Ask a Question about Your Condiition

I had EPF surgery 10 days ago. Looking for idea on how long the average recovery time has been?

Dear YBEOLD,

Just talked with a friend of mine who had this surgery almost 6 weeks ago. I am scheduled on Feb 4th for the same surgery but am having second thoughts about it. She was non-weight bearing for two days (crutches), then in a cad walker (walking cast) for 3 weeks. She was told she cannot resume exercise walking for 8 wks. It has now been six weeks and she said she is starting to have recurring pain in her heal and the top of her foot. I am very interested in your surgery. How are you feeling are you weight bearing? In a walking cast? I have spoken with three other people who have had great success, which is why I scheduled this surgery. I have had pf now for about two years. How long have you had it? I have gone through everything and am wits end. Good Luck to you, I am anxious to hear your reply.
Lynn

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for responding. I have had PF for just over two years. I had 4 cortizone shots last year, the first one I went pain free for 6 months, then 3 months, then 2, then down to one month. My DPM who I have been seeing for about 15 years ( for other reasons) had been telling me about the EPF procedure for quite sometime. I have complete faith in him. I went in to see him on Tuesday and had the procedure done that Friday.

I walked out of the surgery center. My foot was bandaged and I was in a walking shoe. ( NO CRUTCHES) He wanted me walking on the foot, he said that would help the healing process. "If you go home and keep your foot up for three weeks the surgery would fail". The following monday I had a smaller bandage put on, still in the walking shoe.

Yesterday I had the stitches removed and by thursday I will be in a sneaker.

I will be out of work for a total of 4 weeks.

I wish you well and GOOD LUCK

YBEOLD

A lot of how fast you heal from this surgery will depend on your age and general condition. The doctor is NOT KIDDING when they say STAY OFF IT after surgery. Most of the time, I see people in a walking boot for 4 weeks post surgery, some for 6. If you're in a boot that long, your ankles will develop adhesions, and you'll need to break them up. You'll need to stretch, but you need to do it sitting down. They're also not kidding about no walking exercise for 8 weeks or more.

I've been doing medical massage for 24 years, I spent my first 5 with an orthopedic surgeon. I have a protocol for PF that gets great results. No one I have treated in office for PF has undergone surgery. They didn't need to. I live in NC, and for those of you who can't get to me, I have written a self-help version of the protocol. Just go to my website, http://www.kaywarren.org, fill out the "contact us" page, and in remarks, ask for "Healing Plantar Fasciitis Without Surgery". It's a BIG file, like 15 MB, with pictures, and step-by-step instructions, but it's free. Seriously, I invite EVERYONE to ask me for it. Too many people are spending way too much money on this with too little in the way of results.

It's time to GET YOUR LIFE BACK!!!

Kaelyn

I am now 5 weeks post surgery, and I feel very good. As I posted, I was only in a walking she for a week. My DPM wanted me walking right away. Again his quote was " If you go home and put your foot up for three weeks the surgery will FAIL."
I am now back to work and walking with only minor disomfort at times.

It's good to see some positive results, congrats!
When do they start you on Physical Therapy?

Kaelyn

Ybeold,
Thanks for the update! I am now 12 days post op. The dr. told me I could start slowly with a tennis shoe on Friday. That will make it just over two weeks post op. I have high hopes for a full recovery. When you said you can feel it some, what does that mean? Have you noticed the more you walk, the more discomfort you have???

Kaelyn,
Thanks for soooo much information!! My right foot bothers me some, I am going to request your stretches, etc. You have been a wealth of information and I will be looking forward to reviewing the material!
Lynn

Yebold,

Start on the massage to the ankle right away, but NO pressure to the bottom of the foot...AT ALL!!! If you're ready for light weight bearing, you're ready to start the MET stretching. It's in the Healing Plantar Fasciitis w/o Surgery file. You will be a little sensitive from doing the massage, but not much.

It's definitely true that the more you walk with PF the worse you feel it. When I see someone in office, you can definitely tell the difference in how your feet feel as soon as you stand up from your first session. The pain is significantly reduced, even with just 30 minutes of treatment. You know how much it hurts if you've been sitting for 15 minutes, and then stand up right? It's not uncommon to have a 1st treatment reduction of 20-40% in that "standing back up" pain. Along with that is often a reduction of 30-50% of the pain you feel the next morning when you first stand up as you get out of bed. Doing it yourself, you probably won't have as marked an increase, but I'd expect 10-25%. If you don't get that, you probably didn't quite get in the right places. You might have had trouble with my directions, in which case, please let me know so I can make improvements. It's been a very long time since I didn't know how to do this, and sometimes it's hard to translate what I do automatically into words.

Keep me posted

Kaelyn