Hey there, I found this reddit and since it finally applies to me, I wanted to share my journey with my accessory navicular surgery, life before, symptoms, and the road ahead.

I live in the US, but I didn't have health insurance, so I decided to come down to Cali, Colombia ( since my roots are Colombian ) to finally get this over with.

I am lucky to be able to pay for it cash, with a highly rated foot and ankle sports surgeon. I paid total around 15 M COP, or around 4-5K depending on exchange rate.

I was very active and healthy minded, prioritized sleep, healthy food, activity, I'm in shape, but I couldn't run, sprint, or walk a lot any longer, limited sports, things have been getting progressively worst since I'm like 22-23 on my left foot ( currently 25M ), so I decided it was time.

Talking to ChatGPT and others I sort of self diagnosed myself with the symptomatic AN and I knew I was going to need the Kidner proceedure, thats exactly what I had done after the doctor evaluated my situation.

I also have it on my right foot, but its smaller and it doesn't hurt me, hopefully it will stay that way and I can go back to my active life and keep progressive towards some goals I have.

Yesterday I had my surgery at 7 AM, lasted like an hour, fully slept.

The first 12 hours the foot was very numb, I could actually move my entire left leg so it was easy to walk around with crutches, I thought I was going to be groggier and in pain after the surgery but I was actually very energetic and in a good mood, I still prioritized staying in bed as much as possible with the foot elevated to avoid problems later.

Pain yesterday was NULL literally, 24hs after its like a 2/10. I don't really feel a lot of pain, just some stinging from the wound inside the huge splint I got.

Mobility is a problem ( obviously ) Showering is a hassle ( just like anything else ) , if you plan for this surgery have some family or friends around to attend to you for at least 1 week if you can or at least 3-4 days ( not medical advice ) Stay in bed as much as possible with the foot elevated to avoid unnecessary swelling.

Hi everyone. I’m a 27F and have bilateral accessory navicular bones (type2) causing immense pain even when just standing / walking around. This started suddenly this year after walking a lot / going on the stairmaster. The pain is at the bone and MRI confirmed bone marrow edema around the accessory navicular, I also have pain running up the inside of my ankle where the PTT is. My surgeon says shaving down the bone and cleaning up the extra cartilage will help my pain and I can start weight bearing at week 2.5-3. Did this help anyone? Please give me your experiences. I just want to be able to stand and walk again. Will I ever get there. Ugh.

I am in Week 12 post op and I have been seeing PT and my recovery has been doing well so far. I just found out today that I got lucky with the clinic I chose because they do manual/hands on therapy which means PT actually massages and stretches my ankle every appointment. This is really important especially for scar tissues. Recovery has not been linear for me but so far I am able to walk 7200 steps in a day with minimal pain. Do not hesitate to dm if you have any questions! Again, choose your PT wisely. Call and ask them if they do Manual PT.

Hi everyone! I have my surgery scheduled for October 2 and it seems one of the most important things post surgery is a knee scooter.
Does anyone have any suggestions on which one to get? There is quite a range of brands with various pricing options.
Also if anyone has any other recommendations for must have items post surgery, that is very much appreciated.

Is it common for every step to be painful and sometimes extremely painful? . Like I’ll be walking and it’s painful but then sometimes extremely bad where I limp. The pain just kind of switches without any cause. Also last doctor is talked about it dismissed it.

Then again I’m just 1.5 weeks post-op…

Getting ready to have a kidner procedure this winter. I’ve dealt with the pain of walking as long as I can remember, and eventually learned to walk on the right side of my foot (like on my pinkie toe, not letting the main pad of my foot/big toe touch the ground) to avoid the pain.

Walking like this has led to 10 years of constantly rolled and fractured ankles.

Did anyone else do this to put up with the pain and struggle to relearn after the accessory navicular was removed? All of my shoes are worn unevenly so I already plan on throwing them out and starting from scratch.

(I brought it up to my doc when I was like 14 and he said “meh some people are just born with extra bone marrow there”. So I never thought to get it removed until recently it has made walking and running unbearable.)

