In the last ten years I’ve had surgery eight times on my right ankle. Most of them were ligament reconstructions and finally a complete ankle fusion. Making the decision to fuse my ankle was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make but with the chronic pain, instability, degenerative arthritis and inflammation I agreed. It’s going to be two years this June and although it’s been a very long recovery and endless hours of physical therapy I can say I’m feeling good about it. One of the biggest challenges is finding shoes that help me walk. With an ankle fusion you have no range of motion so I need orthopedic shoes to help me out. I wear a pair of MBTs but would like to find something different that still provides the support I need, any suggestions? I’d love to hear your story and how you are dealing with the ankle fusion -- was it the right decision for you?
~Gimpy
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I had my ankle fusion in 1967. I had lots of pain until tennis shoes became fashionable. I wear Sketchers most of the time. I can't wear regular shoes because there's no extra cushioning in the sole.
January 6, 2012 - 5:10pmAt first I went to the places that rebuild shoes. They were so expensive and I found that I could do just as well by adding things to my shoes myself.
I put some felt pads at the heel to support the injured foot. If I stand straight my right foot is about 2" off the ground. (It was set too high..but that was so long ago and it was the best they could do at the time.)
After so many years I've experimented with lots of things to make walking easier. As I said, since tennis shoes are "in" I do really well now. I do have a bit of arthritis in the area, though. It's only discomfort...I can't say it's a very severe pain.
I can't wear any type of slipper, and I can't walk barefoot. I use an old pair of tennis shoes around the house.
Several years ago I went to an orthopedic surgeon to ask if he could straighten my foot. He said, 'Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it."
I was so disappointed! His reason was that the recuperation would be difficult, (I am 72 years old now) and I would have more arthritic pain after the surgery.
It would be nice to be able to wear dress shoes occasionally, though.
I know your post was written over 3 years ago. I hope you have done well. The body adjusts to lots of things and with modern methods you'll be fine. If I had my accident more recently I probably would be OK today.
You'll do fine...be optimistic!
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