A bunion occurs when our big toe joint ends up shifting out of its natural alignment. When this happens, our big toe typically ends up starting to point towards the rest of our toes and the base of our big toe ends up protruding outward, leading to the formation of a bony prominence on the side of your foot.
As we talked about on the blog in the past, a physical therapist can help you manage symptoms and limit or prevent the continued progression of your bunion, but physical therapy and other conservative treatments will not shift your big toe joint back to its original position. If the bunion progresses to a point where symptoms are moderate or severe, the only real option may be to perform a minimally invasive corrective surgery.
Surgery for bunion correction typically yields great results, but you won’t make a full recovery on your own. Oftentimes your doctor will recommend physical therapy as a way to ensure you make a strong and expedited recovery following your bunion correction. In today’s blog, we explore how physical therapy can aid your recovery after bunion surgery.
PT After Bunion Surgery
Surgery is the first step in restoring normal joint positioning and returning to normal foot function following the development of a bunion, but in order to make the strongest recovery, you’ll need to pursue proactive treatments and not just rely on anti-inflammatory medications and rest. Physical therapy is one of the best active treatments following bunion surgery because it can help mitigate a number of potential post-op issues, including:
- Stiffness – The joint and its associated soft tissues will have been weakened by the joint shifting and the physical trauma of the corrective surgery, so you’ll want to work to decrease stiffness and improve your flexible range of motion. Physical therapy can help you gradually expand your range of motion and ensure that normal toe movements become comfortable once again.
- Pain – Similarly, it’s also normal to experience some pain and discomfort after your procedure due to the localized and necessary tissue trauma associated with surgery. Painkillers and anti-inflammatories can help provide some relief, but controlled exercise and movement can also help these structures get used to low levels of stress and in turn better control pain sensations.
- Weightbearing – You will have some weightbearing restrictions following your procedure. A physical therapist can help you stay within your restrictions and ensure you are only pursuing physical therapy exercises that meet your stress demands. They can also help you progress through your rehab and take on more weightbearing as your recovery allows for it.
- Return To Daily Activities – Finally, working with a physical therapist can help your foot and big toe get to the point where you’re comfortable performing daily tasks or more physical tasks like athletics or moderate-intensity exercise. We can also develop a specific physical therapy program to help you get back to specific sporting activities or more stressful exercises like running. We can tailor our program to your individual needs.
So if you are slated to have a bunion surgery performed, know that physical therapy is likely in your future if you want to make the fullest recovery possible. Let the team at OrthoRehab Specialists be your guide before your operation and during your recovery period! For more information, or to let us develop a specific recovery program for the issues you face, reach out to our team today at (612) 339-2041.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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