Get good drugs for after because, according to my girlfriend, the pain is nasty.

Your monitor is too high.

careful, I ignored it for several months, it ended up infected and I lost part of the toe



and I have pics, too

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Where do you live. My wife's boss is also our chiropracter and he has been quite sucessful in manipulating my meta-tarsals back into place after they moved. It sure looks like your muscles are receeding and causing the joints to splay. We are in the SF bay area, but peraps if you are far away he might know someone in your neck of the woods that may be able to help you.

For what it's worth, the podiatrist I saw spent 20 minutes explaining the invasive surgery he wanted to do on my foot at my first visit. After three weeks of careful manipulation (not entirely painless) the symptoms have gone away. They come back when I do stupid things like hiking without my orthotics for a few hours or hard yardwork like pounding on a shovel with my feet, but otherwise I feel great.

Cheers, Karma

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Interesting. I hadn't thought of a chiropracter yet. I'm in the MidAtl area.

I feel your pain... literally.

Two weeks ago I was unloading a 200 pound tubing bender that belongs to Superdave's dad from the bed of my pick-up and the thing slid sideways off the bed and landed on my foot.

Ouch.

don't ask me why I was doing it on my own....

Several hours in the Emergency room and a number of X-Rays I found a broken foot and toe. not coool. i visited the orthopedic surgeon and he said no surgery. Thank good. I can't afford to be off my feet.

My personal slant on this was to avoid surgery if at all possible. so far, s good.

Let me start by saying WOW!

I had surgery December 9, 01. Possibly the worst thing I have ever done in my life. And, I am the only one to blame! It was elective, and yours would be too. I have little to no range of motion, cannot curl my toes, wear nice shoes (I could before but it hurt...now it not only hurts ten times more than before but now I walk funny in girlie shoes). You should see me when I get out of the water and head into transition....complete chaos, if I have not scouted the perfect route, because if I step on anything, and I mean anything, (leaf, small pebble, etc). I am screwed. I have to put a sock on to bike because if something touches the scar it will rip open...nice!

The chiropractic recommendation is a great one. My husband is a chiro and regularly adjusts my bad foot to help with range of motion (especially during hard training) and my good foot to prevent it from becoming the other. My podiatrist (not the one who did the surgery) also adjusts my foot. And the previous poster is correct it is not without discomfort.

You should try to find a chiro or podiatrist on your area who is a runner/biker/athlete.

Good Luck and put some socks on ;)

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Kat Donatello
2015 Betty Designs Team
RD, The Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival
http://www.pumpkinmantriathlon.com/

LOL - yeah I'm putting on socks. Thanks for all who brave the pictures.

I'm curious - what went wrong with your surgery. Did you have evil curly toes like me?

Don't laugh.....

Bunion surgery that went terribly terribly wrong.

Ended up with a blood clot because my cast was too tight. I thought I was being a wimp and so I did not feel the need to go to the hospital. My foot was completely freezing and if I lowered it below my heart the pain was searing like nothing I have ever felt (I had two children...no drugs, I can handle pain). When I finally went to the hospital and they cut the cast off (which was up to my knee) it was the nastiest thing I ever saw.

The podiatrist/surgeon who did the operation had told me prior to surgery I would be running by February 1st (about 8 weeks later). I was still on crutches in March! And here is the best part, we are self employed, and have a very large deductible($10K), so we were paying for the majority of the surgery which cost $16K...after all these problems and so many repeated visits to his office, because things just kept compounding I was at wits end and I said to the doc at one of the visits, I want to know who's to blame for these problems (was it just me...or was there some screw up)? And guess what, the Bill disappears and I am referred to a new doc. Whoa...

But, I believe in karma and was not about to sue! What comes around goes around! And he really may have just made a mistake. I hope someone would consider that before contemplating suing my husband.

And while I do have limitations, I've adjusted and keep plugging away.

So long story short...it is your decision and will depend on the pain, severity and its limitations on your daily life and training. And....consider this, if going longer is tough, SPRINT!

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Kat Donatello
2015 Betty Designs Team
RD, The Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival
http://www.pumpkinmantriathlon.com/

Let's see your toe pics.

Where is the fsm?

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Stupid question, perhaps...have you tried wider shoes???? not just your sports ones...all??? Your feet look like mine did [only mine were the baby toe end] after the years i spent wearing speed skates [which were always very narrow]...now that i'm very carefull to get the proper width my feet are back to some what normal, yes the toes are still bent but at least they aren't rolled under....just a thought...

Aluminum -

I perform these sorts of surgeries all the time. PM with some more details and info, but in short: avoid the surgery/ies for now at all costs. Your severe digital contractures (hammertoes if you will) are caused from your flexor tendons stabilizing your MPJs, and thus causing "flexor stabilization hammertoes." The typical "textbook" surgeries to repair these problems are not without long term issues (assuming no complications from the surgery itself) - however, you seem young and your toes will get worse as well so you have no easy choices here, sorry.

Chiro or whatever manipulation is complete B.S. for the longterm, especially if the PIP joints have become rigid (they will eventually). Hell, just do it yourself for that matter.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

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Kat Donatello
2015 Betty Designs Team
RD, The Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival
http://www.pumpkinmantriathlon.com/

I deal with athletes all the time and have seen a few with this type of condition. A couple of tried chiro and it didn't help them at all except to cause them short term pain that prevented them from being active for a couple days after. But if you want to go that route go ahead. I agree and don't think there is any great solution to that problem.

6cuda6,
IT's always good to ask the obvious. (I work in IT so we do that too) Yes, I do wear shoes with a big toe box. I don't wear heels or other beautful shoes that squeeze my toes.