If you’ve had any sort of foot and ankle surgery, you’re going to need some time to recover. Of course, the specifics of this time will depend on your condition, your medical history, and a number of other things, but you will have to take some time off of work or school to rest and heal up. That time spent in recovery is imperative to getting you back stronger than ever.

Fortunately, this is not the end of the world. The time needed to recover is a great time to catch up on those shows you’ve been wanting to watch but haven’t had the time for.  Goodness knows you’ve been very busy. Or at least, that’s what you’ve told people who beg you to watch Game of Thrones or whatever hit drama everyone else is raving about.

Well, you can’t use that excuse any more when your friends and family start talking about their favorite shows. Courtesy of your time recovering and mastering how to navigate Netflix, you’ll be up to date on the hot shows of 2018 in no time!

4 Shows to Binge Watch After Foot and Ankle Surgery | Surprise, AZ Surgical Podiatrist

Game of Thrones

Hold onto your hats. If you’ve decided to embark down this rabbit hole, you have a long, long saga ahead of you. This fantasy epic can be called many things, but ‘dull’ is not an adjective we’ve ever heard bandied about.

Game of Thrones pulls many different story lines together and finds a way to connect a long list of characters together. It’s a really impressive undertaking, but the show’s writers are able to keep their audience invested through 63 hours of storytelling. (Yes, you read that right- 63 hours!)

Just be sure that you’re aware that this HBO hit is not for those who aren’t interested in extravagant set-piece battles and sword duels. If those things don’t sound like your cup of tea, then you’re not going to enjoy Game of Thrones.

 Still, it’s worth giving it a shot. After all…winter is coming. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist.)

The Haunting of Hill House

Are you into suspenseful and eerie settings? Then you’ll love The Haunting of Hill House. The show follows the Crain family and their move into Hill House, a dilapidated New England manor with a troubling history and a poor reputation with the locals. Many years later, the now grown Crain children are still trying to unpackage everything that happened to their family in this gothic-style mansion.

 This Netflix undertaking was described as “a horror masterpiece” by none other than Stephen King and has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the horror genre isn’t for everyone, we can tell you that The Haunting of Hill House is filled more with psychology than jump-scares.

It’s a slow burn type of scare, intertwined with some great character development and familial story lines. The scenery is simply incredible as well and the whole aesthetic of the show is delightfully suspenseful.

Don’t think that this is simply an action-packed horror show either; there’s some great story telling and lovable characters too.

We also recommend re-watching the series after you finish it; you’ll pick up on a lot more the second time through! This is a pick that might be better viewed with a friend or family member, just in case you need a companion.

The Office

To lighten the mood, we’re going to suggest everyone’s favorite work comedy: The Office. Maybe the last two recommendations were a little too serious for your liking. The Office is many things, but ‘serious’ is not one of them. Maybe it’ll even remind you of your own crazy coworkers and their hijinks.

As opposed to some of our earlier picks, The Office averages 22 minutes or so per episode, so you don’t have to commit to an hour-long episode.  It’s a perfect series to break up, but you’ll often find that you can roll from one episode to the next so effortlessly that you might just watch 3 episodes back-to-back-to-back. Seeing as you’re taking time off of work, The Office might help you appreciate your leisure time even more!

Yes, recovering from surgery isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, but at the very least you don’t have to interact with the type of crazy coworkers that make this show so memorable. Michael and Dwight are great characters to watch, but they’re not exactly desirable coworkers. (We certainly wouldn’t want them in our practice!)

Note: As podiatrists, Season 2, Episode 12 is one of our favorites. Watch this for an example of what NOT to do with your feet and kitchen equipment.

Friday Night Lights

You’ve just had foot and ankle surgery and you’re probably bored, restless, and eager to get back out there. You might be tempted to get back on your feet faster than you should.

How do you offset that? Live vicariously through other people’s athletic accomplishments.  Enter Friday Night Lights.

We chose this as few things are better than sports stories and it will hopefully give you just enough physical activity that you won’t tempted to get up and put weight on your foot before you should! (We’ll talk about this below.)

Other Tips for Recover

Now that we’ve given you well over 7 days of consecutive content (which doesn’t include snack breaks or sleeping!), we have a few pointers for your recovery.

Man sitting on couch recovering from foot surgery | Surprise, AZ Surgical Podiatrist

Don’t get back out there faster than you should. This is a beginner’s mistake, but it’s a common one. You’ll most likely be inactive for the majority of the time you recover. Per that, you’ll probably start to get listless and want to start moving around more and more. However, getting back on your feet before you’ve properly recovered will just increase the odds of injuring yourself. This why a proper amount of time to recover is so imperative.

Don’t worry- we’ll make sure you get crutches, a scooter or whatever else you may need, to ensure that you don’t have to put all of your weight on your injury.

The amount of time required depends on the procedure you’ve just undergone. For bunion surgery, you could be back on your feet in two weeks. However, we’re looking at 6-8 weeks for a more advanced procedure, like ankle surgery.

If this all sounds like a lot of information and specialized knowledge, don’t worry - we’ll be sure to give you thorough and detailed post-operative instructions to follow. And speaking of which….

Follow your postoperative instructions. These are non-negotiable. The specifics of these will depend on the type of procedure you’ve just undergone and your individual health, but it’s still extremely important you follow some basic postoperative care. Don’t let your cast get wet, don’t take your dressing or cast off, etc. These tend to hold true, regardless of condition or procedure.

The timetables we give you also should be followed to the letter. You may feel great one day and decide that you want to stand without a crutch, even if it’s a day or two before when the timetable advises. This could very well cause reoccurrence of the injury or delay your healing process even further. What seemed like it should HELP your healing may actually hurt, which is why we implore to follow our recommendations for what activities to do and when you can do them. Don’t worry- our timeframes and recommendations are the most efficient and effective path to a full recovery!

Follow instructions for pain relief, if needed. If we decide to prescribe you painkillers, pay attention to dosage and interactions and follow the directions. Please refer any questions back to our office.

We know that any type of surgery can be confusing and leave you wondering what to do, whether you’re unsure if you need surgery for a bunion or if you’re recovering from an ankle surgery. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone!

Our office in Surprise is happy to take your questions and schedule an appointment with you. We can help you figure out if you are a good candidate for surgery, schedule your operation, and answer any questions you may have about postoperative care and recovery.  (We also can recommend more shows, if need be!)

Whatever the condition to be treated, give us a call at (623) 584-5556 or use our online contact form to have a member of our staff reach out to you.

Dr. Peyman A. Elison
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Founder and Managing Partner of Fixing Feet Institute
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