Hi. I had extensive bunion surgery(cut the bones) 5 months ago . I still have pain now in the big toe joint. My dr. said it will take a while to go away. Has anyone experienced this before? Do you still have the pain and how long did it take to go away?
I'm afraid that the pain won't go away.I didn't even have pain before the surgery. The bunion was large though.

sorry to hear about your pain, especially since it's been five months. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif
have you been doing any physical therapy? i know my doctor gave me a few little exercises (mostly stretching and pressure) to increase flexibility in my toe after the surgery. do you have flexibility/movement problems as well, or just pain? did your doctor do any work on the joint itself? i spoke with my doctor about it and he assured me that he avoided working on my joint so that i wouldn't experience those kinds of problems after the surgery.
has your doctor given you any indication that this prolonged pain is normal for his/her patients?
hope it gets better for you!

First of all....don't give up hope!!! With my foot surgery last year it honestly took about a year before the pain was gone. I had 2 bunions, hammer toe and some midfoot fusions. And the same thing done to the left foot in January of this year.
It can take a long time. Do things that don't aggrivate it...exercise...slow walking. That might help. Occasionally the fixed bunion on the right foot will ache.
BUT if the PAIN persists you might want to get a second opinion. After another surgery once, I tried acupuncture for the residual pain and it worked very well.
Just don't give up...sometimes it will take a while.

My dr. gave my stretching exercises to do and i'm still doing them. Butmy toe doesn't bend down at all now. He said that I'll never have the range of motion that i did. Does anyone else have problems with moving the toe downward? Mine is stiff as a board.

Elisa- its sounds like we have had similar expereinces.
I am looking for more input re; recovery after surgery. I had extensive surgery requiring a screw, pin and a hard cast for 6 weeks followed by 2 weeks in a cam walker- 9 weeks all together on crutches. Its now 3 1/2 months after surgery and I still have restricted movement, pain and swelling. It is unclear whether the remaining screw is causing some of the pain or whether the pain is due to muscle breakdown. I've been in PT for over a month and I'm frusterated because I can't wear dress shoes, run or even walk for extended amounts of time without pain. How are you doing now?

Well it's been 6 months since my surgery and i was on crutches with a cast for 8 weeks. Now I still have pain in the big toe joint area. Also I am not able to bend my toe joint down at all. My dr. said it's from the scar tissue and it's very stiff. It probably won't go back to normal.

I have resticted movement in my big toe-up and down. My toe doesn't lie flat on the floor and I was told it may never (after surgery of course. Both my Dr. and my physical therpist told me the movment down is less important-its the movement up that effects your walking etc.-is this a problem for you?

Hi Janis,
No upward is not the problem, it's downward.
It doesn't bbend at all.

my doctor also said that the downward movement wasn't as important as the upward (since that's what you use to walk) but i understand the frustration of not being able to do simple things like bend your toe.
do you also have problems walking? i'm just starting to walk again and i don't know if it's muscle atrophy in my calf or what, but i am unable to walk without a limp. i spent 10 weeks on crutches, so i didn't expect to be able to get back to normal immediately, but it's very odd that i can't walk, especially since the limp isn't caused by pain, it's something i cannot control.
is this similar to your experience learning to walk again? i'm afraid that my odd gait is going to give me back problems and i hope i can overcome it soon

Yes it took me a while to walk normally without a limp. You have to regain muscle in you calf and leg. I was on crutches for like 8 weeks so the muscle was pretty much gone.

It stinks because it is so frustrating being 'on crutches and casts for so long', but it all takes time. And once you are out and less restricted you want to do so much. Had my surgery on January 31, and am now in my walking boot, but it kills my ankle. I occasionally try to put pressure on the surgery foot....but can't do it yet. Looks like another few weeks in the boot.
I have to say it, and keep saying it, just like everyone else....but it takes time
for feet to heal. I try to massage toes and still puffy foot, and that will help, some of the muscles are so painful but I know this will ease up with time.
The bunion surgery from last year is great, but I do occasionally get some pain.
Another think my surgeon told me was to massage the scars and wiggle and bend my toes as much as I could.
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE...
Judy

Hi Judith. Does your toe bend down at all now? it's so annoying theat mine doesn't bend down. My Dr. says that htere's scar tissue in there.

Hi- I have had several sugeries on my right foot. With my second surgery, I was in a cast for 13 months(4 of that being non-weight bearing) and had 4 months in an air cast. I now have 5 plates and 25 screws in there. None of my toes bend or touch the ground. I currently am in a cast again from my last surgery, non-weight bearing from my last surgery in Feb.01. I had to have all this done because my Bunion surgery went BAD and my toe stuck up in the air. This ended up causing my 2nd, 3rd and 4th toes to have problems. I hope you have better luck than I did.