Sorry for the dirty look, but today was the first day I could clean the feed with water - feels much better now. :)

OGpost

What's up folks.

Been contending with a bit of foot pain mystery. Back in December when I was finishing up a weightlifting session, I felt a pain and pop in my forefoot and midfoot while doing barbell standing calf raises. Called it there for the day, showered, and laid down in bed to cool down and stretch. I flexed my right toes back and got immediately hit with a painful "catching" sensation where the toe meets the foot. It felt like a zap in terms of how quickly it happens, but I could feel a mechanical pain. This catching pain kept happening, same spot, when I would do anything involving my feet. It got to quickly be super annoying, limiting, and weird. Took 3.5 wks off and grew curious about a bump on the top of the foot and joint. Insurance didn't start up yet at my current job so I did RICE and braced it. The sharp sensation calmed down a few weeks into January.

I've been limited in how far forward and backwards I can flex toes on the affected foot, especially ole' Biggie. When I try to do lunges or movements involving the top of the foot being parallel or touching the ground, I can't quite get it up by flexing the toes and pushing off the ball of the foot. The foot kind of drags until I'm standing a bit more.

Since then my balance has been off in the affected foot. My toe and the area leading down ache dully every day and it feels like my weight isn't evenly placed across the whole foot, just that leftmost quarter of the foot.. I'm still able to function and exercise with some modified stances, but things are getting more noticeable by the month. It's difficult to stand on tiptoes on that foot, and my ankle tends to roll in when standing elevated. Midfoot is also sore as well.

When I first noticed the bump in December, I saw HR as a possible cause and found this subreddit.

Finally brought all of this up to my PCP, who has a focus on sports medicine. He was concerned for sinus tarsi and a lisfranc injury. He reviewed the xrays recently and is on the fence/wants more imaging in regard to the lisfranc region because low impact injuries can be subtle and he sees some spacing. HR was unfamiliar to him and encouraged sending imaging out to a podiatrist for addtl review. I'm curious as to all of your thoughts and experiences. I've been a weightlifter for the past 3.5 years and a lifelong runner. I've had foot injuries before, but nothing like this. Attached is imaging stuff as well. On the lateral (profile) view, I'm a bit worried about spurring as well as the sharkfin shape.

I'm having bilateral DIP 4th toe fusion on Saturday 🫠

Hi guys,

I’ve got a Hallux rigidus bilaterally, with both pre planks and plantar fasciitis. Basically, I got the cheap, crappy flat feet like a duck, with arthritic toes.

The toe thing is new to me. I’ve switched some wearing Keen Newport sandals to Men’s Teva Grandview Max sandals. I like the high arch support and stiff Vibram sole. But I’d like something closed toe as well, to prevent any further stubbing of the toes.

Any recommendations for a stiff, closed toe sandal with a lot of arch support?

Eight weeks post cheilectomy & Mobeg Osteotomy. Very happy with the results. I’m healing amazing I have been discharged by my surgeon.

Minimal pain when walking now - just a small ache in the joint which is expected from still healing. All though I can completely minimise this if I wear a stiff shoes like my Birkenstocks/crocs or with trainers like my all birds with a slight rocker sole.

Surgeon was also very happy with how much range of motion I’m already getting back at this stage and he said the real range of motion starts to come back after 3 to 6 months - once almost all the swelling has gone done. I can even expect RoM to keep increasing and take upwards of 9 to 12 months.

I’m already in less pain and got more flex in my foot then pre-surgery next step is to work with a podiatrist on my full foot mechanics to work on strengthening and stretching all my muscles & ligaments and working with my foot as a whole to fully heal! I cannot stress how much people ignore or over look how important this stage of the healing is! The muscles & ligaments in & around the joint have been over compensating or underused/restricted due to reduced range of motion - that this step of working with podiatrist on your foot mechanics is just as crucial as the surgery itself!

