starting to walk after union surgery

Please forgive me for commenting but I want to receive notifications to this thread as well I'm 1 day post op lol. I had my surgery yesterday and would also like to know the answers to your questions. Good luck

Hi,

I probably had a different type of surgery. I started to walk independently at six weeks. It was extremely uncomfortable at first but now things have improved and I can walk a little better

Having problems finding shoes as my foot is quite swollen. I am wearing canvas trainers from Wider Fit shoes. They are fairly comfortable and can adjust the laces if my foot swells. Do not seem to suffer from so much swelling now after walking around the house.

Do not have to go back to work as I am retired. I suppose if I had an office job it would be possible to cope as long as feet are elevated.

Although I still have all sorts of odd aches and pains I have only had the occasional pain killer.

At the moment I am 7.5 weeks post surgery.

Hope this helps.

Hi I'm 5 weeks post op I was encouraged to walk using whole foot rather than heel walk quite quickly on week 2, I found it rather painfull and had to use my post op shoe all the time I was also told to use this until week 6, however I have managed to walk in my trainers (the only shoe that will fit ) it's actually not as bad as I thought but can only manage a couple of hours max my foot swells still again not as bad as earlier weeks, my main pain comes from soreness around where my bunion used to be and every now and then pain in big toe, I'm not back at work yet have meeting next week (week 6) with occupational health I can't imagine I'll be able to do a 12 hour shift yet as I'm on feet whole shift. My scar is healing well and hardly visible still numb in parts and sore areas too so I still massage and elevate my foot when resting. So far I'm happy with recovery but still feel ive a while to go before able to walk without limp or in normal shoes, I need to be more patient  

I could only walk a few steps as the bottom of my foot was quite swollen and I think a lot of muscles in my leg were very weak after sitting around for several weeks. Still have problems coming down stairs in the normal way but I do have quite bad arthritus in one of my knees. Every day there seems to be a slight improvement though. I think that it just being patient.

Hi Jennifer

i had my hallux vagus and hammer toe correction performed on 13th January and I really wish I kept up with exercises on my other leg. I too have arthritis in my knees and by sitting around recovering from my foot op this has caused my knee arthritis pain to come back with a vengeance, so much so, I have to wear a knee support and take painkillers every 4 hours! So a warning to those who have a tendency to arthritic knees keep exercising that leg even if it's leg lifts in bed! I wish I had done this because now I cannot walk very far at all without being in very bad pain! Good luck to you all!

Hi Jennifer, I would say 10 weeks post op before you can stay on your feet for any length of time but you will need to still elevate your foot when it swells - and it will. I was 7/8 weeks before I started walking - but only for about 2 hours maximum before I had to rest. I'd have good days when I could walk around and bad days when I was in a lot of discomfort and couldn't so had to elevate my foot nearly all day. Everything got amazingly better after that at full speed. Now at 15 weeks it's all going great. Around the house I wear Croc Shoes - so comfortable! Hospital said it was fine to wear them too - the theatre staff wear them all day when they are working. Going out I wear Ecco Shoes. Very sexy - brown leather lace-ups - ha ha! but very supportive all round, complete with a natural shaped footbed. I could wear them all day. The operated foot is still slightly swollen so I loosen the laces some days but each week the healing continues and discomfort is becoming less noticeable. As for pain along the way, I have not really had any pain that was THAT bad. Only took a few painkillers immediately after surgery and then found elevation night and day was enough to help with the discomfort. All in all everything was great and I am delighted with the results and can't wait to get my second foot done later this year. By the way I am 70 and am in the UK. All the best LadyPink

Hello!! I had my boot on for a month, brought a lot of flat shoes , I was out of work for 2 weeks and was working 40 + hours with my boot in the the middle of August!! Its been 7 months now for me and my foot is still puffy and I jump if my kids or husband come close to my foot, good luck guys

Hi Jennifer, It's me again, the old biddy of 70...   I agree in a way with what your doctor says about not walking in Crocs or sandals but maybe he or she means not to 'walk out and about' in them? For around the house, however, like sloppy slippers, they're sooo comfortable and a good way to start practicing your walking. Oh what a relief after weeks of having to wear those dead sexy surgical boot too. I asked my surgeon's 'right hand man' about the wearing of Crocs and he said "No problem - we have no problem with you having those at all". That was good enough for me - I bought a pair of shocking pinks Crocs, online, the very same day. Now at just over 16 weeks I really don't even think about my foot anymore. It still, even now, swells up like a pig's trotter on occasions (ha ha) and turns a lovely shade of pinky-blue - but that seems to be when I've been sitting too long. I've found that walking around seems to get rid of the fluid or whatever causes the puffiness very quickly. I also used to stretch and curl my toes too while watching tv at night and now I can more or less bend and stretch them just like before; as well as stand on tip-toes.

As for pain Jennifer; try not to let it enter your mind - so don't go looking for it. It's this 'mind over matter' thing. Walk in a relaxed, 'normal' way, and try not to limp. Imagine there's a lemon lying on the ground and you're going to crush it as you walk. Start with putting your heel down first and then let the whole of your foot follow through right down to your toes, as you imagine squeezing all the juice out. I still do this myself on days when my foot is feeling a little bit stiff;  think of stepping on a lemon. Sounds daft but it works and it really is a great way of remembering your walking action. I have no doubts Jenny that from now on you will notice a vast improvement and will eventually you'll have no discomfort at all. 

So to sum up, try not to tire yourself too much - difficult I know when you're a single mum with children - but get yourself a comfy pair of trainers or other flat lace-ups for support when walking out, try to walk too with a normal action (no limping - otherwise it becomes a habit). Just you wait, you' ll soon be in fancy sandals like everyone else by the summer. 

So keep up the good work and well done so far; the worst is all behind you! LadyPink

Update on walking after bunion surgery.

Had a Dr appt 2 days ago and was told I can walk, but only as long as I walk with my walking boot for the 1st week then progress into a training shoe next week. (2hrs one day, 4hrs 're next, 6hrs ect... I'm suppose to soak my foot 3xs a day and apply healing cream to help with the dry skin and calises. My training shoe has to be half to a full size bigger and wear it for a month until I can get into my regular shoe size. I can't imagine how I'm suppose to do that since my right foot is a normal size. I wish I can wear crocks like everyone else is. I hate to waste money.

I am happy to report I'm walking! Slow, but still able to walk without my crutches. Toes are still really stiff and the bottom of my heel hurts with every step, like electric shocks. I'm not sure what stretches or exercises I can do to help with flexibility, as my Dr didn't tell me anything. So any advise, please let me know.

I'm suppose to return to work in 3wks. I just hope I'm able to work my 40hrs. I'm thinkin I may need.more time to recover.

I hope this helps anyone who needs it.

Good luck to everyone. It's a slow recovery for bunion surgery. Best thing is to be patient.

Jen

Hi there I'm 7 weeks post op on my left foot and 5 weeks post op on my right foot and have found the pain is changing, am getting sharp pains in big toe and long full achy pains that are a lot worse than they sound but am able to walk around house with my heel boots, if I walk too long I get in a lot of achy pains after but am also worrying about going back to work as I am a training hairdresser and will be doing full time work where I'm not allowed to sit unless on lunch which I don't ever get my full lunch break. I am not driving yet and wondering if you are also I'm thinking of buying some trainers as Iv heard certain ones are extremely comfortable and wide enough for my swelling that I'm dealing with atm, hope your dealing with the pain ok!

Gemma x