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Pineapple has bromelain in it which is a natural anti inflammatory. You can buy it as a supplement also.
September 17th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
Thank you. Will go and have a look. The swelling is quite minimal with this op, compared to the Achilles lengthening, but I am keen to keep on top of it.
September 18th, 2012 at 12:23 am
Well am off to buy some pineapple now,, just across the road!!!!hopefully this will help, thanks
October 17th, 2012 at 3:26 am
Many people here have been instructed to elevate with their leg above their heart. When I was healing and swelling, I found that “every inch helped”. E.g., sitting with my leg(s) on a footstool was WAY better than sitting with my leg(s) on the floor. Lying flat in bed all night made the swelling go away long before morning. Neither of those got my leg above my heart. Doing so will help, but it’s not a magic “bright line” separating helpful from useless, IMHO.
If you’ve ever had (say) a rain barrel with a drain hose, you know that the water (hydrostatic) pressure at the end of the hose increases with every inch you lower it, and drops with every inch you raise it. Making your leg the highest part of your body will drop the pressure (and ease the swelling) the fastest, but it’s not usually necessary. (I actually did that a few times, by lying down backwards on my bed, with my feet heading up the wall above the headboard!)