Help!! Divas who have had bunionectomies

[dloveski]

It's clear that I will need bunionectomy/hammertoe surgery. It's getting worse. BUT--ski season looms. I'm curious if any Divas have had this surgery and how soon they could boot up and ski (in months vs. years) and how it went. It's decision time to go or live with it til 2025.

 

[scandium]

Which specific surgery are you likely to need? The extent of surgical correction is in my mind the most likely thing to influence your expected recovery time, obviously you are likely to be optimising other things already like fitness and prehab prior to surgery, nutrition, etc to make the healing process and rehab/return to sport as smooth as possible. I believe when my aunt had her bunions done she was able to ski the next season - so measured in months - but this was many years ago and there has been some evolution of surgical techniques since then as well as shaped skis...

 

[MissySki]

@Trailside Trixie is this what you had on your feet previously?

 

[dloveski]

Which specific surgery are you likely to need? The extent of surgical correction is in my mind the most likely thing to influence your expected recovery time, obviously you are likely to be optimising other things already like fitness and prehab prior to surgery, nutrition, etc to make the healing process and rehab/return to sport as smooth as possible. I believe when my aunt had her bunions done she was able to ski the next season - so measured in months - but this was many years ago and there has been some evolution of surgical techniques since then as well as shaped skis...

Thanks. I think I’m not a candidate for 3D minimal surgery. Plate and pins…I get 6 weeks no weight bearing and a while after to reduce swelling but I can’t accept sitting out ski season completely. Sept to mid-Jan I can accept. Longer no.

 

[liquidfeet]

@dloveski, what does your foot anomaly look like?

Is there a toe that's moving upward above its neighbors?
If yes, has this elevated toe moved over to rest on top of the toe beside it?
I have this problem. I've been dealing with this issue for years. I have sought help from podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons who specialize in foot issues and do not like their predictions of how successful their surgical solutions would be.

I have found a solution that works for me that doesn't involve surgery. If interested, I can pm you.

 

[dloveski]

@dloveski, what does your foot anomaly look like?

Is there a toe that's moving upward above its neighbors?
If yes, has this elevated toe moved over to rest on top of the toe beside it?
I have this problem. I've been dealing with this issue for years. I have sought help from podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons who specialize in foot issues and do not like their predictions of how successful their surgical solutions would be.

I have found a solution that works for me that doesn't involve surgery. If interested, I can pm you.

All of the above---huge bunion, big toe moving sideways into second (Mortons) toe causing deformity and hammertoe. I am only able to get around now (and run) using a gel toe spacer to keep these toes apart. Any tips and learnings welcome---I abhor surgery, there seem to be newer procedures coming out, but the problem is getting worse lately.

 

[liquidfeet]

Can you could push the most problematic toe back into its proper position with your fingers? I know it won't stay, I'm just wondering if it is possible to get it where it's supposed to be.

If yes, you can use Kinesiology tape to hold it in place. I do that. My lifted second toe wants to sit on top of my big toe. So I pull it back down and into place and hold it there with kinesiology tape.

The tape breathes, and stretches to stay in place as the foot walks. Kinesiology tape is water-resistant, so it sometimes lasts through several showers before needing to be replaced. I've used this solution for years. The problem has stopped getting worse, and the pain has been fully eliminated. Thank goodness for this tape. My orthopedic surgeon saw what I was doing and congratulated me on figuring out how to fix the issue. She really did not want to do the surgery.

Another toe (the 4th) on that same foot went rogue and did something similar. Before I started taping it back in place, a big corn formed on its side. This corn hurt a LOT. I could not take a step without pain. I had it X-rayed early on and was told that the bones had bent out of position permanently, and this bend was causing rubbing between the two toes which in turn was causing the painful corn.

So the taping I did was to stop the rubbing, and I got a podiatrist to shave off the corn. It has some bad stuff going on deep down inside next to the bone which was causing the pain. It took some months of taping this toe into position, but finally that pain went away and the corn stopped re-growing. The toe is still bent, but I keep it in a position so it won't allow the rubbing to continue. And no pain. I can walk again, after about two years of on-again and off-again pain.

My second toe on the other foot is starting to do the same thing - lift and move over the big toe. I sometimes tape it, and sometimes don't. It has stopped getting worse. No pain so far has happened with this issue on that foot.

