It has been five months now. The foot is absolutely fine, I have some very minor residual pain, and the range of motion is somewhat limited, but this is not causing me any problems. I feel no restrictions in any areas of my activity. I can wear whatever shoes I want (again ladies, I cannot comment on high heels!). I run long runs, and from time to time get muscle pains in the other foot/leg, and these are more restricting than the foot after the cheilectomy.
I hope the great outcome will last. If you are expecting (or thinking of) a cheilectomy, I hope you get similarly great results. Again, do not rush through the recovery, but do not give in to the pain!
21 October, 2012
15 comments :
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I appreciate you posting this long journal of recovery. I've found it very helpful. I just had my cheilectomy three days ago (in Boston), and so far I've been enjoying the oxycodone and taking it easy, with not much pain. Hoping for a final result like yours.
ReplyDeleteMarshall. Who did your procedure for cheilectomy? Curious of your experience. I am scheduled for dr chiodo for initial visit.
DeleteHi Marshall, Would you mind sharing your docs name? I've been looking for a good one in Boston as both big toes need it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this blog - it has been a great reference point for me as I recover.
ReplyDeleteRegarding women's shoes: I'm 4 months post-op, just finished 8 weeks of physical therapy and my range of motion is very good now with almost no pain except in extreme flexing. My doctor told me yesterday that I should wear "cute wedge sandals - the kind with the cork soles" for the rest of the summer. He said keeping my toe in a flexed position for most of the day would help wear new grooves into the bone and improve my long term outcome. He also said that flexing into the painful extremes was the best thing I could do to avoid building up bone spurs.
I am almost 5 months post surgery, and so happy I had the cheilectomy procedure! One thing that has taken a while is comfort during planks and pushups. Finally, I feel comfortable in the plank position and don't have to alter my foot position to avoid pain. Having followed my surgeon's instructions carefully, I was able to successfully run a full marathon again on 10/9/16 with only 12 weeks to train (very carefully) for it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don't wear them as often, I can still wear most of my higher heels for periods of time. While I can't say the toe is perfect, it's far better than it was prior to surgery, and I have the range of motion to do the things I enjoy!
Thank you so much for this blog - full of incredibly useful information and encouragement!
Runner from VA
Im delighted - the toe is better than i ever imagined - better than it has been for 20 years . This was a great decision and well worth the long recovery
ReplyDeletemy final tracking stats show all targets achieved and im running regularly and walking way better than ever befor
Here are my tracking statistics = month 5
general joint movement for walking (qualitative measure ):
pre op 25%
week 2 40%
week 4(end) 60%
week 7 (end) 85%
week 9 (end) 90 % but on ocassional days a bit of stiffness
week 11(end) 95%
month 5 97%
target 90%
Pain
pre op 1-4/10 but after exercise 4-7/10
week 2 5/10
week 4(end) 2-3/10
week 7 (end) 1-2/10
week 9 (end) 0-2/10- mild pain only when I walk fast with full stride and on ocassional days - some days pain free
week 11(end) 0-1/10 practically no pain mostly zero
month 0/10 - occassional sensation of slight ache but not pain
target zero
flexibility upwards (pull)
pre op 0-5 degrees - awful
week 2 40 degrees
week 4 (end) 40 - 45 degrees - good
week 5 ( end 45 degrees - excellent
week 9 (end) 45 degrees - excellent achieveable 90 % with tendon as well as pull
week 11(end) 45 - 50 degrees
Month 5 45-50 degrees
target >40 degrees
in surgery surgeon said he had this to 90 degrees but i cant see how he ever did that - my good left foot has 45 degrees movt and thats all i need
flexibility downwards (using tendon)
pre op 40 degrees - very good
week 5 20 degrees - very poor
week 7 end - good but not as good as pre op
week 9 (end) 30 degrees not as good as pre op
week 11(end) 35- 40 degrees not as good as pre op but v marginal
month 5 40 degrees
target 40 degrees as pre op
i will post a pic of my scar that is gradually vanishing !
7-8 months now and a major success - the joint is not perfect but near as you could wish for -98% perfect - i can run walk and i have lost those horrible evenings where i was in so much pain before the operation - i strongly recommend this to anyone with halus rigidus - im delighted - will update in a few moths and post some pics - best to all Rob
DeleteI'm a getting-fit-again-nearly-50-year old man, and have just seen my surgeon for a 5 month checkup, and while the joint no longer hurts, my foot still does when I walk. But the mild pain is on the bottom, most likely due to tight fascia and other connective muscles and tissues that had atrophied. I'm still improving, and was offered a future croticosteriod injection to help in a few months if I'm still having pain. I can do jumping jacks and walk miles, but can't do much of a lunge where the toe flexes more than 45 or so degree. I've sent in a five month photo showing my limited ROM due to muscle weakness when I try to pull up. (I had 3 months of twice weekly PT, but that's over.
