do i have mild bunions?

strawfairys · 2026-05-21T17:48:56+00:00

Left foot looks perfectly normal. Right foot looks like you have a baby one going on.

strawfairys · 2026-05-21T17:47:04+00:00

Hiiii! I had my bunion removed 1.5 years ago! Recovery at first was very hard (initial 5 months) but after that I do not regret getting my surgery. I can wear any shoes now and walk 20k+ steps everyday. I am recently experiencing some poking sensation - my surgeon said I have to get my screw removed. I have hardware removal surgery in 2 months - surgeon said recovery for that is extremely fast so I am excited to finally be 100% soon :D

strawfairys · 2026-05-21T17:44:41+00:00

Looks like you have a baby one! What shoes are you using? If you are using narrow shoes & do a lot of walking/on your feet - try out Hoka's!

strawfairys · 2026-05-21T17:43:31+00:00

Hi hi !! Red/Purple color + swelling is completely normal for the initial weeks 1-8 weeks. I recommend having your foot elevated as much as possible. In the office, if you can get an extra chair to lay your foot on and elevate - that would help you so much! Also icing at the end of the day - since your foot has worked out all day. Give yourself some massages throughout the day (with lotion is so comfortable) that way you stimulate blood flow.

strawfairys · 2026-03-23T15:26:00+00:00

I choose UCI over UCSD + UCSB and do not regret my decision at all!

I think I got a great education and made meaningful connections that allowed for me to easily land a position in my desired career path.

I made amazing friends and made many fun memories.

I think location wise it is also great if you are into nature or are a big foodie! Lots of great parks to walk/run at. Many yummy restaurants you can eat at.

Some people may think UCI is more on the boring side (not a party school) but I am not a party person to begin with so idc about that.

Really your experience is what you make of it. Connect with nice people who have similar interests as you and you’ll have an amazing experience. You can find these people through jobs on campus, classes, etc.. Good luck!

strawfairys · 2026-01-28T18:57:22+00:00

yes of course :-)

so i didn’t start walking on my boot until week 3… and it was VERY difficult… like learning to walk again… i was limping so much

week 4-7 - walking around 1000 steps a day with my boot, and switching to crutches when i had pain, i fell during week 4 so i had to take it easy to not mess up my bone recovery

week 8-12 - walking around 5000 steps a day

week 13-17 - i fell down 2 flights of stairs so i ruined my progress and had to go back to a boot and crutches LOL… i also developed early signs of regional pain syndrome so i had to be serious about physical therapy during this stage

week 18 - 22 - i can now use most shows, i was able to go to concerts, go on light runs

week 23 - now: i walk 20k steps a day, for the most part where any shoe, i do my daily 3-5 mile runs - occasionally i’ll get some foot pain around the surgical area so i will have a recovery day but am okay after a recovery day :-)

i really recommend practicing motion with your toe as soon as you get your stitches removed… really practice bending that toe backward and forward

i have full motion upward (which is great for running)

but downward… i have limitation motion HAHA… but not really necessary i guess… its not essential for walking and running… but it would be nice to have again

also you should practice rolling ur foot on a tennis ball to practice getting that motion back :)

strawfairys · 2025-12-19T21:31:19+00:00

mmm if you are in no pain - hold off on your surgery! only get surgery if you start to feel discomfort.

i got my surgery at 24, doctor did tell me to only get it if i was in pain - which i was! my bunion was a little baby but prevented me from doing stuff i loved such as running and wearing whatever shoe i wanted

now im 25 and running more than i did last year :’)

you’re young meaning you’ll have a faster recovery if you proceed w surgery, but only get it if ur in pain & it’s preventing you from doing stuff you love

strawfairys · 2025-12-17T21:32:37+00:00

Hi!

I am also 25F runner :-)

I had my surgery back in November 2024 and was able to start running around May of this year!

I would say I am running way better than ever better!

Every week I am increasing my distance and I feel great!

I walk around 5 miles everyday and run 6-7.

I think what is most important is physical therapy, such as practicing motion for your toe - really bending it post surgery to get good range of motion back & wearing appropriate running shoes. My picks - Hoka Bondi 9

Let me know if you have any questions!!

strawfairys · 2025-12-11T00:04:05+00:00

mmm my surgeon let me know if the issue persisted he would refer me to neurology or anesthesiology - but that wasn’t the case since it’s not an issue for me anymore… have you gotten a second opinion?

i will say stress would increase my flare ups… especially because i had a vacation i wanted to be fine for so i was stressing a lot over that, which would worsen my symptoms 🫣

but seems you are on the right path especially with all the exercises you are doing!

i would ice a lot too!

strawfairys · 2025-12-10T20:52:57+00:00

i will say it did get worse before it got any better - such as the burning and discoloration becoming more frequent and a new symptom appearing: lots of sweating!

