How to Recover from Foot Surgery—Having a Neuroma Removed

Shoes. I love shoes. What woman doesn’t? Some men have a secret love of shoes, too. For years, I couldn’t wear most of the newest styles because of foot pain. I suffered from a neuroma in my foot. A neuroma is a nerve that bunches up usually between the third and fourth toe. It causes enormous amounts of pain. Most shoe styles, unless the shoe box was wide enough around that area, were uncomfortable.

What to do about it? I got cortisone shots and they didn’t help. I got a series of seven alcohol –based shots over a period of about two months. It was supposed to deaden the pain and it didn’t work. I had foot surgery where the neuroma was removed, and that has helped. Here is how to recover fast from this foot surgery.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Weight-bear on the foot almost immediately after surgery. The idea is to get the blood flowing back in the foot. If you stay off it, that won’t happen.

2. 
   Soft ice pack

   Ice it constantly immediately after you get home from the surgery. Five or six times a day, ice the foot for about 20 minutes at a time.

3. 

   Take the pain medication your doctor has given you but wean yourself off of them as soon as possible. They are usually narcotic and can be addicting. Try taking Motrin or Alleve.

4. 
   Shower sleeve

   Do not get the foot wet for the first 10 days. Sometimes you can’t get it wet for two weeks post foot surgery. In order to bathe, wrap a plastic sleeve around it and secure with elastics on either side. Plastic sleeves for this purpose are available at your local drugstore. Take a bath with your foot out of the water. Make sure that someone is around to spot you or help you up if you can’t do it or are afraid to do it yourself.
   
   Of course, you can do sponge baths but I would rather be in a bathtub with my foot hanging out of it. Sounds funny, but it works.

5. 
   The boot

   Wear the boot the doctor gives you or any other shoe that feels good on that foot. I found that Crocs were a better choice for me. My podiatrist endorses and wears Crocs, too, so he was thrilled at my solution. The boot was not comfortable for me.

6. 
   Crocs were more comfortable for me

   Get the stitches out in about two –four weeks post surgery. Your doctor will let you know when the time is right. Sometimes it takes a little longer for the suture sites to heal. I had a little hematoma form at one of the sutures. That meant that it bled a little more from that site. The doctor decided to take my stitches out early because of that to relieve the pressure of the hematoma.

7. You do not need to do physical therapy with this surgery. Just walk and get back to your regular routines. In about two months post surgery, you should be able to wear almost any shoe you want. The area will always feel a little numb since the doctor took out the nerve, but you will get used to it. No pain is good!

Tips & Warnings

• Don’t be afraid to do this. It really is a simple foot surgery. In fact, it takes only 15 minutes.
• Keep thinking of all the shoes you will wear when it is over.

Resources

• Master Techniques in Podiatric Surgery: The Foot and Ankle
• Silipos Softzone Pure Gel Gel Metatarsal Pad #10465
• eHow Health & Fitness Guide

[pridgeway]

on 4/29/2009 Good Article! 5*

[Mitestarossa]

on 4/27/2009 It is good to take care of foot problems quickly.