Foot or ankle surgery oftentimes requires you to remain off your feet in a full or partial capacity for an extended period. Protecting your feet during this recovery period is imperative, but at the same time, your body will suffer if you remain inactive for weeks or months at a time. To counter this, you may have to consider some low impact exercises to help your body get the exercise it needs without jeopardizing the health of your feet.
Below, we take a closer look at five low impact exercises to consider after foot or ankle surgery.
Low-Impact Exercise After Foot Surgery
If you want to stay active but avoid overly stressing your feet as they recover from foot and ankle surgery, consider these low impact exercises.
1. Swimming – Swimming is a wonderful way to stay active without putting strain on your feet. Water offsets the natural pressure of gravity, so your feet aren’t tasked with handling the weight of your body while you exercise. Just be sure that any incision sites have healed to the point that you’re not risking an infection by jumping in the pool before your wound sites have healed.
2. Walking – Walking is a great low impact exercise if you’ve been cleared to bear full weight on your feet. It gets you up and moving, which increases healthy circulation throughout your body. If your feet have access to healthy blood thanks to good circulation, you may experience faster healing. Get up and go for a walk if you’ve been cleared to do so after foot surgery.
3. Yoga – Yoga and other stretching-based exercise routines are a great way to stay flexible and expand your range of motion. Muscles can stagnate and become tight if you don’t exercise regularly, so you can counter any inactivity caused by your surgery with a simple yoga routine that targets a number of different muscle groups.
4. Exercise Bike – An exercise bike allows you to get the benefits of cycling from the comfort of your home. Cycling isn’t very stressful on your feet, but you still will want to talk with your surgeon to ensure that the action is cleared. If you are partial or full weight bearing after your surgery, odds are you’ll be able to do a light exercise bike routine.
5. Rowing – Finally, if you’re looking for an upper body exercise that you can do with the help of a rowing machine or a canoe out on the lake, consider rowing. Rowing can give your arms a workout without overstressing your feet. Grab a canoe and head out on one of the thousands of lakes here in Minnesota, or jump on the rowing machine at your nearest gym.
You’ll want to stay active even though you may be physically limited after foot or ankle surgery. Consider the above exercises and talk with your treating surgeon about an activity regimen that suits your surgery and recovery. For more information, or for help with a different foot issue, reach out to Dr. Silverman and the team at Silverman Ankle & Foot today at (952) 224-8500.
