Hi Everyone,

I'm 4 weeks post-op for an Austin Bunionectomy and was told by my doctor to start performing toe excercises. Unfortunately, the doc wasn't very specific about what I should do. He simply told me to bend the big toe up and down. It wasn't until I got home that I realized he didn't tell me how often to do this or how long to bend the toe before releasing it. I was wondering what kind of exercises everyone else on the board has been doing. Any advice you can offer on type and duration of exercises will be much appreciated. Thanks!

How frustrating for you. Some Dr's must think we are psychic. Luckily you have us here.
The most common exercise is to bend the toe down and up, making sure that you bend it from the joint (where it attaches to the foot) and not the knuckle ( the part at about the mid-point of the toe). It's OK to bend it at the knuckle too, but make sure it bends from the joint. It might help to firmly grasp your foot at the ball area with one hand as this helps to stabilize and isolate the joint, and then gently but firmly bend the toe down for a count of 10. Then bend it up for 10. Do this 10 times, 3 times a day. If you don't feel too much discomfort from this after a day or two ( I don't mean discomfort WHILE you are doing it. It will hurt. I mean lingering pain) then try increasing the number of times you do it. My Dr told me I could do it all day if I wanted to. I don't really want to.:rolleyes:
My Dr added an exercise the last time I saw him, because he wants more flexibilty than I have. It is the same as the one above, but first you pull on the toe, like you are trying to pull it off. While maintaining that pull, do the bending exercise.
He also gave me another exercise, but it would be really hard to describe it and I wouldn't want anyone to hurt themselves trying to perform it from my description.
And there is one where you act like you are going to stand on tiptoe, but don't put weight on it. Just do the bending motion.
You can do this standing or sitting.

One thing I have gotten in the habit of doing is to stretch all of my toes instead of just the big toe. For one thing, it's easier to bend all the toes up or down, rather that just the big toe. And it feels good to me, because my whole foot feels kind of tight and tender which I assume is from the residual swelling.

Take it easy at first until you see how you react to these.

BigBadFeet,

Thank you for being so helpful. Your reply was exactly what I needed to know. I suspect your advice is probably the same advice my doc would have given me if he hadn't been in such rush. And you're very right about being lucky to have this message board as a valuable resource.

Thanks again, BBF!

See my post under the 'exercise' thread on this board.

Thanks Sawbuck!
I'll definitely add the towel scrunches to my regimen. How long was it before you regained all of the flexibility in your toe? Also how long before you were able to wear regular shoes? I would imagine that your recovery is going to be much faster than those of us who are not going to pt.