Flex continues to increase slightly
I believe the past four weeks since last update has going well. I still continue to do PT, although not nearly as much as I should. I do walk 4-5 miles a day, workout and depending on shoe worn, has little affect.
“Pushing” off on the toe is a bit better and I can do small jumps pushing off toe. Doing full workouts, with the exception of doing walking lunges (which requires 100% toe flexibility) and I haven’t been able to do those for over a year now.
I would say I am at 80-85% recovered
And I compare this to my perfectly good left toe. Remind you, it is already better then what it was prior to the surgery. Prior to the surgery, I would say pain and flex was at 20-30% compared to a healthy toe.
Cushy walking shoes is still my best friend at this point. Walking bare feet and in sandals, I still need to pick up foot prior to full flex of big toe, as one, it doesn’t flex fully, and two it throbs when at its max flex upwards.
I think these past four weeks have again been slow, but looking at the pictures, my flex has increased slightly and pain has been reduced. All good signs.
Keep your stretching (aka physical therapy going)….
Will be honest, some days I slack on doing the stretching and bending of the toe. Which includes standing or sitting and slowly step forward or lift the foot up where it starts to throb, hold it and then stretch a tad more for 30 seconds and release.
I think at this point we slack at doing its PT as it seems to be at the point where it only throbs a bit with shoes, and worst, the walk has adjusted it to account for limited flexibility (leg lifting up prior to toe flexing completely to prevent throb).
I do notice when I push myself in the morning by flexing and bend of the toe (5 x 30 seconds both ways) in the morning, the rest of the day is much better. Habit that needs to be formed daily. At least for morning and dinner.
Its like it gets stiff simply overnight, which considering there is still some pain there, it is still healing and in the final stretch (pun intended).
As stated last time, not really close to be able to walk 100% normal yet (flat sandels etc..) , still throb a bit when toe flexes during normal walk. I believe this is getting slightly better, time will tell. Flat foot you can definitely feel the surgery area both bottom and top, which is still healing.
When wearing shoes, its way better, as the shoe typically helps reduce the flex needed when walking.
View surgery wound and flexibility three months after surgery.
Did you complete the procedure? If so did your surgery/healing thus far match mine or differ in someway? Lets hear it in the comments below.
I have similar results. 10 weeks post op and I’ve developed pain on my lateral side of my foot since my walking is compromised due to continued pain in my big toe . Ice and heat do help as does a foot salt bath . I’ve also been doing taping to support my toe . Still not walking any distance like I did pre op but keeping positive.
Hi Jace
Thank you so much for blog. It has really help, especially the reminders to stretch🙂 I am at 3 months after Cheilectomy and Akin Osteotomy on Right Big Toe. My foot constantly throbs when I’m walking and wondered if this is quire normal? It’s not really painful but it’s sometimes disheartening because I feel I’m not improving. Any help appreciated? Thank you
I too have a swelling around the joint that looks like a bunion. Hopefully it is just swelling and will resolve. I find I have t take a meloxicam to alleviate the pain in my big toe and I am at 12 weeks.
Thanks for this blog, I’ve found reading the experiences of everyone very helpful in my recovery. It is 12 weeks since my bi-lateral cheilectomy surgery.
My surgery and initial post-op recovery were without complication, and I had very little pain. However, after my dressings were removed (around the 2 week mark) my recovery was much slower than I had been led to believe it would be.
Walking – I returned to walking the dog as often as pain/discomfort permitted around 8 week post-surgery. Pushed through any discomfort to try to stretch out scar tissue and return to more normal movement. Am walking ~3km per day now, discomfort pushing off on uphills, not much pain.
Shoes – I still alternate between Ugg boots and Birkenstocks, although I have been wearing my hiking boots for walking – not perfect but ok. I tried on some mid-height sandals last night and was surprised that they felt almost normal! I think I may be ready to wear sneakers casually soon, but pressure on the joints is an issue so snug-fitting shoes are still not an option.
There is still swelling, and this (an pain) get worse if I do gardening or walking on very uneven ground.
Something that is really bothering me is that soft tissue that has formed around the joint, and now I look like I have bunions worse than pre-op, altho my surgeon assured me I do not! Would be interested to hear if anyone else has experienced this – will it go away eventually?
Hello, thanks for sharing your story. Did the swelling eventually subside? I’m at 10 weeks and your description matches mine. Still lots of swelling around the joint and wondering if it will subside. I have less flexibility than I had before and am worried I made a mistake having the Spurs removed.
Wondering how you are feeling now Swelled Foot. I’m at 9 weeks now and every step is grouchy and I’m sad and worried. I am wearing pink crocs to work ’cause anything else is very uncomfortable after 3 hours. I’ve lost the will to stretch it much, although my surgeon says he not worried about my ROM, but is about the swelling. However, everything I read says the swelling is rather expected. I am not recreational walking as it sure doesn’t feel fun. I just want to ice after work.
I am at six months in recovery now. Still have pain and can’t go for long walks. How does this compare to others experience.? Definitely better thN it was pre surgery but thought I’d be pain free by now…
Thank you so much for posting your journey! Your story is very similar to my situation and I’ve been debating about undergoing a cheilectomy or wait until it’s really bad for a joint replacement. I’m wondering if you feel if you’ve been able to get back to your active lifestyle or be able to play volleyball again? Also, did your podiatrist give you a percentage of how long this type of procedure lasts? I understand that there is the possibility of the bone spurs to form again requiring additional surgery. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
I will be posting my 6 month progress (which occurred on 10/10) very soon to go over this in depth. But in short, I can do jumps, calve raises and full workouts with little to slight discomfort (if barefoot). With shoes on, don’t notice the toe anymore (if I remember to stretch it in morning). My first volleyball test will be indoor with shoes on in a couple months and will report back. I think I should be fine as can jump, move swiftly with shoes without any issues/discomfort in the toe. The cheilectomy surgery turned out great so far, and still seen progress every month from the 3 month to the 6 month. So it does take time. My podiatry did not recommend partial or full joint replacement (like a knee replacement) as it’s still used little in the field, no long term results and typically need replacing in as little as 5 years, mainly due to the small joint being messed with. There is too much movement so they wear quickly vs big ole knee hardware (which is replaced every 10 years). Cheilectomy surgery is anywhere from 5-15 years or more with success. And worst case, if it only last 2-3 years, you can still go the full joint replacement etc.. Good luck.
Awesome! Thanks for the info! I’m glad to hear your workouts are going well. It sounds like your podiatrist was excellent. Makes sense to go with cheilectomy first and hold off on joint replacement. I’ve already had 4 knee surgeries for ACL and meniscus from playing soccer so I’m already anticipating a knee replacement in the future. Thanks again. I look forward to reading your 6 month progress.