When, in your case did you stop ‘noticing’ your foot when you walked?

Tettin, I had bunions on both feet removed on Feb 15 and also had tendons adjusted on my toes to straighten them. Yesterday was my 6 week checkup and I was given permission to wean myself out of the post op shoes, use the hot tub, and begin driving only short distances. I cannot play golf or try to jog until the middle of May. You've got to remember that you have had major surgery and everything has to heal properly. Your healing will not be complete for a year, so relax and take it easy. To answer your question, yes, you're being overly optimistic. I'm 67 years old but played golf several times a week and jogged 4-5 times a week. It has been hard just sitting but I'm able to do more and more things. We must have patience or we could run the risk of damaging our new feet. My doctor told me that if it hurt, don't do it.

Hi. I had surgery on the 8th Jan and had no pain at all until I went back to work after 8 weeks. I'm 31 years old and my advice is to go very easy. Go for a 39 min walk and see how your leg is the day after. Then increase it to an hour. My foot swells and throbs when I have been walking on it too much and my surgeon said it would be at least six months before my foot will be normal again. Go easy and take care.

Thanks for your advice (Lynn7777 and blaiddd44763), looks like I just have to be patient and not push things.

Hi, tettin. I had bunion and hammertoe surgery 17 weeks today ( 27 November 2013). Dressings changed at 2 weeks( 12 December) and 6 weeks (9 January) post op. Had K-wire removed from hammertoe at the 6 week appointment and x-rays taken. Also was given a flat rigid soled shoe to wear for couple of weeks and a gel toe spacer at this appointment. I was instructed to dispense with the heel wedge shoe I'd been given and had worn post-op until 9 January. The bandages I was instructed to remove at home 20 January ( 8 weeks post op). I then tried on a few pairs of shoes but continued to use the 2nd flat soled shoe and toe spacer. Wearing my own shoe had to be taken gently. The foot being too stiff and swollen to bend a great deal We don't appreciate just how much we actually need to bend our feet when putting on shoes. I persevered but was careful not to force my foot into the shoe. I found a long handled shoe horn ( courtesy of Clinkards!) was a great help. I used a walking stick ( which I've inherited from my mum) which has adjustable height positions when I went out as this enabled me to exercise my foot and get it working again and it gave me confidence as I did tend to feel a bit off balance to begin with. I am now leaving my stick at home unless I feel I need to have it with me. I found that after a few weeks the walking became easier and the mobility and movement of my foot starting to resume some normality. At around 12 weeks I experienced a lot of discomfort along the top of my foot running from my 3rd, 4th and little toes towards my ankle area( the hammertoe and bunion toe were unaffected). I suspected that this was caused by the ligaments and tendons, which had previously been immobile and encased in bandages for 6 weeks post op, getting used in more normal ways when walking, rather than walking flat footedly which I'd done for so many weeks. I think your theory about the tissues repairing is logical. I did feel that after so many weeks of good progress I was going backwards a little - at around week 12 post op - in terms of recovery. I massaged the top of my foot and used an ice pack to give some relief and after about a week everything started to feel much easier and has now subsided. Walking in general terms is now so much easier but I do get some discomfort beneath my big toe where the ball joint is. I suppose this is the area which is in direct contact with the walking surface and takes quite a lot of impact. BUT it is easier today than it was 4 days ago. In fact I would go as far as saying it wasn't uncomfortable. I tend to do gentle foot and toe bending exercises when I'm in the bath and then I massage the foot afterwards. As someone who enjoys hillwalking I am looking forward to being able to resume this activity. But I am definitely not going to push the boundaries until I feel comfortable. I currently try to have a daily walk of about 1.5 - 2 miles but can tell you that I have had my walking boots on twice at 7 weeks and 12.5 weeks post op. I needed to see if I could get them on. I managed it. The first time it was a bit of a struggle getting my foot actually into the boot ( again it's all about bending the foot) but the second occasion was much easier. Once my foot was safely inside things were fine. However, the foot doesn't delay letting me know when it's had enough and I know when to stop. The day after both these walks with the boots I've experienced a fair amount of aching but this has gone by the day after that. So, it's very much trial and error and being sensible. I do not think that you are being over optimistic. Just take it easy. A day at a time. Looking back to January and comparing that time to now I am very pleased how things are progressing. It's important once improvements are obvious that we don't overdo things. I've had a few days when I've overdone things and then had to resort to elevating the foot to get the swelling down. I see my consultant on 31 March and am hoping whilst I'm with him I can discuss having my other foot done maybe later in the year and after we return from our annual holiday ( in Scotland) as I want to be able to get some walking done. Also it will allow plenty of time for my foot to have recovered before I start the process all over again with foot number two. Hope these comments will be helpful. Good Luck!

67 yo male here. Scarf+Akin with lateral release on 25th September, no pain after the first week, walking just about normally at maybe 10 weeks. 2.5 miles non-stop for the first time at 16 weeks with no ill effects afterwards. If I was still running, I reckon I'd probably have started back into it soon after that but only on grass for the first few weeks.

Now at 6 months and the only thing I notice, apart from how much happier my foot and I are than we were before the op, is the predicted residual stiffness (which is of no consequence) and an occasional feeling that the area under my first metatarso-phalangeal joint is a bit more solid that on my unmodified foot.

More good feedback, thanks SerendipitousSid and gillian14549. This forum is proving to be very good.