Bunions can be a real discomforting thing and if you are suffering from them, you know how excruciating of a pain they can end up with. However, it is possible to have these bunions removed by a surgery performed by your doctor that would help relieve you from your pain. Instead of bearing the pain, it is strongly recommended to seek an orthopedic doctor who would then be able to either remove these bumps with a procedure or be re-aligning your toe joint, depending on the size and shape of the bunion.
With all the medical procedures conducted, the recovery-time could either be significant or almost close to none. But in the case of bunion surgery, the steps it takes to start walking again in your shoes varies greatly and takes up a large part of your recovery period. So if you are considering having this surgery done, always seek advice from your doctor how to minimize this phase and speed up the healing and the recovery process.
HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU RECOVER AFTER A BUNION SURGERY?
Your doctor is the best possible guide at this stage since he would be able to give you the proper instructions that would aid you in recovery and would eventually speed up the healing process altogether. Different healing and recovery stages are as of below
- First few days after the surgery
You would be given with painkillers and other prescriptive medicine to provide you with pain relief. You might also be advised by the doctor to keep your feet elevated majority of the time. Keeping an ice-pack also helps reduce inflammation. Make sure you keep the surgical area clean and dry in order to avoid infection.
- After two weeks of surgery
Good news! This is when your sutures are taken out and your doctor would then be able to investigate and advise a more accurate recovery timeframe.
- Six to eight weeks after surgery
I always fancied those foot braces and surgical boots. Well if you like the shape and design of these, then at this stage into your recovery; your doctor would advise you to have dressings changed regularly and possibly a foot-brace. Six weeks into your recovery, your bones would naturally begin to heal and become set in the place intended by the doctor. However, this recovery could prolong for a variety of reasons which is not what the point of this article is. If you see that you are still not recovering quite well at this stage of your recovery, then consult with the doctor who performed the surgery on your bunions and seek medical advice.
- Two months to one year after the surgery
This is the stage where you are supposed to be completely healed. Your doctor would then schedule a follow-up session with you in order to determine if your bones have completely healed or not. During this time, you should strictly follow what type of shoes your doctor recommends to aid the healing process. However, you can now start walking and easily bear the weight of your body on your feet. However you should refrain from going full-out on other aggressive yet taxing physical activities such as running, etc. Unless the doctor advised otherwise.
BEST SHOES TO WEAR AFTER FOOT SURGERY
These are the type of shoes that you can wear every day to carry out your regular activities and chores. However, it is strongly advised that you seek medical advice before proceeding as each individual case varies from a person to person.
- Wear a surgical boot instead of normal ones till the time you are fully healed
- Use crutches or a knee-walker for a few weeks into the surgery
- Always wear wide toe-box shoes to reduce pain and prevent a recurrence
- A big NO-NO to high-heels for at least six (6) months into the surgery
WEARING HEELS AFTER BUNION SURGERY
One of the biggest concerns of women post-bunion surgery is that would they be able to wear high heels after the surgery? The simplest answer to this is YES. But when? That is entirely dependent on the situation and your surgery-to-heal recovery period. If your doctor suggests that your feet have recovered completely than you might end up being allowed to wear high heels.
Generally, high heels are worn much more comfortably post-surgery. This is because the realignment of the great toe joint will allow for greater motion and the position and the posture those high-heel shoes forces you into, will now no longer cause distress and pain on your feet.
You weren’t expecting this answer!
Conclusion
With this, I conclude the article. I hope my research on this topic benefited you. I am looking forward to your questions and let us engage in further discussion as to how shoes can be worn more comfortably after bunion surgery. Do you have any examples in mind? I would love to hear those.