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Is it normal for your heel to hurt when walking after 8 weeks of bunion surgery?

Posted , 5 users are following.

tat1699
tat1699

Hi Guys,

I had a bunionectomy done on my left foot 8 weeks ago. The bones are healing properly etc.

I am still walking in my cast boot off and on using just one crutch.

But when I do walk, i have a little bit of pain and discomfort when I walk. Everytime I put pressure on it, it makes it difficult for me to walk.

I tried even walking in my regular shoes but still find it difficult to wear and walk due to the discomfort in my heel.

Hope to hear from some of you.

Thank you.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Robtouw
    Robtouw tat1699

    Posted

    I am at the end of my 8th post op week. I'm wearing men's athletic shoes because they are wide and I still can't wear my normal shoes. No foot pain, stiff big toe but I'm working on it. My issue is my ankle. It gets numb, swollen and painful as the day progresses. I do have a little discomfort in my heel. I went from 2 crutches to one, then used a cane for support. I think based on my experiences your discomfort sounds normal in this process or at least I hope is because I too feel it! The recovery is more difficult and lengthy then my doctor described.
    • tat1699
      tat1699 Robtouw

      Posted

      Hi Rob,

      Thank you so much for your reply.

      Im glad you mentioned about the pain in your ankle. Before my day ends, I also get pain in my ankle.

      Im glad to hear that you are back to wearing your athletic shoes, I am still in my boot cast until I buy a larger size shoe for now.

      I feel alot better now knowing that i am not alone going thru this experience.

      You are also right when you said that the

      recovery and the length of it is differnt from what my Dr said as well.

      He told me by the 8th week I should be in my shoe and walking abouts...lol...Not in my case..

      Hope your recovery goes well...and thanks again..

      Rachelle

    • Robtouw
      Robtouw tat1699

      Posted

      Definitely keep flexing, I find the more I flex my toe and ankle the less it hurts. And Nemo's frozen water bottle idea helps tremendously! I thought I would be exercising by now! I'm an outdoor junkie and not being able to enjoy this beautiful weather is awful! I miss hiking and riding my horses so much. And taking my English Mastiff for his walk. My walking is improving but I tire quickly and my gait is akward. I kind of shuffle slide rather then walk. I was using a pillow to support my foot at night but finally went without it last night. A tiny step forward!
    • tat1699
      tat1699 Robtouw

      Posted

      Hi again!!

      I will definately continue doing all my toes excersises for sure..its hard not to do all the activities we used to do...but i will not rush into anything until i feel my foot is a 100% ready... ☺

      I also do the shuffling..lol...but like i said before my ankle is sore by the end of the day..

      I even bought a pair of the compression socks to reduce the swelling and better circulation of blood flow ..

      Thanks again for your reply.

      Greatly appreciated..

      Happy Recovering !! 😊

  • nemo68931
    nemo68931 tat1699

    Posted

    I'm 11 weeks pot op a lapidus with 6 screws and a plate and just started walking with one crutch. the recovery is much slower than people make the out to be and differs with every oerson. my heel got sore often when I first starmed putting weight on it but it gets used to it. my ankle is the reAL killer it gets very sore and feels like it's a big bruise sometimes. it all takes time and believe it or not the best thing is to keep wallking. hang in there. rolling a frozen water bottle until my foot helped my heel a lot after a long day.
    • tat1699
      tat1699 nemo68931

      Posted

      Hi Nemo,

      Thank you for the encouraging words...i feel much better to know that how my foot is recovering is normal ..

      Wow..you had 6 screws and a plate as well?..

      I only have 2 screws and will be kept..not taking out... you're a trooper...

      All what you said is what im going thru right now ..

      I will just take my time and just keep on walking...

      Thanks again for your reply ..

      Happpy Recovering to you..☺

    • carring10
      carring10 nemo68931

      Posted

      Hi,

      My name is Carrington and I just got a Lapidus Bonion surgery as well. I got 1 screw and a staple in my left foot. I'm 5 weeks in and my doctor told me I could start walking in a CAM book 2 days ago. It's only been 2 days, but I'm stressing over the fact that it hurts like heck every time I put weight on my foot. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt where the screw and staple are, just the side of my foot (pinky toe to ankle) hurts supper bad!!! I feel like my ankles going to snap and it hurts even more today then it did yesterday. Yesterday I needed assistance with both crutches, and today I only needed to use one, but it still hurts.

      Did this happen to you?

      If so, how long will this last?

      Why is my ankle and pinky area hurting?

      Am I doing something wrong?

      Should I email my doctor?

      Thanks!

  • Kaliana
    Kaliana tat1699

    Posted

    Have you started PT yet? It will really help you with walking again.
    • tat1699
      tat1699 Kaliana

      Posted

      Hi Kaliana,

      Last visit to my Dr (Nov.16th), he said my xrays looked really well..the bones in my foot was recovering pretty good and both screws looked good..

      But he never once mentioned that I should take any PT .. im sure it would have helped me..cos for 7 weeks i never put any weight on my left foot..

      So now..im still doing my toe excersises ..after 8 weeks..im wearing a compression sock and walking in my boot cast still..

      I still hasnt transitioned into a bigger shoe because i still feel discomfort when i walk...

      But i am taking everyones advice here ...its really going to help me..

      Thanks for your comment.. ☺

  • r25571
    r25571 tat1699

    Posted

    Hi Tat -

    Yes, I had heel pain, too! I even emailed my doctor thinking something was wrong. At six weeks he told me to start putting pressure only on my heel and to try and walk just on my heel. The pain was excruciating and it took some time (well over a week) before I could heel walk for just a minute or two at a time. It was a few more weeks before I could comfortably place weight on my heel.

    Btw, I'm 12 weeks and a few days post op. From reading and discussing here I've realized every person's experience is different and every doctor seems to have different post op protocols.

    I'm still swelling - wearing compression socks now and have a lot of stiffness still in toes -- especially big toe. Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Can wear tennis shoes and am fairly active but definitely no where as active as before. It's a process, I guess. I'm just happy to be upright, walking (with a limp which wears me out) and able to get out and about.

    • Robtouw
      Robtouw r25571

      Posted

      Oh boy does limping get old! I'm so tired at the end of the day and by dinner time I'm dragging more then limping. Like you I'm grateful to be moving but have about half as much energy as I did before my procedure. My foot feels so akward and still looks like it belongs to someone else. At this point I question my decision to have the surgery but I remember my foot pain and hope the future after recovery is pain free! Patience is not my strong point. At least I'm able to get my barn work done, feed my horses and chickens and enjoy my dog and cat. I'm not up to walking my dog yet. I began taking short bicycle rides and they really helped my ankle quite a bit.
    • nemo68931
      nemo68931 r25571

      Posted

      couldn't agree with you more the limping is exhausting.I find it walk well in the morning and in the afternoon it starts to get more painful and lazy and have had to resort back to crutches a few times. it's a slow process for sure. I still wear a compression sock and I think it helps. I was told wear it until you stop getting lines on your foot from it then you not it's not swollen.
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