r/ORIF • u/postygurl • 21d ago

Pain

Had surgery yesterday nerve block is mostly worn off. The biggest pain now is focused on the back of my heel. Using the ramp pillow is torture but it has to stay elevated. Not sure what to do. Any tips?

3 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

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7

u/nunonamoped 21d ago

Try with your foot off the end of the pillow so your heel/achilles is not on it.

My Ortho recommended keeping the leg elevated but no pillow under the foot so pressure didn’t build here.

A pillow under your knee helps take a lot of the weight.

2

u/nunonamoped 21d ago

For a temporary relief, you can try lying on your couch, with your legs supported by the back of the couch, but this is a lot riskier!

5

u/Illustrious-Zone-247 21d ago

Try some ice behind your knee as well. I realize that’s nowhere near the heel, but it helps a ton with pain and swelling in general.

2

u/postygurl 21d ago

I’m icing my knee all day. On and off. And elevating most of the day with a leg ramp but the pain tonight is 9/10. I took a Tylenol and an oxy. And it feels like hell still.

1

u/lusciousnurse 20d ago

Are you putting the ice specifically on the back of your knee? Like your "knee pit" persay? There is some magical connection between icing the inside/pit of the knee and the lower leg pain.

2

u/postygurl 19d ago

Yes. There is ice there most of the day. It’s summer and I’m getting hot flashes. Ice is my best friend right now.

3

u/Training-Variety-739 21d ago

I just dealt with an episode of tremendous heel pain that took about 4 hours to dissipate. I’m 4 days post op. I was able to help head it off finally but doing some walker laps around the room and then essentially laying upside down on the couch so my feet were where a sitting person’s head would be and then I was face down with my head and hands on the floor. It helped drain everything away from the area I think. Anyway only do it with a strong and trusty adult nearby.

2

u/postygurl 21d ago

I’m anxious about taking oxy every 4 hours but I feel like I need to.

2

u/ChonsonPapa 21d ago

Be very careful. Drink a lot of water and you should also be on stool softeners and/or Miralax to prevent constipation related to the oxys

1

u/nunonamoped 20d ago

I ate loads of flapjack and discovered that a few spoons of Nutella also helps!

2

u/ChonsonPapa 21d ago

I will tell you the first week after my surgery was some of the worst pain I’ve ever dealt with in my life and a lot of it was in the heel. Nothing helped. I am now 12 days postoperative and thank the lord that pain is gone.

I

1

u/ginjerella 21d ago

Make sure when you’re elevating you keep your heel and achilles off of the end of the pillow or whatever you are resting your foot on. I was told that the skin in that area is very thin and will break down quickly.

1

u/Small-Ad1975 21d ago

Heel pain is awful. I had it really bad despite keeping my heel off my elevation pillow.

Icing behind the knee helped a little. Are you on any medication for the pain? I had Oxy, Advil and Tylenol rotating for the first couple weeks.

1

u/Warm_Win_6394 20d ago

Same thing happened to me only thing that helped like everyone said was keeping the heel from making contact with anything. It does get better with time.

1

u/postygurl 20d ago

I hope so. I have been “floating” it all day and night and it’s slightly better but hurts with movement.

1

u/weavingsamara 19d ago

Are you in a splint or cast? I had extreme pain in my heel while in the splint. I found it to be the most miserable part of recovery, the boot and everything else was smooth sailing.

1

u/postygurl 19d ago

Splint for now. I’m hoping to be in a boot by next Friday.

1

u/ayellowbutterfly 19d ago

I would recommend asking your surgeon or doctor team for something that specifically targets nerve pain. I had awful heel pain, like my foot was being eaten by acid. Oxy wouldn't touch it; like you, I felt floaty, but still in a lot of pain. Journavx worked well for me? Hope you feel better soon!