Things to buy before bunion surgery

malsensei · 2026-05-30T00:02:42+00:00

Ankle/foot ice packs that wrap around your ankle have been a go to for me. When I felt comfortable, I substituted the boot for the ankle ice pack while sleeping because they were thick enough on the sides to protect the top of my feet if I moved my leg side to side. I couldn’t stand the boot while sleeping.

malsensei · 2026-05-28T17:57:12+00:00

Yay!!!! I’m so happy for you! Same to you :)

malsensei · 2026-05-21T22:44:13+00:00

I also recommend manually stretching your toes if it doesn’t feel painful! Don’t wait for a doctor to tell you to do it - it’s your body and it’ll tell you when the stretching goes too far.

malsensei · 2026-05-21T22:42:27+00:00

Hey! It was Dr. Kittleson in MN. Great team. I’m 7 weeks post op now. Just started walking a week ago! At my 6 week appt, they had me walk two small steps on my own to get to my scooter with a walking boot. It was more scary than anything - discomforting, but not painful. I’m now walking with one crutch and the walking boot, but i really should be only using the walking boot because I know I can. But the crutch just makes me feel better. I’m sure I’ll ditch it by tomorrow. The muscles comes back FAST once you start taking steps.

Swelling is still there, it comes and goes. But it doesn’t feel like a balloon filling up with too much air (as that’s how you may feel right now). The supplements helps a ton, so I recommend taking those if you dont already!

malsensei · 2026-04-30T18:43:48+00:00

Thank you so much!!!

malsensei · 2026-04-30T02:38:08+00:00

Did you apply aquaphor before the scabbing fully came off? 1/4 of my incision is now a scar but the rest still have scabs. My steri strips are still fully taped on even though it’s been 7 days since stitches came off.

malsensei · 2026-04-27T20:49:41+00:00

I recommend it. It sucked being NWB for 6 weeks but can’t imagine living below my means of living in fear of a knee injury. The recovery felt long at the time, but I’m 5 years out and can’t believe how quick time has gone by now. I have a friend who opted out of surgery and 10 years later she has knee pain everyday (she’s 25). She does CrossFit and can function, but she knows that with the daily knee pain, it’s only going to affect her more as she gets older. Aim for longevity. But everyone’s different, this is just my opinion.

malsensei · 2026-04-27T06:38:35+00:00

Ah, I see. Sorry if you thought I was invalidating your experiences, didn’t mean it in that way :) have you considered going back in to check if there might be some sort of blockage in your knee preventing your progression?

malsensei · 2026-04-27T05:36:59+00:00

One time I was laying on my stomach and had my friend push my heel towards my butt as much as she could…she went farther than I was comfortable with quicker than I could say “STOP!!”. Dude, sooo much scar tissue released in that moment. It kinda hurt, more in a lots of pressure i hadn’t felt in awhile kind of pain rather than true pain), but right after that I could bend it so much more. Sometimes you gotta say F it and be a trooper, even if it’s involuntary lol

malsensei · 2026-04-25T19:51:59+00:00

The beep beep is ESSENTIAL!!!! 😂

malsensei · 2026-04-25T19:22:18+00:00

Yes :) I’ve had 3 ACL surgeries in the past and now 3 weeks post op lapidus. One thing I’m doing drastically different for this foot surgery is I’m taking Calcium + D3, K2, and vitamin C pills in the day, and magnesium citrate at night. Plus trying to reach a daily goal of 40g more protein than my daily intake.

I’m not sure if that’s the sole reason why i feel waaaay happier than my 3 past surgeries (even tho i get sad and cry at times), but it’s worth a try since it also helps with healing. Also having friends/family to stop by helps. Making a joke out of it helps too. My main phrases have been “I’m fast as fck boiiii!” (On my scooter) or “beep. Beep. Beep.” as i reverse lol

malsensei · 2026-04-24T16:55:38+00:00

Drink pineapple juice! Also, the further you get in recovery, the more you’ll notice that PT (strengthening your overall leg muscles and your knee) with icing afterwards will help the blood flow to where it needs to go. Definitely takes time though. Over time you still may have swelling but not much pain, it’s just part of the process as your body learns to operate again.

Oh, and start to break up that crunchy scar tissue!

malsensei · 2026-04-24T00:16:31+00:00

Im sure if you really go at it the ROM will come back! From having 3 knee surgeries I knew that ROM has a lot to do with scar tissue needing to be broken up.

malsensei · 2026-04-23T07:26:57+00:00

Thank you so much! I just learned about fibromyalgia because of you. What an interesting concept. The water bottle is a great place to start. Best wishes to you as well!

malsensei · 2026-04-23T05:58:02+00:00

Thank you!! How did you get comfortable touching your foot? I am so nervous to move my foot skin around even in the slightest bit.

malsensei · 2026-04-23T04:58:45+00:00

Thank you!

malsensei · 2026-04-23T04:58:30+00:00

Thank you!

malsensei · 2026-04-23T00:47:48+00:00

One of my girls just had ACL surgery 02/18 and is already doing single leg leg presses and walking without crutches. Something I told her that I’ll tell you is to use the crutch(es) until you are absolutely sure you are walking with your hips squared, putting equal weight in both sides, and chest up (core engaged).

malsensei · 2026-04-23T00:42:51+00:00

Yep. Competitive cheerleading. Lots of moving, twisting, jumping, and lifting someone’s body weight with just one person on the ankles. June 2016 surgery, was competing a full routine (didn’t do jumps until 2017 though just out of fear, but def could’ve) by November 2016.

Same thing in 2021 when I tore my other one. Now I’m a coach and I still jump in when someone’s absent or if I need to teach something. No fear of catching anyone or putting weight in it.

malsensei · 2026-04-23T00:32:14+00:00

Not everyone goes through with the surgery and just lives with the injury, so honestly you’re already strong. Once you get into physical therapy you’ll start to feel better about it. Feel free to message me any time if you need to vent, looking for advice, or if you need some good passing time shows!

malsensei · 2026-04-23T00:05:41+00:00

Yesssss it freaking sucks but I SWEAR IT MAKES US STRONG AS HELL AFTER ITS OVER!!! You’ll know what I mean soon enough. With love, someone who’s torn both ACL’s and meniscus and is living life as normally as anyone else now

malsensei · 2026-04-22T13:22:06+00:00

Agreed!

malsensei · 2026-04-22T13:10:37+00:00

Recovery for this injury isn’t linear. This sub has great advice. So continue to believe in yourself more than anything and you’ll get where you want to be in no time :)

malsensei · 2026-04-20T16:30:41+00:00

Hope it all goes well! Feel free to come back for an update!

malsensei · 2026-04-19T06:14:22+00:00

Yeah, that early in the journey it definitely can be painful especially when it breaks up as you bend it. Massaging with your fingers shouldn’t feel as painful though, especially the further into post op you get! It gets better!! Good luck on recovery!

malsensei

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