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Old 05-19-22, 10:37 AM  
laurajhawk
 
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Foot surgery

I've had arthritis in both hands and both feet. Late last year - right after I retired and doubled my activity level - I began to have severe pain whenever I flexed my left big toe in particular. I had a cortisone injection as a temporary fix, but went in for surgery on May 3.

The surgery could've gone either of two ways depending what the surgeon found. I was hoping for a bilateral (both feet) cheilectomy, but that left toe joint was down to 20-30% cartilage remaining, so the joint was fused (and therefore the doc left my right foot alone - I'll probably have to have it done eventually). I realized that immediately upon waking, and wasn't devastated as I'd expected; I was crazy relieved and happy to have the surgery done, and it had all gone well, so I went home pretty happy.

I was told I'd be non-weight-bearing for 6-12 weeks, but it didn't really turn out that way. I was mostly in bed with my foot elevated for the first 3 days, could go to the bathroom/kitchen on crutches or knee scooter (rented one of those, it's fun). Luckily my DH is also retired and is taking care of me and our pets At my 10-day recheck I was given permission to put 50% weight on the left foot while walking on crutches; that means I can handle a couple stairs on my own, and makes things around the house a lot easier. In 2 more weeks I can try walking without crutches. I wear a walking boot/aircast 24/7 except to shower.
In 6 weeks I have my next recheck and may be able to ditch the boot.

I thought I'd be keen to do chair workouts, and the doc said it's OK - with the boot on - but it turns out that showering, letting the dogs out (2 stairs to the back door), and all the other daily stuff feels like a workout already! The crutches mean there's UB work. But yesterday I had DH put a straight chair in my workout room, and I did Rise & Spine from RaviAna's Beginners & Beyond. I plan to start adding in more yoga - I miss my studio yoga classes and may try a restorative class in a week or two, and my favorite teacher also teaches chair yoga at a senior center, though that's a ways away and I'm not driving yet. If you have chair workout suggestions, let me know! And for sure let me know if you've had a toe fusion. I think I'll be able to go back to most of my workouts, but maybe not barre. And I'm not sure how long the recovery will take, though I saw a guy in a facebook group who did a 10-mile hike at the Grand Canyon 12 weeks after his fusion.
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Old 05-19-22, 11:28 AM  
bfit
 
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I had a broken bone in my foot that took months to heal, and I learned a lot about chair workouts! You should check out Paul Eugene, Caroline Jordan, and Pahla B on You Tube. They all have many good workouts there. There is also the old Margaret Richard Getting Better workout which is tough toning with a lot of floor work. She made the workout when her own foot was in a boot.
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Old 05-19-22, 11:31 AM  
Erica H.
 
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I had a broken bone in my foot that took months to heal, and I learned a lot about chair workouts! You should check out Paul Eugene, Caroline Jordan, and Pahla B on You Tube. They all have many good workouts there. There is also the old Margaret Richard Getting Better workout which is tough toning with a lot of floor work. She made the workout when her own foot was in a boot.
Also Donovan Green has a few.

I had reconstructive foot surgery in December and was NWB for 7 weeks (supposed to be 8) and then in a boot for another 5. I used Caroline Jordan's workouts quite a bit. Also, you can do boxing while seated.

ETA - there's this one too but I never did it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594p...index=5&t=684s

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Old 05-19-22, 11:44 AM  
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Laura, I'm sorry you've had to go through all this.

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Originally Posted by laurajhawk View Post
... And I'm not sure how long the recovery will take, though I saw a guy in a facebook group who did a 10-mile hike at the Grand Canyon 12 weeks after his fusion.
Please be careful about healing properly! Take your time. Your body is all you have.

I will joining in on recommending the Margaret Richard Getting Better (1996) video. It is tough!
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Old 05-19-22, 12:17 PM  
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Thank you all! I was ready to buy Getting Better after reading your replies, but can’t find it for less than $40. Anyone know if it’s available in any of her digital collections?

ETA… I didn’t scroll far enough on Margaret’s site! The download is there; I’m buying.
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Old 05-19-22, 12:29 PM  
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Thank you all! I was ready to buy Getting Better after reading your replies, but can’t find it for less than $40. Anyone know if it’s available in any of her digital collections?
It's on her site for $17.95.

Getting Better Digital Video

I haven't tried her streaming service, so I'm not sure how it works.
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Old 05-19-22, 08:19 PM  
bfit
 
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Yes, Donovan Green on You Tube is good too. Also, when I was laid up there were some seated workouts on You Tube from Metro PT. I think it was a gym that put their workouts online during the early days of the pandemic, and I don't know if they are still putting new ones up or not. They are on the easy side, but they're fun. Finally, I join in on the recommendation for boxing. A good one for the chair is KCM's Trim Down that has intervals of boxing and intervals of weights. It is not kickboxing so you don't need to use your lower body. With only slight modifications you can do all the weight work in the chair or on the floor. Some of the Tae Bo workouts are good in the chair too because he moves so fast that even if you just use your arms you're getting your heart rate up.
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Old 05-20-22, 09:16 AM  
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Sending hugs ... foot surgery drains you! Sent you a PM.
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Old 05-20-22, 01:24 PM  
bzar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laurajhawk View Post
ETA… I didn’t scroll far enough on Margaret’s site! The download is there; I’m buying.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vintage VFer View Post
It's on her site for $17.95.

Getting Better Digital Video

I haven't tried her streaming service, so I'm not sure how it works.
i recently bought what i thought was a download (vs. streaming) Margaret's Strong and Limber for Life. however, it's a "lifetime access" privilege according to an email i received from her staff.

Laura, if you successfully purchase a download (which i prefer), please post the directions.

P.S. Margaret has good customer service - her checkout was confusing and i forgot to input the Mother's Day coupon code. I emailed them, and they immediately gave me the discount, so i got the workout for $14.xx.
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Old 06-08-22, 01:24 PM  
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Updating y'all! My foot is healing well; I'm still in the boot for at least 2-1/2 more weeks. I've got enough energy now for SOME kind of daily workout, and also, I've been having very frequent (not severe) migraines since the surgery, and I really am thinking they're triggered by inactivity, so now I am motivated!

I bought the download of Getting Better - and I've never yet been able to get it to download or stream, and Margaret's support team is ignoring me. But Pat lent me her copy - THANK YOU PAT - and I absolutely love it; it's great for me right now! I'll try to make a copy from her DVD before I send it back; that seems fair since I paid for it. bzar, I thought I was purchasing both streaming and download - I didn't see different ways to buy each - but I couldn't make it do either one - download or stream - so I'm left

I've also done KCM's Trim Down in a chair, on bfit's recommendation, and that was a great suggestion! According to my notes I bought that DVD and did it once, but now I love it for my current needs (yay for hoarding??). I think workout 1 is a bit better than 2 for adapting to the chair, so I'm putting it in the rotation.

For yoga and stretch I've found: Rise & Spine from RaviAna's Beginners and Beyond (all seated, so adapts well to the chair); Work from Sara's Taste (it's 5 minutes, so I do it twice), and the chair segment from Jessica's new Stretch & Relax.

I did go and subscribe to some of your YouTube suggestions but just haven't gotten to them! Again I want to thank you all for the great ideas and encouragement. VF is the best!
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