Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Chiropractic Care for Cheilectomy: 16 Weeks after Surgery

Chiropractic Care?

One hundred twelve days (16 weeks) after my cheilectomy, my friend, Suzanne, suggested that I go to her chiropractor, a very nice man who also does amazing work with extremities. That sounded a bit weird. I have not been a big consumer of chiropractic care, but I felt abandoned by my physical therapist, and I trusted Suzanne. What could it hurt? Both the surgeon and my PT had said that basically, I might experience pain, but I won't hurt the toe joints or the repair.

Ten days after PT graduation the nice chiropractor manipulated and popped some of my toe joints. Nothing alarming. Then, he sat on the floor for a closer examination. His conclusion? Bad news. This may be hard to explain because I can't fully visualize it myself. He said that there seemed to be an imbalance in the way ligaments are pulling on that right big toe, and it is likely to lead to the development of a bunion on that foot if left uncorrected. He suggested that I seek out a good podiatrist who could fit me with an orthotic. Really??? NOT what I expected or wanted to hear. He may or may not be right. If it truly takes six to nine months to recover from this surgery, then it makes sense to me that it's just too early to tell. I plan to revisit his suggestion many months from now when my foot is fully healed and I know what my new normal really is. Four months into recovery is still early. Meanwhile, I'll go back to him a few more times. The work he did actually manipulating my foot seemed to be beneficial, and I'll take all the help I can get!

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