Metatarsal pain.

[hernanu]

For the last three months, since I left physical therapy, I've had pain in the bottom and top of my left foot. This is the foot opposite my last resurface.  It started as a pain on top of the foot, but was most painful when pushing off the foot while walking. It quickly escalated to very painful (8 out of 10 ?) and was much more painful than anything done with the hip.

At first, I thought it had been broken in one particularly poorly done PT exercise (I blame myself), but X-Rays showed no break or fracture. I talked to some people, and the opinions ranged from torn muscles (my brother in law) to arthritis (the physical therapist) to bursitis (me). Having consulted all kinds of non-professional people and having avoided the psychics, I decided to see a pro. I made an appointment with a podiatrist at the hospital in Foxboro Stadium, where the american football New England Patriots play.

I just came from this appointment very relieved - no arthritis, no joint abnormality. Whew. He did find a thickening of the affected metatarsal bone (the long bone running between the ankle to the toes). His opinion is that, since my gait and positioning of my feet have changed (my feet were angled outwards before, now are straight ahead), somehow my left foot is putting more pressure on my middle toes instead of the outside of my foot, as it should be.

This apparently caused inflamation of a sac behind my toe bone, and actual thickening of the metatarsal bone behind my second toe. So trying to walk straight (which I was trying to do) caused this inflamation and pain. He is putting me on a shock amount of anti-inflammatories and we're going to check on it in a month. The strange thing is this did not happen with my first resurface (left). I guess I was putting too much stress on the off foot the second time around.

The pain has actually gotten much better lately, and he seemed to think this will straighten out quickly. It's nice to talk to a professional, as much as I love my family and my physical therapist.

[jjmclain]

Sometimes orthotics help as well...especially for biomechanical issues. They helped me.

[FlbrkMike]

My feet used to point outwards too.  So...I guess this is something else I can look forward to. 

[newdog]

hernanu,

I am having sharp pain in my right heel. Sometimes especially when I get out of bed in the morning it hurts really bad and I can hardly walk on it. I have to walk on it for 10 or so steps then the pain will slowly subside. This has been going on for about two weeks. I went on a 5 mile hike today. No pain at all while moving but now about 4 hours after the hike the pain is setting in. I'm glad you wrote this post, I probably should see a doc about it if it doesn't go away soon. Not the same as what you have but it is probably caused by walking differently after the surgery. Interesting. There's always something.

Steve

[jjmclain]

Sounds like plantar fasciitis!

[newdog]

Thanks JJ.

I looked it up and it may be that.

[jjmclain]

Make sure you stretch your calves really well as well as your toes/feet. That helps!!! Freeze a can and roll your foot back and forth on it.

[moe]

I have had plantar fasciitis a couple of times, mostly from running and backpacking, it can last a long time and be difficult to heal if not taken care of properly. The ice rolling trick is a good one, they also make night splints that keeps your foot stretched out when you sleep, to prevent your foot from tightening up. I made my own from an old pair of running shoes and a strap and tape, sounds crazy but it worked. Special insoles work well also, I use the kind that you heat up in the oven and they conform to your foot shape, REI and others sell them, very effective.

moe 

[hernanu]

Sometimes orthotics help as well...especially for biomechanical issues. They helped me.

Thanks jj, he actually prescribed Naproxen twice a day for a month, then ice at night, but also prescribed / deeply suggested orthotics, with these in particular: the Spenco Polysorb Total Support orthotics (which you heat in the oven). As Moe mentioned, there's probably several manufacturers that make these; these were freely available online (at a place named after a south american river), so I ordered several and also some light sandals for the summer.

I've taken a couple of the pills already and it has brought the pain down considerably. Walking pretty well right now.

[jjmclain]

Good to hear. It takes time...I too have had it before. Funny thing is that I got it again after being inactive from surgery. Once I could do a little more it went away.

[hernanu]

My feet used to point outwards too.  So...I guess this is something else I can look forward to. 

Not necessarily, Mike - like I said, I did not have this with the first. Maybe I was impatient with the second foot or I just got some mechanics wrong. So hopefully you won't run into this, but if you do, the podiatrist came up with some good solutions that seem to be working.

[Matulis]

Newdog,

That definitely sounds like the classic symptoms of plantar fasciitis. One thing you might want to try is a special device for stretching your calves. There is a device called Pro Stretch. It is shaped kind of like a brake drum. You can find it online or at a running specialty store. There are also special socks (Strassburg sock) you can wear while you sleep that will keep your muscles stretched so you don't have that excruciating pain as soon as your feet hit the floor. If you live near a running shop, stop in some time and have a chat. A lot of runners deal with this problem.

Mike

[newdog]

Thank you, Matulis and others,
I am sure that is what I have. I'll check into the devices mentioned. I can recall in years past that I had this pain on and off at times but not this bad. It goes away when I walk then returns after long periods of not moving it. I am 56 years old and it's weird that after years of running, hiking and Karate that it now happens after I had this surgery.


hernanu,
Didn't mean to hijack your thread like this. I thought maybe our pains were due to our surgeries and were caused by something similar in our activities.

Steve (newdog)