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I first noticed a problem in 2002 with my old Technica Explosions. The buckle rivet on the right foot, little toe side was digging into my metatarsal joint. I replaced the Explosions with Icons in fall 2003. After a dozen ski days, I had pain on the left foot little toe metatarsal joint. I didn’t pay it much mind until spring of 2004. I went to a podiatrist for a look see and was told I had a Taylor’s Bunion. (regular bunion is on the big toe) My option was surgery or wear loose fitting shoes to prevent aggravation. That summer the pain & swelling forced me to cut back on running and cycling. In the fall I had my boots blown out on both feet at the metatarsal joint. That helped ease the pain to get me through the ski season. By spring 2005, my left foot was irritated in any shoe I wore. It was time to go under the knife.
Bunions are generally created when the toes get forced into a confined shoe. They crunch together causing the metatarsal bone to curve in the opposite direction driving the joint away from the rest of the foot. In my case, I have skinny feet and my arch collapses causing the metatarsal joints to spread out from each other. In a confined ski boot, they have no where to move. Orthotics help, but don’t eliminate the problem. After many years something had to give. For me it was the 5th metatarsal.
Aug 11, 2005 was my surgery. The procedure consisted of removing the inflamed bursa sacks around the joint, shaving off a bone spur, cutting the metatarsal and setting it straight with pins. Although I was unconscious during the procedure, I swear I could hear the Dremel drill slicing the bone in my dream state. I was non-weight bearing for three weeks. Then I was in an air cast for three weeks. The next two weeks I weaned out of the cast into a shoe. Surprisingly, I had little swelling after the surgery and no pain. Discomfort didn’t come until I started walking out of the cast. My foot muscles were tight & sore from lack of use, plus the bone & joint were tender.
Today, 9 weeks after the surgery, I can walk a mile without limping although there is some soreness at the joint. The doc took final xrays and said all is good. He released me for “light” jogging and “light” skiing. Tonight I will see how happy my foot is in the ski boot. I may need further adjustments before getting on the slope. But it’s getting close.
If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to help as I can.
Bunions are generally created when the toes get forced into a confined shoe. They crunch together causing the metatarsal bone to curve in the opposite direction driving the joint away from the rest of the foot. In my case, I have skinny feet and my arch collapses causing the metatarsal joints to spread out from each other. In a confined ski boot, they have no where to move. Orthotics help, but don’t eliminate the problem. After many years something had to give. For me it was the 5th metatarsal.
Aug 11, 2005 was my surgery. The procedure consisted of removing the inflamed bursa sacks around the joint, shaving off a bone spur, cutting the metatarsal and setting it straight with pins. Although I was unconscious during the procedure, I swear I could hear the Dremel drill slicing the bone in my dream state. I was non-weight bearing for three weeks. Then I was in an air cast for three weeks. The next two weeks I weaned out of the cast into a shoe. Surprisingly, I had little swelling after the surgery and no pain. Discomfort didn’t come until I started walking out of the cast. My foot muscles were tight & sore from lack of use, plus the bone & joint were tender.
Today, 9 weeks after the surgery, I can walk a mile without limping although there is some soreness at the joint. The doc took final xrays and said all is good. He released me for “light” jogging and “light” skiing. Tonight I will see how happy my foot is in the ski boot. I may need further adjustments before getting on the slope. But it’s getting close.
If anyone has questions, I'll be happy to help as I can.
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