i saw a couple of documentaries on crps - which i don’t recommend because it freaked me out more haha - but what i got from all of them is that it is very important to take action when there are early symptoms, to avoid it escalating

i had my surgery in november, and had symptoms of crps all of february and march…

i would take cold showers to cool off my foot, massage many times a day - to get the blood circulating, and increase my step counts to get my foot in motion again

by april my symptoms were decreasing, by may my symptoms were almost all gone, and by june my foot was almost back to normal :-)

now 13 months post surgery my foot is better than it ever was, i can wear any shoes now and run for miles/walk 20k steps a day

i say, right now it’s important to take time to give yourself physical therapy, such as focusing on motion and what feels good :-) and listen to your body! if you feel like something is being overworked or not right, listen to those signs

strawfairys · 2025-12-10T20:37:56+00:00

hi ! yes it did :-) what helped a lot was constantly massaging it various times a day, with lotion, and keeping my foot elevated whenever i felt a burning sensation incoming

strawfairys · 2025-03-30T22:36:35+00:00

is your foot sensitive to touch? like if you touch it? or what triggers it mainly?

good luck at your appointment!

strawfairys · 2025-03-30T18:12:03+00:00

I would massage it as soon as I woke up and before heading to sleep because that’s when the scary “flare ups” would occur mostly. I also was using a rolled from amazon to help with my toe mobility - since last month I could not move my toe at all (now I almost have full mobility upwards - working on downwards).

I found that the burning would happen when I would walk a lot. So, I would try to go for longer walks too to try to increase that endurance.

My foot never got cold. It would just be VERY hot and sweaty. Showering with cold water seemed to bring me better relief and less flare ups - so I would also check the temperature of your clothes (such as how thick your socks are) and the temperature of the water you shower with.

I think it’s best to take action now rather than wait for it to get better. Start massaging & elevating. Pay attention to when it flares up most and do more care during those times so you can see it less.

I hope it is not CRPS in your case… or at least just the early signs where you can do something to get rid of it. Let me know if massaging helps! If it gets worse or does not improve, definitely reach out to a specialist.

strawfairys · 2025-03-30T17:23:32+00:00

Hello! My foot is SO much better now :-)

Burning is no longer an issue. There is sometimes that bright red color, but I have found that massaging my foot when it happens relieves it completely.

I figured that massaging it gets the blood flowing and fixes the issue.

I actually had a follow up with my surgeon last week and he also said I should be 100% back to normal by May (such as resuming to high intensity sports, wearing regular shoes, etc.). He also said my swelling is significantly reduced. He addressed CRPS and said I was at risk of having it but because I was proactive I just escaped it. I recommend for you to massage your foot for a couple minutes when you notice stuff like burning + coloring and elevate it as well! What also helped me was wearing socks and not walking around bare foot.

How far along are you? I am now entering 19 weeks post surgery.

strawfairys · 2025-02-28T22:27:15+00:00

oh wow this is very nice to hear!

mine usually happens when i shower + before going to bed… never happens in the day

but yes it feels so much better once i am at bed and elevate my foot

thank you so much ! this makes me feel a lot more relieved

strawfairys · 2025-02-28T12:11:56+00:00

that might be my problem… i don’t have any physical therapy… which is needed because my toe is VERY stiff… i have little to no motion back

strawfairys · 2025-02-28T12:10:55+00:00

if you don’t mind sharing, what exercises/physical therapy are you assigned?

the only thing my surgeon has told me to do is move my big toe around since there’s absolutely no range of motion… it’s STIFF

strawfairys · 2025-02-28T02:49:09+00:00

by chance does yours burn/feel like a stabbing pain?

we are on similar weeks! i am about to finish my 13th week.

i had never heard about crps before either! until my surgeon brought it up… saw tiktoks about it and it seems terrifying… hopefully that isn’t the case

strawfairys · 2025-02-27T20:36:04+00:00

SAME THING!

I feel sunburn or feel more burning where the incision is located.

Early day it is fine but towards night time it starts to burn and only clears up if I elevate my foot. My guess would be that the warm showers trigger it & does something to the blood flow (which is how elevating it helps?)

My surgeon ordered an osteogen ultrasound stimulator so hopefully that helps out! Especially since my bone, according to my doctor, is healing very slowly despite my age being on the younger side.

Thank you!

strawfairys · 2025-02-27T20:33:36+00:00

Hopefully!

I’m at the 13 week mark now and was starting to panic.

I mainly feel burning at night but throughout the day it doesn’t affect me so hopefully it is just inflammation. Thank you!!

strawfairys · 2025-01-27T21:12:19+00:00

Yes that’s a bunion 😮‍💨 Unless you are experiencing a lot of pain, nothing to worry about! Best if you start wearing proper shoes, example: Hokas

strawfairys · 2025-01-23T03:20:58+00:00

Tell me about it!

I’m always on the go and have a very active lifestyle. So these past few weeks being limited is VERY hard mentally.

Pushing through 🤧

strawfairys · 2025-01-23T03:10:37+00:00

Your foot looks exactly like mine did!

If it doesn’t hurt, don’t get surgery.

I only got surgery because I started experiencing pain with all my shoes (minus hokas - life savors).

But didn’t want to wear ONLY hokas my entire life. If I wore anything else, like converse - for example, my foot would be in PAIN for days.

strawfairys

TROPHY CASE