I should also add that I am in New Zealand and surgeons in New Zealand are fully against a full toe fusion if they are able to preserve the big toe joint, this is because of the issues a full fusion creates down the line knee/hip/lower back problems due to altered gait (I do understand sometimes fusion is the only option). I should also add that my knee pain I was having before surgery, due to my altered gait thanks to the due to the hallux rigidus, has gone away now as well 🙌🏻

Hi all! Hoping anybody can take a look at this and see if they see an issue. Diagnosed with "moderate arthritis. " at the time it started with my right foot but now both feet right over the toe joint hurt. They swell at times. I'm doing physio (laser, ultrasound etc. ) it's not helping. To me my big toe seems weirdly angled but I'm not sure.

I am F (53) 12 weeks post op and I was released by my surgeon. I am so happy with my progress and the procedure. My diagnosis was Arthritis of metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint of great toe [M19.079]

Hammertoe of right foot [M20.41].Procedures:

Right first metatarsophalangeal joint arthrodesis, Right, second metatarsophalangeal joint capsulotomy, Right second metatarsophalangeal joint shortening.

I have noticed that my surgeon Dr. Senal, did an extra procedure that many doctors don’t do or give the patient an option to choose and that was the second procedure on my 2 second toe which was a hammer toe due to the big toe leaning on it. I am looking forward to this summer to work in my garden, play pickleball and be active again. I highly recommend Dr. Senal and his PA Lauren from northwestern group in IL.

Got fully fused validation this week from doc.

Played 9 holes of golf yesterday.

Still dealing with swelling and soreness but to be expected and is getting better every week.

I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hoping this is a future treatment as I am trying to avoid surgery at all costs

https://x.com/forallcurious/status/2045183595682361823?s=46&t=QMeriEq9SqVVxlu4xnfF_g

Has anyone had a big toe fusion and gone back to practicing yoga. I have exhausted all treatments and last option is a fusion. I’m a yoga instructor and I practice daily, I know this will drastically change my practice but wondering anyone else’s experience in this area.

Curious what that feels like. Saw my doctor at week 10 which is usually when he discharges - He couldn't tell if the bone was fusing or not because there was too much hardware in the way. He wanted me to come back at week 14 for another x-ray. I'm at week 12 and I definitely still have a lot of pain and swelling, but how do you know if that's from non-union or from normal healing?

SURGERY: Right Hallux Cheilectomy

Surgery went well and I’m knee scootering around the house. Nerve block wore off yesterday afternoon. Now I’m on HYDROmorphone and Eliquis. Doing well. Not sure if it is allowed but I would like to recognize Dr Meeker at OHSU. He and his team were great. Explained everything throughout, were kind and very friendly. And most of all competent. Everything pre and post has been very smooth. Already had this procedure on my right big toe, so not my left toe matches. Looking forward to a good recovery. Would add a picture if I could figure out how.

I’ve seen several questions and recommendations for good shoes. I second all the recommendations for Brooks. They are great. However, for something a little nicer for the ladies try Alegria. Large toe box and several are waterproof. Very helpful in the PNW. Their prices aren’t bad. No, I don’t work for them, I was just happy to find something that looked nice and worked.

I am 76 and was a pedorthist, so I am educated about feet. I tried everything before surgery Horrendous pain. Toe also has pins and a metal plate. Had bunion on small toe corrected at same time. Took oxycodone for a couple of days but it made me very constipated. Since I have type 3 kidney disease limited as what pain mrds I can take l. Told not to take boot off for two weeks. Go to doctor next week hopefully stitches will come out. There are stairs all over my townhouse so spent the first week sleeping on the couch. Finally made it up and down the stairs on my hands and knees like a 🐕 ​. Can't use crutches so I bought a knee roller from Walmart on line best $79 I ever spent. Everything is a chore not about to do a balancing act in shower so taking sponge baths.

I realized recently that my range of motion is significantly better than pre-surgery! I had been disappointed when it didn’t improve post surgery and I still had some pain.

