After you’ve had surgery, you’re going to be laid up for a bit. That part is no lie. It all depends on the type of procedure you’re having, but the full recovery process can last anywhere from weeks to months.
While your surgeon will surely provide you with aftercare instructions that you should follow to the letter, only you can summon up the will and determination to keep to those instructions on your own time. After all, your doctor can only tell you what is best; he or she can’t come home with you to ensure you’re doing it.
One of the things you might be encouraged to do after surgery is to wear compression garments over the sites of your surgery. If you’re not familiar, these are articles of special medical clothing that squeeze or compress, your body to benefit your healing process.
How do you ask? Well, that’s why we’re here. Here are some of the major ways that compression garments help you to heal after surgery.
Infection Protection
You’ll notice that we used a cute rhyming phrase for this first subheading, and that’s to get you to remember it. But the point holds true. Compression garments protect you from infection in the initial weeks after surgery.
How is this the case? Think about it. Your incision is a temporary closure of the hole in your body made by your body. Through that opening, bacteria can invade and cause painful and uncomfortable infections.
While wearing a compression garment, however, your incision will be physically blocked from the outside air and the possibility of getting infected. If your surgeon recommends compression garments to you after surgery, infection will be one reason why.
Bruising Prevention
Another benefit of wearing compression garments post-surgery is that your risk of bruising or bleeding at the site of the procedure will be greatly reduced. Once again, it just comes down to the physicality of the garments themselves.
These articles of clothing are designed to put constant pressure on the area in question. Think about how we stop cuts from bleeding. We put pressure on them.
The same idea applies here. The garment will keep the pressure on the wound, suppressing the gathering of red blood cells near the surface of your skin that would otherwise cause subdermal bleeding and bruising.
That’s going to lead to a healthier healing process, for sure.
Less Pain
Finally, that constant pressure from the garments should help to reduce any pain or general discomfort you feel in the weeks after surgery.
And it’s for the same reasons we’ve been mentioning. Pressure facilitates healing. Not too much pressure, but just the right amount over a period of time should do the trick. Compression garments hold everything in place, too, so moving around won’t cause you as much pain as you would experience without a garment.
Before you even have surgery, ask your doctor about the role of compression garments in your healing process. You might like what you hear.