I like to tell people I hold my feet together with duct tape.

 

[scandium]

Thanks. I think I’m not a candidate for 3D minimal surgery. Plate and pins…I get 6 weeks no weight bearing and a while after to reduce swelling but I can’t accept sitting out ski season completely. Sept to mid-Jan I can accept. Longer no.

Hmm. That seems a very tight time frame, not allowing for the possibility of post surgical complications for a bigger/open operation in a fiddly part of the body, which can happen even with the best laid plans and the best prehab and rehab etc. And it might be that you can only do a few runs at first rather than a full ski day. I guess the question to ask yourself is "If there was a complication or my healing took longer, would I really have regretted not deferring to after the current ski season?"

I am also currently in the non-operative intermittent k-tape camp for my own bunions, but am still very passively mobile through the joint and can get good relief from the tape. I think if you can still get a gel spacer in there taping it is worth a try - and takes up less space in shoes!

 

[liquidfeet]

Hmm. That seems a very tight time frame, not allowing for the possibility of post surgical complications for a bigger/open operation in a fiddly part of the body, which can happen even with the best laid plans and the best prehab and rehab etc. And it might be that you can only do a few runs at first rather than a full ski day. I guess the question to ask yourself is "If there was a complication or my healing took longer, would I really have regretted not deferring to after the current ski season?"

I am also currently in the non-operative intermittent k-tape camp for my own bunions, but am still very passively mobile through the joint and can get good relief from the tape. I think if you can still get a gel spacer in there taping it is worth a try - and takes up less space in shoes!

Glad to hear someone else uses the kinesiology tape. I hated those gel spacers when I tried them because of the pain they caused. And my feet would no longer fit into my shoes or ski boots. K-tape takes up zero space.

 

[Jenny]

Just chiming in to say that I know nothing about the bunion or toe moving stuff, but there are skinny gel spacers that I use that can be worn in shoes. They're way smaller than the yoga toes type, but I don’t know if they're enough to help your issues, though.

These are the ones I have: https://drfredericksoriginal.com/co...es-corns-cramping-washable-reusable-free-size

 

[Trailside Trixie]

@Trailside Trixie is this what you had on your feet previously?

Yes I did. My bunion was on my right foot which is my bigger foot which was problematic in my sized down ski boots and shoes in general. It was a real problem for me. I had countless areas blown out in my ski boot and I couldn't teach all day. It was really affecting my life. I didn't know there was a solution and that thought I just had to deal with if. I finally made an appointment with a local podiatrist and this was the beginning. I learned surgery was an option and I didn't have to suffer anymore.

Surgery was in July and I was skiing by November. The 3 months after surgery were quite intense.

Non weight bearing for 30 days. This means crutches and no weight at all on the foot including no driving. Couldn't get it wet and showering was fun lol. This was a giant pain in the butt and the worst part

The next 60 days were better. I could shower and wear shoes. I could do light exercise but no hills so my disc golf game was really affected.

By October tho I was cleared for all exercise. Got new ski boots which was a game changer because my bunion was gone so that opened up a whole new world for ski boot possibilities.

It was a tough 3 months but seriously the best thing I ever did

 

[skibum4ever]

This toe was straightened some years ago. An orthopedic surgeon recently told me that to straighten it again would require two surgeries - the first to remove the existing pin, the second to insert a much longer pin. This would ruin much of my summer.

If I could do it in a single operation and possibly combine that with a left knee replacement (which I will eventually need) I might try to get it straightened. In the meantime, I use toe foot socks and even toe ski socks. OTOH, it seems to be getting worse so I might have to get it done at some point.

 

[liquidfeet]

View attachment 23602

This toe was straightened some years ago. An orthopedic surgeon recently told me that to straighten it again would require two surgeries - the first to remove the existing pin, the second to insert a much longer pin. This would ruin much of my summer.

If I could do it in a single operation and possibly combine that with a left knee replacement (which I will eventually need) I might try to get it straightened. In the meantime, I use toe foot socks and even toe ski socks. OTOH, it seems to be getting worse so I might have to get it done at some point.

Just pull that toe over to where it should be and tape that it into place using kinesiology tape. The tape will last for days. Try it by buying some tape in your local pharmacy; it will be near the Dr. Scholl's stuff.

