Long-term prognosis after foot surgery

[lmariaschneider]

Yesterday, I saw a foot and ankle surgeon about pain in my left big toe.  Films showed a sesamoid fracture, non-articular bone spur outside the joint, and plenty of arthritis.  Recommendation was surgery to remove bone fragment and shave off spur when pain was troublesome enough (which it is today).

I am a martial arts instructor, which requires me to work barefoot, with intermittent running and jumping, approximately 4 hours per day six days a week.  Generally, what is the long-term prognosis for this kind of activity after this type of surgery?  I am concerned about creating a chronic problem that makes walking painful for the rest of my life.

Thank you for any insight!  

[Yena H Do, DPM]

a coritsone injection can buy you time.  however, to ultimately treat the condition, surgery can clean up the joint and bring back more motion.
otherwise, wear stiff sole shoes to limit motion to the joint and spend less time barefoot.  this will minimize pain at the joint.

[lmariaschneider]

One detail I forgot – I have very limited range of motion in the toe at this time.  Surgeon said that range of motion in the toe is very limited – ~10% versus a normal 65%.