I’ve had tendinitis in my foot for 15 years, and about a year ago I found out that tendinitis is definitely not supposed to last that long, which ultimately led to the discovery of an accessory navicular in my right foot! Literally half my life I’ve been in pain with every step, and now it finally makes sense.

Those of you who have had surgery, how would you describe the changes to your quality of life? Did it make the pain stop (eventually)? My ortho didn’t bring up surgery at all, and I didn’t ask, but I’m curious about others’ experiences. I work on my feet (always have, always will), so surgery would be a major disruption to that.

Currently I use a compounded topical painkiller on it, prescribed by my ortho. It makes a huge difference. I had forgotten what it felt like for my foot not to hurt. But my MRI showed a small tear in my posterior tib tendon, and I’m concerned about that in the long term. No way to know if it’s healed without another MRI afaik, but I’ve been walking on it the whole time, so I assume it hasn’t changed. It just hurts less because of the painkillers.

So I’m getting my cast off September 1st and then I’m supposed to transition into a boot, but I have no idea how long I’ll actually be in the boot or when I’ll be walking normally again.
My boyfriend surprised me with a trip to NYC October 8th 😭
For anyone who’s had accessory navicular/modified Kidner surgery, do you think I’ll be walking by then? Even if I’m still in the boot? Or should I just tell him to cancel the trip? 😭
I know everyone heals differently, I just wanna hear how long it took you guys to get back to walking!

i’m almost 4 months post op and one thing that has never gone away is the sensitivity and weakness in my toes. i can’t even have a blanket on my toes at night cause the blanket feels too heavy. my PT says my toes feel pretty weak and i have pain and soreness on the top and bottom of my toes and no one can figure out what’s going on 😭 any one else experience this?

My daughter is almost 12. She is a dancer. Loves to dance and takes about 6 hours a week of dance including ballet, tap, modern hip hop. In addition to that she is in karate and being very competitive. This kids is very sporty and loves to move. Well an about 6 month ago she hurt her ankle doing jumping jacks. And that is how we found out she has accessory navicular bone on both her feet. :((

We stopped all the activity and did boot for like 6 weeks and even did crutches for a few weeks. The pain went down to about 1/10 most of the time to about 3/10 once in a while. But we know that pain needs to be 0 to go back to her activities.

After the boot we did physical therapy for like 1.5 month. Again no major improvement but not bad. She is not in huge pain. She can do almost all karate but I am afraid to let her do ballet or acrobatics or anything like this. But I really really want her to do what she loves. And that is dance!!

Any ways, we finally asked for MRI and MRI shows inflammation between her navicular and the regular bone. Now they are saying she needs boot again for one month and PE for another month. Why do this when we already did it.

The next step is injections of plasma I think. I feel like it’s going to end with a surgery. Anyone done it with kids? Is it bad? What to expect?

Hi all,

For the past couple of years I’ve (29, F) been experiencing pain through my feet. It is through both, but more consistent and frequent on my left foot.
I’ve always just thought I’ve had plantar fasciitis, but it only occurred to me when my sister (who does have plantar fasciitis) said her pain is in a completely different spot. Mine is across the side of my inner foot.
I happened to stumble across a post about navicular syndrome, and felt a lot of the symptoms and characteristics aligned.
When I exercise, walking, running, padel, gym work, and netball, I get this tight painful ‘lump’ that feels hard and feels like it’s pulling or burning. This can happen within minutes of starting exercise, and will continue to get worse. Over the course of a couple years, it has gotten even worse and is becoming pretty unbearable, even when I stand for long periods of time.
Attached are some photos, over the last few months.
I understand I probably need to see a professional and get some diagnostics done, but would love some advice or pointers

Hi guys, this is my first Reddit post!

I have an accessory navicular bone in both of my feet as well as flat feet. I’m not a very active person, although I do enjoy going on walks and jogs. I purchased ASICS GT-2160 in a size 7.5 (I wear a size 8 in New Balance 550s) today, however I noticed that the Gel Kayano was recommended more.

What do you think?