Cut the tape down the middle to get it the right width. Cut into different lengths. Then apply a tape strip(s) onto the toe to pull the toe into place and hold it there. The tape stretches, and breathes. It will take you a number of tries over some days maybe to figure out how to position the tape.

Avoid pulling so hard that you grind the tape into the toe's flesh. Just pull the tape enough to make a difference, even a little difference. If you wear the tape every day for a week or so, your foot will get used to the sensations. As time goes by you'll get better at engineering how you position the tape. And you can find out how far you can pull that naughty toe.

At first even little bit of movement back toward where it should be is better than allowing it to keep moving away from its rightful place more each day. Over time you can find out how strong a pull you can get away with.

This process has worked for me for 18 years or so without the need for surgery, which often doesn't work permanently. The foot can be persistent is in rearranging the toe even after surgery.

You can fix this on your own!

 

[Trailside Trixie]

Just pull that toe over to where it should be and tape that it into place using kinesiology tape. The tape will last for days. Try it by buying some tape in your local pharmacy; it will be near the Dr. Scholl's stuff.

Cut the tape down the middle to get it the right width. Cut into different lengths. Then apply a tape strip(s) onto the toe to pull the toe into place and hold it there. The tape stretches, and breathes. It will take you a number of tries over some days maybe to figure out how to position the tape.

Avoid pulling so hard that you grind the tape into the toe's flesh. Just pull the tape enough to make a difference, even a little difference. If you wear the tape every day for a week or so, your foot will get used to the sensations. As time goes by you'll get better at engineering how you position the tape. And you can find out how far you can pull that naughty toe.

At first even little bit of movement back toward where it should be is better than allowing it to keep moving away from its rightful place more each day. Over time you can find out how strong a pull you can get away with.

This process has worked for me for 18 years or so without the need for surgery, which often doesn't work permanently. The foot can be persistent is in rearranging the toe even after surgery.

You can fix this on your own!

Mine wasn't one where I could do that. Depends on where it is, etc. Surgery was my only option. This was 3 years ago. Not only did he remove the bunion but he reformed my foot there and fused bone together securing with a screw. Still going strong and best thing I ever did but everyone is different.

Definitely worth a consult with a podiatrist IMO

 

[VickiK]

...It was a tough 3 months but seriously the best thing I ever did

Goodness, that is one tough road for you and your foot. I'm glad it worked out and you're out there skiing, discing, walking, riding, and all the ing's.

@skibum4ever I will dig out my KT tape and bring some with me to our lunch. I prefer Thai over Chinese, btw, at least for this time.

 

[liquidfeet]

Goodness, that is one tough road for you and your foot. I'm glad it worked out and you're out there skiing, discing, walking, riding, and all the ing's.

@skibum4ever I will dig out my KT tape and bring some with me to our lunch. I prefer Thai over Chinese, btw, at least for this time.

Feet can be weird. But KT tape rocks.

Before tape and after


My kit.

 

[dloveski]

My lovely bunion issue, plus an extreme Morton's toe aka hammertoe. I'll try the tape, gel spreader is great between first and second toe---but I fear all of these are band-aids to the real issue, and is waiting best or diving in and fixing? I hate this!

 

[Trailside Trixie]

I'm a big surgery person if it's the fastest way to fix an ssue. Tear an ACL, have the surgery. Have a foot issue go see a podiatrist and perhaps surgery. Going to my podiatrist opened my eyes because I thought I just had to deal with it. I've heard magical things about K tap so it's good if that temporary fix works for some. The things we do so we can ski and be active.

 

[liquidfeet]

The reason I've avoided surgery is being told by three doctors that if they did the surgery on my second toe, it would most likely be a temporary fix because the toe would find a way to reposition itself again where it is now, despite the pins. And they said the recovery is long and not fun.

But my worst toe, so far, is the second toe, not the big toe. Situations are different for different people.

 

[skibum4ever]

The reason I've avoided surgery is being told by three doctors that if they did the surgery on my second toe, it would most likely be a temporary fix because the toe would find a way to reposition itself again where it is now, despite the pins. And they said the recovery is long and not fun.

But my worst toe, so far, is the second toe, not the big toe. Situations are different for different people.

It was definitely temporary for me, though it took almost 10 years to revert to its current state of impingement.