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Physical Therapy After Bunion Surgery

If you have a large bony bump on the joint of your big toe, you have a bunion. Bunions, according to the Mayo Clinic, are commonly caused by wearing shoes that are too tight. Most of the time, a bunion can be taken care of by changing shoes, wearing inserts or padding the area around the bunion. In severe cases, however, bunions require surgery and there is a period of rehabilitation. Therapy can be broken down into seven weeks.

  1. Weeks One and Two

    • This period immediately following surgery should be used to rest the foot and keep it elevated. You want to allow the surgically repaired toe and joint to heal before attempting any stretching and range of motion exercises.

    Weeks Three and Four

    • The toe has now had some time to heal and you can now begin working on getting out some of the stiffness that's built up in the joint over the last two weeks. There's one primary therapeutic exercise that you can do during this time period, a toe flex. Grab your big toe at the base with you hand, thumb on top, fingers on the bottom of your foot. Now, slowly flex your toe upward until you feel a slight discomfort. Hold it for 10 seconds and then go back down. Do this 10 times, three times a day. When you're done flexing your toe up, you can also flex your toe down in the same manner. Once again, do three sets of 10 three times a day.

    Weeks Five and Six

    • For the next two weeks, you won't ratchet up the amount of exercises but instead continue with the weeks three and four exercises. You can, however, do the exercises more often (six times per day) and you can also push the limits of your toe a little by expanding the range of motion up and down.

    Week Seven Exercises

    • You can now begin doing exercises that depend on standing and movement to physically rehabilitate the toe. You can begin to use the ground to flex the toe by lifting up the heel. Walking up hill and up stairs are a few other excellent ways to begin returning the toe's flexibility. Generally, by week seven, you can also begin hand manipulation of the joint. To do this, simply put one hand around the arc and use your thumb and fingers of the other hand to lift the toe while keeping it straight. Hold this position for 10 seconds and then release. You can also push down on the straightened toe and hold it for 10 seconds. Both exercises should be done in sets of three, six times a day.

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