Foot surgery is one of the main reasons why patients seek out Dr. Silverman for care, which is why we thought it would be beneficial to start a series that dives into a number of important aspects of the foot surgery process. We want you to be well-informed before you move forward with surgery and after the operation is complete, and we think this series can be an incredible resource for doing just that. We continue the series by looking at some of the ways that stress can impact your likelihood of a successful foot and ankle surgery.
The prospect of surgery can leave your feeling anxious or stressed, but this mental anguish can actually have a physical effect on the success of your surgical operation. It’s important to work to reduce stress prior to your operation, but we know that’s easier said than done. Below, we explore how stress can impact your surgical success and how you can work to reduce stress before and after your operation.
How Stress Impacts Your Body
Stress and anxiety activates your body’s natural fight or flight response, which also induces a number of physical changes in our bodies. Our pulse rate increases, our blood pressure changes and our immune system can become hypersensitive, increasing a person’s risk of issues like:
- Arrhythmia
- Immune dysfunction
- Hyperinflammation
- Organ dysfunction
- Increased post-op pain
The last bullet point is especially relevant, as previous studies have found that greater levels of post-op pain are linked or a host of negative outcomes, like prolonged recovery, impaired wound healing, decreased patient satisfaction, longer hospital stays, increased patient costs and even elevated mortality rates.
How To Reduce Stress Before Surgery
Controlling stress ahead of an operation is just one of the many ways you’ll want to work towards becoming the healthiest version of yourself prior to surgery. You’ll also want to pursue some physical therapy, improve your diet, get quality sleep and manage your medications appropriately. As for managing stress ahead of surgery, some of the best ways to do that include:
Yoga – Studies have found that as little as 20 minutes of yoga a day can help to reduce inflammatory markers in the body. Yoga incorporates physical movements with relaxation, breathing and mindfulness techniques to help improve your flexibility and reduce stress levels.
Ask Questions – Stress oftentimes originates from our fear of the unknown, so the more you learn about your procedure and what you can do to increase your likelihood of a successful surgery, the less stress you’ll have about the upcoming operation. Understand why you’re undergoing the procedure, how it’s designed to help and what you can do to get the most out of your recovery, and you’ll find that you aren’t as stressed about surgery. If you have any questions, reach out to your surgeon or your care team.
Reframe Your Mindset – We always tell our patients to try and focus on the positives as they head into surgery. Think about all the things you’ll be able to do again assuming the surgery goes as planned and you make a strong recovery. Instead of thinking about what could go wrong, focus on the quality of life improvements you’ll experience assuming everything goes as it should.
Control What You Can Control – Finally, surgery can leave you feeling stressed because you may feel like you have no control over the outcome. While you can’t control every aspect of your operation, there are plenty of things you can do to improve your likelihood of a successful outcome. Check out that post for more information on managing the controllable aspects of your health prior to surgery.