“Will I Be Able To Run Or Walk For Exercise After A Surgical Procedure On My Foot?”

One of the questions we get most often is:

“Will I be able to run or walk for exercise after a surgical procedure on my foot?”

Our first response is always: “Are you able to run or walk now?” This is not meant to be sarcasm, but a true fact-finding mission.

If you are unable to run or walk before your surgery due to the pain in your foot, then if you can afterwards, you’ll be extremely happy.

We mostly hear this when consulting about bunion surgery. In our experience, bunions can cause many other foot problems. The need for surgery is often based on these other problems.

This is why we encourage people to get their bunions checked early. Many of them can be treated non-surgically. And what’s more, we can usually help prevent the other problems that they commonly cause.

When a bunion becomes painful on a consistent basis, surgery can then become the best option.

The good news for anyone considering bunion surgery is that according to a survey done by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), 90% of patients who had surgery say they experienced significant pain relief, increased their physical activity, and would recommend it to others. Many runners who could benefit from bunion surgery avoid it because they’re afraid of the pain and concerned about the length of inactivity. The biggest fear is that they may not be able to run again.

The truth, as evidenced by the survey results, is that advanced surgical techniques have led to excellent outcomes in terms of pain relief and post-surgery activity level. If you like to exercise regularly, the chances of resuming those activities after bunion surgery or any foot surgery is excellent.

In fact, the odds are that you’ll perform those activities even better once your condition is corrected.

Although surgery is the last resort, sometimes it’s necessary to “get you back in the game.”

Let us know if you have chronic foot pain that you want to find a solution for as quickly as possible.