...and the foot injury

After surgery, I was on crutches for 6 weeks, and was then told I could ease back into my full workout routine.  I even decided to run a 5K on New Years Day to start off the year right.  I also signed up for a yoga class.  Bad idea.  Pretty much every move in yoga requires that you bend your toes, whether weight-bearing or not.  I could not do that.  I then attempted my run/walk routine a few times over the next couple months, but never without pain.  I figured it would just take awhile for my foot to get back to 100% so I didn't think too much about it.  In mid-March I found out I had a degenerated and herniated disc in my lower back, and so I was happy to just take running off the table for awhile until that got stabilized.

My need for surgery was direct result of a soccer play gone wrong, however the joint
that I hurt was the same as though I had a bunion, so that's the procedure I received.
It's also possible that I did have a bunion that just never bothered me at all until this happened.

It was June when I was finally cleared to run again by my new back doctor, and I decided to start very easy with the couch to 5K program.  I was doing well but my foot hurt with every single step.  I wondered if it was really just taking a long time to come around?  Meanwhile, I was still attempting to do the yoga once a week and it was getting more and more painful.  The day that it hurt while I was swimming(!!) is the day I made a follow up appointment with Dr. Lutta.

This is how it looks today, or at least a month-ish ago when I saw Dr. Lutta.. much better!

I have had nothing but great experiences with Commonwealth Orthopaedics, except for the wait time to get on a doctor's schedule.  This was no different, so I suffered through a few more weeks before I finally had my appointment.  X-rays showed that structurally, my foot is doing great.  He noticed some scar tissue on the top of the joint and thinks that maybe this is what is causing me pain...although then he checked my "before" x-rays and noticed I have scar tissue there also (possibly from when I broke my feet during one of my college summers).  He decided to give physical therapy a try. 

It was a little weird to me that I wasn't sent to physical therapy right after the surgery, but I guess it was winter and I wasn't really doing too much - or wearing flip flops - such that it really really bothered me.  I was a little hesitant after my poor experience with my back physical therapy, but as much as it hurts, I'll give anything a try!  I'm glad I did because immediately, I was much more impressed with this practice.  I have 2 therapists, Amy and Jenni.  In my evaluation, Amy took measurements of my feet.  My left big toe joint had range of motion 38/85 (down angle to top angle), and my right joint has range of 15/32.  Amy's initial response was "wow, how the hell have you been running at all with this?!  Your joint has zero mobility!"  and, after several chats about my triathlon training schedule [which admittedly has been light on the running lately], commented, "ahh, I can tell you're going to be one of those patents."

This part of PT - the hands on part - HURTS!!

Dare I say, I think the physical therapy might be working.  I have exercises to do on my own, and I have been diligent about it.  After all, it's in my best interest to do anything and everything I can to get rid of this pain once and for all.  And contrary to my PT experience for my back, I really like my physical therapists.  They each spend quite a bit of time with me each day, really working the problem area in my foot, and explaining clearly how each thing they do will directly address the issue.  The exercises are designed specifically for my injury and, while it does hurt [which they warned me it would do.. if it doesn't hurt at all, it's not working the area], I am optimistic that it is helping.

After the PT works with my foot, it's a series of foot/toe-specific excercises and then ice.

It's not yet been determined how long I will be in PT.  The original suggestion was 4 weeks, but given the absolute lack of mobility, it could be considerably longer.  I'm OK with that.  It's a pain to schedule alongside of work, training and chiropractor for my back, but if it helps in the long run, then it's totally worth it.