Hello all! My daughter (age 13) had bunion surgery this past Monday. I realize it is very soon after the surgery, but she is having what she describes as very painful cramping in her foot. She is on pain meds from the doctor and I have been giving her ibuprofen also (with docs okay), but these cramps she is describing are so painful. Is there anything I can do to help her with these? Is this common? Thanks so much and I hope I've given enough info. Any other tips to help in her recover would be much appreciated.
Well, definitely she needs to be keeping her foot elevated just about round the clock. You can also try an ice pack on top of the foot or behind the knee to reduce swelling. If it is a muscle cramp, massaging the calf can help a lot.
I'm not totally sure what she means by foot cramping, though, and if you think something is really not right, do call the surgeon.
I know I had a problem with my toes cramping after my big toe surgery last June (similar to a bunionectomy but not quite the same)....it was hugely annoying because the bandaging was such that I couldn't easily massage them. If the foot itself is cramping it may be because she is trying to pull the foot up towards the knee to keep it from just hanging down. if that's the case, she needs to just let it relax and leave that alone. Massaging areas away from t he surgical site should be OK.
I definitely agree with what the others have said. The main thing is to keep the foot elevated on 3 pillows and put ice on it for 20-30 minutes then take it off and that should hopefully help with the c. Also,make sure that she takes her pain meds as soon as the pain hits and not wait till it gets unbearable. Try to do some stretches like simply lifting the leg up and bending/stretching it to see if that helps. Try to massage the area that's becomed "cramped up" and see how that does. I had bunion surgery on my left foot and I'm almost 7 weeks into recovery and I've experienced some of what your daughter's going through,so it can be common but it also varies for each patient. I could have had the surgery done a long time ago,but research + news from the doctor said that surgery wasn't necessary unless it got to the point that it affected daily activities. I'm 21 almost 22 yrs. old. I truely do hope that my advice helps...at least somewhat.
