pain continues after removal of bone spur

[cindix]

48 year old female with Fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis:  I had surgery on my foot 2 months ago to remove a bone spur on the top of my foot.  I also had a toe (second toe, next to great toe) that was affected by separate pain and had completely turned crooked.  The top of my foot - where the spur was removed is still very sore and painful if I wear shoes that tie or walk for any distance.  The entire foot feels cramped as well.  The toe issue is unchanged - still the same pain as before bone spur surgery.  
Now that I have given some background - is it normal to still have so much pain from the removal of the bone spur or should I go back to foot doc?  I do not want to go back if this is normal.  Also - does anyone think the crooked toe might be associated with the whole bone spur thing and is just going to take time to straighten and heal - or does that sound like a separate issue to check into?  Hope this made some sense - its driving me nuts on top of my other issues I really want to get my foot off the list of things that hurt!  I would really appreciate any advice, guidance, etc that anyone can give.  

[cindix]

Thank you so much for the response.  I appreciate you sharing your experiences and advice.  I'll try standing up when my foot starts to cramp again and see if that helps.  Your right too - it has not been that long.  I guess my hopes of pain relief are making me wish for a little too much too soon in the healing dept.  I will talk to my doc if it keeps on hurting for too much longer though, or at least call and ask about the cramping.  
It helps just being able to discuss it with someone who understands too.   Thanks again!

[carolanivey]

Hi there,

Because the feet are the farthest away from the heart, they take the longest to heal. I have rheumatoid arthritis and I've had surgery on my feet three times. It takes several months to a year for complete healing and to know for sure exactly how much pain relief will be achieved. I still have a little bit of pain, but nothing like it was before.

Fibromyalgia, by definition, means your nervous system is extremely sensitive to and overreacts to pain signals. That means a normal person's pain level of, say, 5 out of 10, is a 10 out of 10 for you. I suspect my sister has undiagnosed fibro (I've suggested it based on her symptoms, but she won't entertain the idea of going in for a diagnosis); she also had major foot reconstruction surgery a couple years ago and is still in pain especially when she wears certain shoes. I also have to be careful about what shoes I wear, as my big toe is now fixed in one position so it rubs on shoes that don't fit right.

Anyway, I don't believe two months is a fair amount of time to expect significant pain relief; you still have a lot of healing to do. Having said that, everyone is different so if you sense that something isn't right, by all means speak up about it. Call your surgeon and ask if this is normal.

One of my foot surgeries stabilized my arch and hindfoot on the right foot, which prevents my foot from rotating side to side. (Basically doing internally what an exernal brace was doing)  Sometimes my foot muscles cramp, especially at night. I find that it helps, when I get a foot cramp, to immediately stand on it. I don't know why this works! If I'm in bed at the time, I bend my knee so my foot is flat against the mattress, and press down firmly.

I've had a bone spur removed from my finger, which is crooked from rheumatoid arthritis. I'm sure it's not much different from what happens in your toes - the crooked joints cause the bones to rub together wrong, which causes the spurs to develop. The tendons get stretched an eventually start snapping back and forth across the spur, which causes additional pain. I've had all my toes surgically straightened and fused to theoretically they won't get crooked or get spurs ever again. My finger has done pretty well. It's straighter than it was. Still a little pain in it, but nothing I can't deal with.

I hope this is helpful. Again, if you feel something isn't right, call the surgeon's office and ask for advice.