Pain After Surgery

Have you had surgery a couple of months ago and you are still having excruciating pain? Pain is normal within the first several weeks following surgery. The more swollen that you are following surgery, the more discomfort you will experience, because the swelling presses on the underlying anatomy. Your foot is such a small area that when it swells there is much room for it to expand.

There are several things that can cause you to have pain several months out. One is that you can have pain after a surgery due to nerve damage. Nerves can take a long time to recover, you may have pain or even numbness for several months out. Second, you may be a person that tends to scar a lot more than others. A key to preventing this scarring is following your doctor’s and physical therapists recommendations for when to start movement again. This will help prevent the scarring and will help ease the pain on range of movement.

There is a third condition that can cause pain many months after surgery. It’s referred to as CRPS, but the much simpler definition of this is that it is a condition that is not completely understood. It is a condition that we work to rule out every other condition before deciding that this is what is going on with you. The mainstay treatment for this condition though is physical therapy. This is a condition that if not treated can get much worse. So, if you are experiencing a great deal of pain still, it is very important that you speak with your physician about your symptoms.

So, if you or someone you know has pain months after surgery, you should seek help from your podiatrist. If you live in the Chelmsford or Reading, Massachusetts area, Dr. Wachtel would be more than happy to see you and help treat your symptoms. We are also happy to announce our Methuen and North Andover offices located at 451 Andover St. Suite 300, North Andover MA 01845 and 87 Jackson St, Methuen, MA 01835.