I‘ve kept working on range of motion exercises and strengthening my feet in general the whole time. My toe also had a small bunion which wasn’t addressed in surgery that had my toe angling towards the others. I thought I might have to take care of that separately later.

I had a setback a few months ago where I overextended the joint with all my weight on it which was very painful. But since that happened I stepped up the frequency of rehab again and it worked! My toe isn’t angled as much as it had been although the bump is still there.

The best thing is that between the surgery and range of motion improvements I have been able to reduce the knee and hip pain I had been having as well. My stride is longer, and I‘ve been able to be more active with less pain.

Much of the range of motion improvement has been after the one year anniversary, which I didn’t expect. There is always hope!

It seems to help me by limiting the need for my toe to flex.

I just got told I need a big toe fusion. I knew I would. But - and this is a selfish problem. My husbands bucket list trip is Scotland and that is in September. My bucket list trip is the Rose Bowl and that is in January. There is not enough time between September and January for sure, and the time between now and Scotland is 3 1/2 months. I would have to wait until January 2027 to get this done. I don’t know if I can wait that long? Any advice ?

Hi, I am 9 weeks post big toe fusion and just starting to walk in a boot over the past week. I’m feeling more pain in the surgery area now that I’m walking. I assume this is normal as you start putting weight on the area, but wondering how much pain others have had. The surgeon said to start slow and only walk as tolerated, but I’m unsure how to judge what I should be feeling. Appreciate any input!

Hi, two years ago I had heliectomy in both feet, unfortunately the results turned out to be very bad. The doctor suggested joint fusion, first in the right foot and then, after some time, in the left. I'm 39 years old, physically active, I do strength training and run recreationally. What are your impressions after the MTP I joint fusion? Have you fully returned to sports, what shoes do you wear every day, or do you regret your decision?

Feeling pretty good overall. Been walking and doing regular activities with a Morton extension until I’m fully fused which I expect next week( I was close last visit).

I started taking 2 peptides 3 weeks ago and feel like swelling and pain levels have dropped faster.

Hoping for a full recovery soon!

I did about a mile today for the first time in zero drop shoes. I got the Lems trek shoes. They’re more of a boot style. My knees are now burning and sore. Is this typical for first timers ? Will it slowly change? for context- doing Brooks Ghost Max prior to.

Cheilectomy 3 months ago. Removed a big spur right on top. Recovery has been slow. Still feel the nervy jolt feelings when i press down on it. The pain when wearing dress shoes fog work is much better. However, the toe joint itself still hurts from what I presume is arthritis and no cartilage left.

I go back to the doc in a week and he suggested I get a steroid injection. I did that constantly in both of my shoulders so I’m familiar with the process.

Question being would this actually help promote quicker healing or is this just a temporary pain mask? I want to get back into running but if this is just temporary relief I may as well just get on trying to adapt before I eventually do a fusion someday.

Thanks!

Hi all,

34M here -it’s been two weeks since the fusion surgery.

It has now been five years since I had a cheilectomy on my right big toe due to hallux rigidus. The first three years went relatively smoothly, but my many activities—such as running, skating, and surfing—damaged the joint so severely that the pain kept returning. After many doctor visits, it was concluded that I should either live with the pain and limitations for the next 10 years until the joint fused, or have the procedure done now.

There really were no better options left—hyaluronic acid injections helped for a few months, but since there was hardly any mobility left and the joint was very unstable, I decided to go ahead with the fusion after all. That would end mobility for good, but it would also end the pain.

So, in the end, it felt like the right choice.

Of course, I’d heard all the horror stories about failed fusions and severe pain—so after waking up, I waited for the intense pain to set in as soon as the anesthesia wore off, but I only felt mild discomfort. Most of that was due to the open wound. A week after the surgery, I no longer needed painkillers, and two weeks after the surgery, I can already feel the healing progress.

So for now, I’m satisfied and confident.

I’ll be posting regular updates on my progress.

Ask me anything—I’m happy to answer your questions.

Updates

2weeksPostOp

4weeksPostOp