A bunion is a bump at the base of your big toe that causes crowding of other toes and pushes the big toe joint outward. If your bunions are very painful and interfere with the quality of your life, you may consider bunion surgery, an invasive procedure with a long recovery process. Post-surgical exercises are crucial to prevent stiffening of the big toe joint and encourage range-of-motion. According to Kaiser Permanente, patients usually start with mild exercise three to four weeks after surgery and build up to weight-bearing exercises at approximately seven weeks after surgery.
Step 1
Hold your big toe near your big toe joint and gently pull your toe upward until you feel mildly uncomfortable and cannot pull it back any further. Hold your toe in this position for 10 seconds and release. Reverse this exercise by pulling the toe downward, holding for 10 seconds and releasing. Perform these exercises three times per day during the third and fourth weeks after surgery to improve your range-of-motion. Gradually increase to six times per day during the fifth and sixth weeks post-surgery.
Step 2
Lift your heel up with your big toe remaining on the floor and allow your body weight to force your big toe to flex. Remain in this position for 10 seconds if you can tolerate it. Walk uphill or up steps to force the toe to flex. Begin these weight-bearing and gravity-assisted exercises at approximately the seventh week after surgery to increase flexibility in your big toe joint.
Step 3
Hold your forefoot behind your big toe with your thumb on top of your foot. Grab your big toe near the big toe joint with your other hand. Flex your big toe outward with your second hand while stabilizing your forefoot with your first hand. Push your big toe in an upward direction, keeping it straight. Hold your toe in this position for approximately 10 seconds. Reverse this exercise by pushing the toe downward instead of upward. Perform three sets of each exercise six times per day.
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