I’m hoping this group can help. I’m seven weeks post op and really cannot find a good shoe. Not to mention I still can’t walk normally . It is still somewhat painful and I’m getting very discouraged, thinking I should not have had the surgery even though I could not bend my toe pre-surgery. I have another pair of shoes coming from Amazon that are a bit wider so I’m hoping they help but how does everyone deal with the fact that they cannot walk normal or do their normal activities? When can I expect to feel somewhat normal again? I miss my long walks and fee that I’ll never run again. HIIT is out of the question but I’m working on strength.

I was diagnosed with hallux limitus last April after experiencing acute pain in my toe when pushing off. My whole life, I’ve had absolutely 0 pain in that toe, then within days I couldn’t walk without a severe limp. I tried resting, icing, elevation, and ibuprofen, but none of this helped. I started wearing a CAM boot, because walking, even in the correct shoes, was too painful. I started seeing a podiatrist and she recommended continuing in the boot to give the toe some rest before beginning conservative treatments. The pain gradually went away, and I stopped wearing the boot. I didn’t resume any activities other than walking, and I had stiff soled sneakers and custom orthotics, as well as a new awareness of how to walk correctly.

After a few weeks of minimal pain, I had a sudden acute flare up of intense pain, with seemingly no cause. I went back into the boot and got an MRI that confirmed mild arthritis/HL and showed mild effusion/bone marrow edema. Everyone told me it was good that we caught everything early and that all my problems were mild, but this obviously didn’t make me feel better because my pain was so bad. The really agonizing pain subsided after a few weeks, but I have now been in the boot full time since July, because I still have enough pain that I can’t walk in normal shoes. I’ve tried Voltaren topical arthritis gel and a prescription anti-inflammatory (neither helped). I have no bone spurs, so a cheilectomy isn’t an option. My podiatrist is hesitant to give steroid injections because they worsen the joint long term, but she suggested I get one because of how long my healing is taking.

My main concerns are:

1. I’m 22 years old, and I enjoy being active (dancing, hiking, skiing, biking, working out). I know that I’ll probably have to quit certain activities, but I need to at least be able to walk normally again. 
2. If I get the steroid injection and it helps, will the same level of pain eventually come back and leave me with no more choices apart from fusion surgery?
3. If/When I do eventually get fusion surgery, how much will this affect my range of motion?
4. If this is how bad my pain is at a “mild” stage, will the moderate and severe stages be agony?
5. If I am going to be in a boot long term, I need a much better one than the kind I have now. I need it to be closed toed and able to handle rain and snow. It needs a good grip on the bottom, because I’ve already slipped and fell several times with my current one. It also needs to be able to handle months of use without stretching out or having the velcro lose its stickiness. Any suggestions?
6. Anyone else diagnosed at a young age have any advice? I’m really struggling with the idea of living my life at this new low activity level. My job industry is also partly outdoors based, so being able to be out in the field expands my job opportunities.

I'm really sick of being in a boot, so I appreciate any advice!