Non-surgical Rehabilitation
When you begin Physical Therapy at Excel Rehabilitation Services, LLC, treatment is initially directed at obtaining proper shoes that will accommodate the width of your forefoot. Our Physical Therapist may recommend pads over the area of the bunionette to help relieve some of the pressure and reduce pain. These pads are usually available in drug and grocery stores. Our Physical Therapist can also offer ideas of shoes that have a wide forefoot, or toe box. The added space in this part of the shoe keeps the metatarsals from getting squeezed inside the shoe.
These simple changes to your footwear may allow you to resume normal walking immediately, but we suggest that you cut back on more vigorous activities for several weeks to allow the inflammation and pain to subside.
During Physical Therapy, your Physical Therapist may also direct treatments to the painful area to help control pain and swelling. Examples include ultrasound, moist heat, and soft-tissue massage. Our therapy sessions sometimes include iontophoresis, which uses a mild electrical current to push anti-inflammatory medicine to the sore area. This treatment is especially helpful for patients who can't tolerate injections.
Post-surgical Rehabilitation
Patients are usually fitted with a post-op shoe after surgery. This shoe has a stiff, rigid sole that protects your toes by keeping the foot from bending. Any pins are usually removed after the bone begins to mend (usually three or four weeks). You will probably need crutches briefly after surgery, and your Physical Therapist at Excel Rehabilitation Services, LLC can instruct you in how to properly use your crutches to avoid putting too much weight on your foot.
You will probably wear a bandage or dressing for about a week following the procedure. The stitches are generally removed in 10 to 14 days. However, if your surgeon chose to use sutures that dissolve, you won't need to have the stitches taken out.
When you visit Excel Rehabilitation Services, LLC after your surgery, our Physical Therapist will develop a personalized rehabilitation program to help speed our recovery. When your recovery is well under way, regular visits to Excel Rehabilitation Services, LLC will end. Although we will continue to be a resource, you will eventually be in charge of doing therapeutic exercises as part of an ongoing home program.
Excel Rehabilitation Services, LLC provides services for Physical Therapy in Gonzales.