ReplyDeleteIts been 4 months now for me but my foot is still sore at times especially at work wearing steel toe shoes and hiking and biking and climbing all over the refinery, I've done bought 3 different pairs (even King toe Redwings) but on a bad day it feels the steel toes bite right in to where I had the surgery and it makes me want to limp and hurt a bit. I went to the doc today to talk to him about it and he prescribed me some Meloxicam 7.5mg tablets (arthritis medicine) to take once a day and recommended some physical therapy. I'm 55 and do have a bit of arthritis so I'll see how it goes! Getting old sucks! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm 5 months post op and my tendons are tight underneath my foot and on top. I get pain when I bend my toe and toe feels very sore on the end at toe off. Has anyone experience tight muscles post op? I wasn't given physio after surgery so think this might be why and because my muscles hadn't been able to work properly for years due to the spurs etc. I would be grateful to hear of anyone who has experienced this and overcome it. Thank you
ReplyDeleteHi LOL. I'm 5 months post-op and I do feel that my toe tendons are still a bit tight. I try to stretch it up and down each night.
DeleteSame, I'm about about 80% range of motion up and down with pain around 1-3 depending on the day, as well as the same amount of swelling for about 2 months.
DeleteHello. Luciole here. I’m just about 4.5 months post op, and things are progressing very well! I had a blip at about 8 weeks post op. My body was reacting to the internal/absorbable sutures, which created a lot of inflammation and made PT challenging. I also had less flexion than before my surgery because the reaction made everything feel tight. My surgeon’s physician associate suggested a steroid injection in the toe joint to reduce the inflammation, which would allow me to get the toe moving and prevent any adhesions. I got the shot 2.5 weeks ago on a Tuesday and followed it with intensive PT that Thursday and Friday. What a difference! I was at 70 degrees before surgery, 60 afterward due to the inflammation, and now I’m at 80. My PT thinks I can get to over 80 degrees in the next few weeks if I keep stretching the calves, ankle and plantar fascia—all of which can impede toe flexion if they are tight. I’ve been back in my normal footwear for about 2 months, and I went on a moderate hike at about 3 months. Ladies, I know many have asked about heels. I’m now able to wear heels with no discomfort at all! I wore 3-inch heels to dinner last night. A few caveats: 1) I don’t have arthritis in my toes, so I can’t speak to wearing heels after Cheilectomy if you have arthritis. 2) I don’t think I’d wear high heels in any situation where I have to do a lot of walking. It’s not painful, but I want to be kind to my feet. 3) I frequently wear my toe spreaders during the day, and I put them on immediately after wearing heels. I’ve also been using shoe stretchers to widen the toe box in all my shoes. I want to give my toes plenty of room! I’ve even replaced some of my favorite pairs with a size up to give the piggies plenty of room to wiggle.
ReplyDeleteHi I am now approaching the 4 month stage. I am so pleased with how it is going. I have danced for a few weeks in 1 inch heels and last Friday I decided to push it a bit more and wear shoes with 2.5 inch heels. I danced easily for 3 hours and no pain that evening. I had this target in my head for Christmas but I am so pleased I have managed it earlier than planned. The physio saw me once and has left an open appointment if I need it. She has said the dancing alone will do a brilliant job and I can push it at my own pace. I think she could see how determined I was to get the movement I need again. I am seeing the surgeon again in January, I have an option of a cortisone injection then to help with any pain left. I don’t think I will need this but it’s a comfort knowing I have this last option if needed.
ReplyDeleteThe only aches I get occasionally is if I take the dog for walks in fields or uneven ground while wearing flat boots. It is nothing like the pain I had pre op and I am hoping the more I do the better this will get.
My scar is so neat I am hoping by the summer it will hardly be noticeable. I am still applying bio oil advanced scar cream at least once a day.
I am so glad I found this blog, i couldn’t have done it without it. I have gone from reading it everyday in the first few weeks to having a quick check in now and then to see if I am still heading in the right direction with everyone else on here.
I am happy with where I am right now but look forward to the next few months where hopefully it will get even better.
I'm now at 5 months post-op, and overall, I'm glad I had the procedure! I'm at about 80-85% of my previous activity levels--I can now mountain bike outdoors for about an hour and do my usual local walking/hiking loops (2-2.5 miles). Hoping to do a longer ride next week, but am SO HAPPY to no longer be stuck riding the stationary bike indoors. If I'm back to managing a 2 hour ride or 4-5 mile hike by 6 months, I'm going to consider that back to normal! I have not tried running again and may not return to it, as I think I'll be fine physically and mentally with mountain biking, hiking, walking, cross-country skiing, strength training, etc.
ReplyDeleteOver the past couple months, I've had some intermittent and sometimes sharp anterior ankle pain while attempting to get back to a normal walking gait; stairs with narrow treads can be particularly aggravating for me. That's generally improving: PT has helped a lot with that and also with getting a bit of toe ROM back, along with my balance. My post-op joint is still much less flexible than the joint on my "good" foot, but it is better than it was before surgery, and as I sit here wiggling my foot I can see the improvement compared to how the movement looked, say, six weeks after surgery (when I would feel like I was expending effort to move the joint, but could barely see it moving).
The MTP joint is also a lot less painful overall than it was prior to surgery: most days not over a 2 on a scale of 1-10; some days, it is even more minimal than that. I have had a few recent joint flare-ups (pain of 3-4ish, maybe?) that seemed to coincide with doing yardwork, so I'm going to ask my PT about that at our next session.
Also really appreciate that this blog and its comments exist. It's been helpful to read about others' progress!