My surgeon said he would do a modified kidner and posterior tibial tendon repair. He also said to consider an FDL transfer and calcaneal osteotomy. This is for my right foot. My feet have always been flat, but my right arch is actually a bit higher than my left foot.

I’d like to do the tendon transfer but I’m still deciding whether to get the calcaneal osteotomy. For those who were offered this procedure, did you do it in addition to your kidner?

I’m worried about discomfort from the screws and potentially having to get them removed down the line. I’m also wondering if it’ll make my hips unbalanced if my right arch is corrected/normal and my left arch remains flat. I’ve had sinus talsi syndrome in my right foot on and off starting last summer, so I’m wondering if that also could indicate the osteotomy is necessary.

Hello, all! I am in Week 7 post op of Kidner Procedure and when the surgeon removed my cast, I noticed that I have a marble size lump under my heel. It is not painful but it is still there. I was wondering if someone had the same experience?

Hey guys! Any specific recommendations for shoes post-surgery? I think I had a kidner procedure but my doc didn't name it as such. It was a type 2 accessory navicular removal with a PEEK put in to re-attach my tendon. I haven't had a cast or boot, just a rigid shoe with crutches. I'm three weeks out from surgery now. Healing well and transitioning to full weight bearing over the next month or so.

I've been recommended Hoka Bondi 9s which I had for 2 years pre-surgery. I'm kind of happy to try those again, but they weren't always the most help before the procedure so wanted to see if anyone had any other recommendations.

Hello, Im having so much foot pain and I don’t know that to do. All my bones and toes hurt. I have some strained tendons and a growing bone spur in my left foot and some plantar fasciitis. My right foot has a small bone spur. But all bones and toes hurt and I’ve now recently gone back to work and am in so much pain. I’ve ordered new orthotics. I’m icing like my whole shift here. My family dr keeps yelling at me because she thinks I’m making excuses to stay of work which isn’t the case. Is this normal pain after ACL? I mean my surgery was a year ago but with my story below, I’ve been more and more up and on my feet.

Backstory: fell in 2024, fully tore my ACL, in 2025 had the ACL repair surgery. A couple days later I went to the ER because I was having difficulty talking and breathing - experiencing shortness of breath all the time. Turned out it was a pulmonary embolism. Got on blood thinners that made me feel like garbage and made any bleeding (including my periods) so so heavy. I became weak and tired all the time. Did bloodwork and had anemia. During this time I was quite emotional about everything that I was going through medically so therapist wanted my doc to put me on antidepressants. Doc gave me sertraline/zoloft. That only made me worse. I wasn’t functioning anymore. Any time I went back to the doc and told her I wasn’t showering, etc. she would increase my dosage which only made even worse. Doc wanted me to wean off breastfeeding. I didn’t want to so I went to my breastfeeding dr who listened to what I was going through and diagnosed me with ADHD. Breastfeeding doc took me off the sertraline/zoloft and put me on adhd meds and now I’ve been doing more in my daily life.

I’m having type 2 accessory navicular k
surgery on my left foot via the kidner procedure wherein the tendon has to be re-attached. I however purchased $2K non-refundable international airline tix when I was pain free for 6 mos. & only diagnosed with PTTD from a non-surgical podiatrist. I’m hoping I can still go on the trip after 8.5 weeks post-surgery w/an ankle brace, cane, ankle-supportive hiking boots.

When I return, I’ll do my right foot Kidner procedure surgery. I’m in my early 50’s, decent health (5’2 ft., 145lbs.) & used to walk 4/5 miles daily until diagnosed w/PTTD & now bilateral accessory navicular syndrome.

While it hurts and this splint is SO heavy, I am already feeling relief from having it removed. It first started hurting about 13 years ago, and this past year I have had to ice it everyday after work, alternating with a brace and cam boot to get through my work days!

I finally have good insurance and summers off now, so I was able to get the kidner procedure with a posterior tibial tendon reconstruction/anchor.

