Improving your nutritional intake before surgery and during your recovery period is essential if you want to give your body the best chance at making a full recovery after your operation. And while getting a wide variety of essential nutrients is important, one of the best substances for your recovering body is Vitamin C.
Found in bright fruits and vegetables, Vitamin C helps our bodies carry out a number of important tasks while working to heal after surgery. Below, we look at all the ways adequate Vitamin C intake aids in your recovery after foot or ankle surgery.
The Benefits Of Vitamin C After Surgery
Your surgeon will talk about your nutrient profile prior to discharge and discuss your options for supplementation if you may have trouble getting your daily amount of Vitamin C from food sources alone. If you get plenty of Vitamin C while you’re recovering, you’ll be helping your body in a few key ways:
Bone Repair – If you’re undergoing a procedure where bone needs to repair following the surgery, Vitamin C can make it easier for your body to heal these cut or damaged bones. Vitamin C is essential for collagen formation, and collagen acts as the framework for new bone production and growth. Calcium gets all the attention when it comes to having strong bones, but Vitamin C is necessary for bone regeneration, ensuring you make a full and speedier recovery.
Soft Tissue Recovery – Similarly, Vitamin C is crucial for the health of soft tissues in your feet and ankles. Vitamin C helps provide tensile strengthen to new collagen that is formed during the recovery process, ensuring that our ligaments, tendons and connective tissues can bend, move and handle normal stress forces as we recover after surgery. Collagen is one of our body’s primary structural proteins, and Vitamin C aids in collagen synthesis within the recovering body.
Surgical Site Healing – As you can see, Vitamin C plays a role in tissue healing, and plenty of healing is going to need to take place at the incision site. Vitamin C will help to rebuild skin tissue and close the wound site by assisting with collagen production. Adequate Vitamin C intake also supports healthy blood vessels, ensuring the skin and recovering tissues get the oxygen and nutrients they need. Wound sites that closes more quickly and with adequate nutrient and oxygen supplies can also leave a less noticeable scar.
Post-Op Nerve Pain Control – Finally, studies have found that Vitamin C can decrease the risk of certain nerve-related pain conditions following injury or a corrective surgery. Studies have found that Vitamin C has antioxidation and neuromodulation tendencies, which can protect nerves from damage and reduce pain signals to the brain.
Some aspects of your recovery after foot or ankle surgery can feel out of your control, but you have full control over the foods you put in your body, and these choices can have a positive impact on your recovery, so make some smart choices! For more information about developing an ideal nutrition profile after surgery, connect with Dr. Silverman or keep reading about the importance of dietary choices after surgery on our blog.