Whether it’s a plastic surgery you have planned or an orthopedic surgery you’re interested in, the healing process can be sped up quite a bit through compression therapy. Whether it’s compression garments, bandages, or your procedure requires the use of machinery, it is through the gentle yet persistent pressure of compression therapy that your skin retains its new shape and inflammation is quickly reduced, resulting in faster recovery. If you want to understand all the ways that compression therapy speeds up post-surgery healing, you should read this blog by Eleftheria Medical.
Fast Healing With Compression Therapy: Why It’s A Must After Surgical Procedures
Surgeries are frightening and complicated enough. Add to them the time it takes for your limbs and skin to heal, and that pushes them to an entirely different level. But thanks to compression therapy, the healing process for most surgical procedures goes by much faster than it would otherwise. If you want to understand all the ways that compression therapy expedites the healing process, take a look below.
Here are all the ways that compression therapy pushes the healing process along.
Takes Down Swelling
With all the cells rushing to the surgery site, the area can look red, inflamed, and feel uncomfortable. But compression therapy applies light pressure, helping all the fluid travel through the lymphatic system faster. This works to reduce the inflammation and restore your operated limb or shaved-down jaw much faster.
Improves Circulation
Tissues require oxygen and nutrients to work at their best. This is where compression therapy comes in. It fights against the effects of gravity to promote venous return, ensuring that a steady supply of oxygen and the nutrients required to encourage cell regeneration. This, in turn, speeds up the healing process.
Reduces Soreness
Being in pain after a complicated and invasive surgical procedure is absolutely normal, but no one wants to face it. By applying compression therapy with a pain relief device, nurses ensure that patients are able to find relief much faster through improved lymphatic drainage.
Stabilizes Tissues
Post-surgery, your wounds are fresh, and the tissues need to adjust to the new position to close the opening faster. Compression therapy offers gentle support to the tissues, helping them stay in place so that the wound doesn’t reopen or scar, and you receive a speedy recovery.
Minimizes Bruising
The pressure on nearby blood vessels, with all the neutrophils and macrophages rushing in, leads to bruising around the injury. But by applying compression therapy to the area, medical practitioners prevent fluid buildup and relieve pressure on the veins, encouraging faster bruise reduction.
Reduces Scarring
Compression garments minimize the level of oxygen that the scarred area receives. This reduces the size and thickness of the scar, expediting the process of healing the wound after surgery.
Prevents Further Complications
Poor circulation results in blood clots post-surgery. These clots can travel throughout your body, resulting in severe health complications. But compression therapy encourages blood circulation, reducing the chances of clots and ensuring that you’re all healed up in no time at all.
The Correct Use Of Compression Therapy: A General Guide
Now that you understand the role of compression therapy for speedy post-surgery healing, you might be wondering how patients use it. While the compression method varies depending on your surgery type, you should have at least two sets for rotation and ensure gradual pressure.
Here is a general look at compression therapy application.
Follow Your Doctor’s Advice
Only your surgical team knows what’s best for you. This is why it’s important to hang on to every word they say regarding the compression type as well as the pressure needed.
Ensure Proper Fit
Ensure that when you put on the bandages or compression garments, they fit snugly without causing difficulty breathing or a color change in your extremities.
Initial Consistency
Since the compression therapy is in place to encourage stable pressure for faster healing, you’ll probably need to keep it on almost permanently for the first few days or weeks.
Ensure Graduated Pressure
Make sure that the garment in question is tighter at your extremities but looser toward your heart. This encourages fluid return.
Careful Cleaning
Make sure that you hand-wash the compression garment with mild soap to prevent skin irritation and infections.
Conclusion
To conclude, compression therapy is an instrumental technique to speed up the recovery process after different surgeries. It prevents fluid buildup, reduces swelling, and stabilizes the tissue. All that combined expedites the healing process. Just make sure to follow your doctor’s guidelines, be consistent, and keep the product clean to avoid infections and complications.
FAQs
1. How does compression therapy speed up post-surgery healing?
Compression therapy applies gentle pressure to the surgical area, promoting lymphatic drainage, reducing swelling, and improving circulation, which accelerates tissue recovery and reduces pain.
2. Can compression therapy reduce bruising and scarring?
Yes. By improving blood flow and stabilizing tissues, compression therapy minimizes bruising and helps reduce the size and thickness of scars after surgery.
3. Is it normal to feel pain while using a compression garment?
Mild discomfort is normal as the body heals, but extreme pain should be reported to your doctor. Properly fitted garments help manage pain safely.
4. How should I wear compression garments after surgery?
Wear garments snugly without restricting blood flow, keep them on consistently as advised by your doctor, and ensure graduated pressure, tighter at extremities, looser toward the heart.
5. How do I maintain and clean compression garments?
Hand-wash the garments every 1–2 days with mild soap to prevent skin irritation and infections, and avoid using harsh detergents or machine washing.