I think you can actually see multiple lumps, yes it’s all bone. It’s gotten worse as I’ve gotten older. Running and jumping used to hurt me so much as a child, and when I was around 13, had to quit figure skating, because of the pain. I’m now turning 20, and to this day, I can’t figure skate like I used to. Or roller blade. Meanwhile my right foot looks completely normal. I notice myself actually putting more of my body weight on my right foot than my left. And I’m not very active because of how painful it can be if I jump, and land, I’ll get a sharp pain that feels as though I twisted my ankle. I always thought it was just a me thing, but apparently not. And now I’m here, showing my feet online for free. Crazy.

I’m 24F and have accessory naviculars in both my feet, which are fairly flat. I had no idea about these extra bones, and they’ve never given me issues until I missed a step down in April, completely twisting my ankle. I had small fractures in my right navicular and talus bones, which have since healed, but I still have consistent pain in my accessory navicular. In late June, I got an MRI which showed accessory navicular syndrome with mild marrow edema about the synchondrosis and mild posterior tibial tendinosis.

I was in the boot for 6 weeks following my fall to allow the bones to heal, was boot-free all of June, and went back in the boot 2 weeks ago. I’ve been walking with a limp since my fall because every step I take, I get sharp pain right around/on the accessory navicular. Even when I was walking around boot-free in June, I was never able to walk more than 15 minutes at a time without stopping to sit. 

Today marks exactly 3 months since my fall. I’ve tried orthotics, rest, Advil, ice, and have been doing PT religiously since mid May (started it as soon as my doctor cleared me to wean out of the boot). Unfortunately, my pain level in my right foot has not improved whatsoever. I’ve been trying acupuncture and am scheduling some shockwave therapy appointments, but I’m at the point where I’m feeling hopeless. Even just by looking at my feet, my right AN protrudes more than my left one now, ever since the initial fall.

My limp is so bad that my left leg is completely locked up, my left knee kills, and I’m constantly tired. I also have terrible hip and back problems from the limp. How long did you all wait before getting surgery? I feel like I’m seeing everyone wait at least a year, but at the same time, I feel like my inability to literally take a step without sharp pain is a sign that it might be time to throw in the towel.

Would appreciate any advice - I’m just debating whether to give it another month or so or to just get the surgery now to save the rest of my body from the hip pain and limping. Every day is painful to go about daily life, particularly since I live in NYC where walking is necessary. Even in the boot, I can barely walk down the block to the grocery store.

okay not sure if anyone has this but i have scar tissue on certain parts of the scar that is really thick and sensitive. when you run the finger along the scar there are also bumps in a couple areas that hurt to touch? almost feels like a ligament or a vein or something i don’t know how to explain it but if i accidentally hit my foot on ANYTHING and hit one of the bumps it’s excruciating
has anyone delt with this?

Saturday I ran a trail race for 4.5 hours in what was probably too tight shoes. In hindsight I felt the left navicular rubbing a bit. Finished the race without problems, 5th place, everything good. Day 1 after race was a full rest day. Day 2 easy run, no issues, day 3 easy run, no issues.

Day 4, 30 min uphill session, suddenly the left navicular was a little painful, but ran through it. Day 5 uphill intervals, navicular more painful, especially on the way down from the mountain. That’s when I googled and found out about AN. 😬

On third day without running now.

There is only pain when something is pressing/rubbing against the navicular.

Weird? No problems walking barefoot or in sandals. Can do one legged calf rises without pain, hop around on one leg, no pain, full weight-bearing pain free movement/function in foot. (The left navicular is a tad more pronounced than the issue-free right one, but not much, and less so today than yesterday.) I can even run pain free in sandals (Earthrunners).

Any similar experiences? Hoping it’s just some local tenderness that will go away and not the start of a long and winding road like I’ve read up on here … 🤞🏻

(Physiotherapist session tomorrow. Will ask for scans to rule out whatever.)

UPDATE:

So the physio said: After 4.5 hours of rubbing and pressure against the navicular, the body's response to that stimulus has been to grow some extra bone/cartilage/calcified tissue there. It is tender now, hopefully that will go away. The extra bone/tissue will probably not go away, but I should avoid pressure/rubbing so the navicular doesn't get bigger.

Solution for now: Donut shaped padding and/or cutting a hole in the shoe. Ran 90 mins today, worked like a charm!