Shows to Binge and Other Tips to Keep You Sane After Surgery

If you’ve ever come to see us for care—or you’re a regular reader of these blogs—you probably know how much theOmega Medical Group team emphasizes staying as active as possible during treatment and rehabilitation.

It makes sense, of course. If you stay more active while you recover, your muscles and tendons have less time to weaken, meaning you don’t have as far to go to get back to full strength and speed. Plus, staying more active helps you stay focused and positive. And just about any athlete or active person is terrified by the thought of “rest” as a treatment protocol.

Unfortunately, sometimes you just have no other choice but to stay off your feet for a while. This is often the case after a foot surgery, which sometimes comes with a period of no weight bearing activity, no regular shoes, no sports.

That means no fun too, right?

Well, hopefully not.

While you may not be able to train or play how you want for a little while, with any luck you’ll be able to stay positive—and keep your sanity—while you’re on the mend. Here are a few suggestions.

Queue up a Show to Binge

If you have a subscription to Netflix, Hulu, or any other popular streaming service (or, more likely, all of them), now is a great time to catch up on all the great shows you’ve been missing—or reacquaint yourself with a classic.

You might consider:

• TheDefenders. If you love superhero movies, this Netflix Marvel tie-in miniseries should be right up your alley. Because it’s only eight episodes(roughly 50 minutes each), you can power through it in a single day if you want to.
• Sherlock.From our friends across the pond, this engrossing, modern re-imagining of SirArthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery series stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. Each of the 13 episodes is basically a movie in and of itself (90minutes with no commercials), so you should be able to sink your teeth in a bit.
• StrangerThings. If you’re old enough to remember the 80s (and remember them at least somewhat fondly), this Netflix-only paranormal sci-fi/horror series might induce more nostalgia than you can handle. That’s balanced, of course, by the sharp dialogue and thrilling, occasionally scary storytelling.
• 30 Rock.Want some easy-going comedy instead of drama for your recovery? Based loosely on star Tina Fey’s experiences as head writer at Saturday Night Live, this quick-witted, fast-paced comedy should keep you laughing—and your brain engaged, but not too engaged. (Other great comedies in this style include the Office, Parks and Recreation, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Arrested Development.)

Get in Touch with Your Inner Gamer

Surgery might prevent you from playing your chosen sport or engaging in your favorite activities for a little while, but there are other healthy (or maybe a little unhealthy) outlets for you to maintain that competitive fire.

Pick out some games to play with family members or friends while you’re on the mend. It doesn’t really matter whether they’re of the board, card, or video variety.

You might not be able to dominate on the soccer field or basketball court for a few more weeks, but you can still gloriously demoralize your friends and family at Monopoly, euchre, or Mario Kart—at least until they stop playing with you!

Develop a New Skill

How many times have you thought to yourself, “I’d love to learn how to do that—if only I had the time?” Well, guess what—after foot surgery, time is going to be something you have a lot of.

What have you always wanted to try? Maybe it’s teaching yourself to play the guitar or the piano. Maybe it’s improving your language skills—getting better at English, Spanish, or learning a new language altogether. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy, or origami, or needle working. We’re spit balling here, but we’re sure you can fill in the blanks.

With online resources like Khan Academy, you can even teach yourself computer programming or, say, multivariable calculus (if you really want to) completely for free, at your own pace.

Catch Up on Old Projects

Have a half-finished quilt upstairs in your crafting room?Never got around to cataloging those vacation photos, or completing your scrapbook? Desperately need to purge items you never wear or use from your closet, your attic, your store room, your garage? Get a move on!

Stay As Active As Possible

So you can’t bear weight for a while, and that means your regular routine is out of the question right now. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s nothing you can do to stay fit and active.

True, the extent of what you can do—and when—will depend a great deal on the type of surgery we performed and how far you are along in your recovery.

But often there are several safe, non-weight bearing exercise options to keep up your cardio and even build strength, endurance, and flexibility while you’re on the way back to full health. And we are happy to guide you through the process, recommending appropriate exercises at the appropriate time.

Just remember this wise bit of advice: you only get one chance to heal.

That’s not 100% true, of course, but you should act like it is. Because, as tempting as it may be to cheat, if you push too hard too soon and aggravate your surgically repaired foot before it’s ready, you will make your situation worse—perhaps much worse.

Ultimately, if it takes a few extra days to get you back to full health, that’s a lot better than cutting corners to get back a few days early—and then experience a setback that extends the recovery window for weeks.Depending on the injury and surgery, you might even develop chronic pain, instability, or arthritis that you wouldn’t have had if you had just followed instructions and let your foot heal.

Trust Your Doctor

We promise we are going to do everything in our power to heal you as quickly as possible, while mitigating as much of the risk. That includes making sure you get the right treatment, making sure everything is explained to you clearly and you have all the home care instructions you need, and even offering advanced regenerative therapies to accelerate the healing process.

So don’t fear your upcoming surgery! Stay positive, focus on the things that you can control, and we’ll take care of the rest!To schedule an appointment with the OMG team, please give us a call at (305) 514-0404 today.