Hi all!
I’m at the 6 week mark post op from 1st tarsi-metatarsal joint fusion and FDL transfer/medial/spring ligaments reconstruction and arthroresis screw (stabilising screw in the ankle). I had half cast and elevation for first two weeks then out of cast and into cam walker (boot) and physiotherapy 3 times day. By this stage I was completely off the heavy painkillers and only using panadol at night. At about week 4 I bought a knee scooter online for about $135AU and had a lot of fun being “active” again!! Warning....I used a whole set of muscles that had been dormant for a while and my quads were in agony for the next few days!!!!
It doesn’t last though! Between the knee scooter and the Canadian crutches (arm cuff design) I’m keeping my upper body strength up! Problem I’m facing now is that at 6 weeks the pain seems to have gotten worse and I’ve hade to get the Tamadol in the middle of the night. I don’t see surgeon until 8 weeks where he will assess whether I can begin to weigh bear. Is the increase in pain because my bones are still knitting together, or is it because I am overdoing it?
Thanks for reading if you got this far, it be interested in others experiences with similar surgery.
Cheers,
Jodi
Melbourne, Australia
Hi Jodi,
youve had major surgery so I think it’s normal to still have pain. I still had pain at week six & im at week 13 now. I remember thinking there must be something wrong as I’m still in so much pain. The only pain I have now is pain from WB as the muscles need to be restrengthened again. It’s a long long road & a very frustrating one. All of a sudden one day you will notice a day with no pain all day. That’s what happened to me. One day I was in so much pain & the next was minimal. Keep protecting your foot & just remember how major your surgery was. Your foot has been through a lot of trauma. It will get better. I wish you all the best in your recovery.
Thanks Barb! It’s so reassuring to hear that it will get better!
Hi Jodi. Sorry to hear you're getting the pain back, it must be crappy. I think it may be due to increased activity but do you wear the boot on the scooter and at night? I'm 7 weeks post ankle fusion, so not exactly the same as you, and I bought a knee walker - similar to the scooter but with a peg leg rather than wheels (think pirates!). When I'm using it without the boot on, my foot is loosely moving about and I feel the need to tense my calf to hold it still - not big movements but still there. You may be experiencing similar as the foot loosens up again and the surrounding small joints complain.
Hope you get pain free again soon.
Andy
Thanks for your reply Andy. Yes I wear the boot on the scooter and at night. I saw the peg leg option, well done for giving that a go. I could see how your foot would move about a fare bit. Even with the boot I would find that a bit painful.
Good luck with the rehab!!
Jodi