Foot pain

[JessUK98]

Note - I have a Drs appointment for later today.

Has anyone experienced lateral foot pain that starts for no reason? I was walking the dog on Sunday, when the side of my foot (approximately mid way between my heel and little toe) started throbbing. It was uncomfortable but not painful. The pain stopped when walking stopped. I hadn’t twisted it, or landed on it heavily, I was merely just walking.

As the days have progressed this throbbing has started being progressively more painful to the point I can’t walk properly. It also still throbs long after I have stopped walking, but eventually the throbbing goes if I rest my foot. I have found that if I put all the weight for that foot on my big toe, it’s not as painful, I just look like an idiot trying to walk. I can move all my toes, and there is no swelling or bruising anywhere that I can see.

It’s very annoying and impractical. I’m having to reduce the dogs morning walk (I can hobble about a mile on my big toe before that starts getting uncomfortable) and persuade family or friends to walk her of an evening so she at least gets a decent walk.

[Dod101]

No idea but I get something similar occasionally. Would be interested to know what your GP has to say. Presumably no possibility of a fracture of any sort, gout, arthritis, or similar? I have had both hips replaced and I put it down to a subtle change in my walk (so subtle that I am not aware of it!)

Dod

[wheypat]

I'm no doctor, but when I took up running some years ago towards the end of my first long run I experienced something similar and it was diagnosed (via an X Ray) as a stress fracture. 4 weeks on crutches (as much as possible) was the solution.

I hope just just muscular for you!

[bungeejumper]

No idea but I get something similar occasionally. Would be interested to know what your GP has to say. Presumably no possibility of a fracture of any sort, gout, arthritis, or similar? I have had both hips replaced and I put it down to a subtle change in my walk (so subtle that I am not aware of it!)

I'm with Dod on this one. I haven't really got a clear picture of how it's hurting for you, but it doesn't sound like the sharp front-to-back stabbing pain of a stretched tendon across the instep. It could indeed be something that's making you walk "on the side of your foot", without you really being aware of it. Your doctor (or a physio) will probably ask you to walk about a bit so that they can look for any clues. May be just muscular.

For instance, I naturally tend to roll my left foot outward a bit. because a teenage accident "bent" my leg a bit! The main outward sign, which only my wife noticed, is that I wear down the soles of my left and right shoes in different ways. It had never given me the least bit of bother.

Either way, I'll be interested to hear what the doc says. I've certainly found that wearing insole inserts in both my shoes has improved the support to my foot arches and generally made my feet more relaxed, and it might be that they'd be worth the twenty quid that a good pair would cost you.

BJ

[bungeejumper]

PS: There's a bit more info toward the bottom of this page. Forget the sales pitch for the product (which is the one I use, BTW, and very good it is too) - the general info about posture is the important part. http://www.boots.com/boots-regular-orth ... m-10146912.

It's really quite remarkable how much our feet, ankles, knees and even hips and backs inter-relate, and not always smoothly. Nature didn't originally intend us to walk upright, and we've been dealing with the knock-on effects ever since.

BJ

[dionaeamuscipula]

No idea but I get something similar occasionally. Would be interested to know what your GP has to say. Presumably no possibility of a fracture of any sort, gout, arthritis, or similar? I have had both hips replaced and I put it down to a subtle change in my walk (so subtle that I am not aware of it!)

Dod

Very unlikely to be gout (which is a form of arthritis) which affects joints and isn't really affected by use. Also, gout is overwhelmingly (but not uniquely) a male disease.

DM

[UncleEbenezer]

It's really quite remarkable how much our feet, ankles, knees and even hips and backs inter-relate, and not always smoothly. Nature didn't originally intend us to walk upright, and we've been dealing with the knock-on effects ever since.

BJ

It is indeed. Pressures on peripheral parts of the body can transmit to pain elsewhere in mysterious ways. I have long had to watch not just posture (and where I can or can't sit), but also what I wear. I pay particular attention to footwear and to anything that might apply pressure to neck or shoulders, and I won't wear a wrist watch.

I recently had an inexplicable walking pain, that this thread reminded me of. Not in the foot, but in the back (muscle) of the lower part of my leg, and bad enough to cause a limp. I thought it might've been due to my new waterproof trainers, as it subsided when I walked in my more usual sandals and returned in the trainers, particularly on the downhill. But the pain has now properly gone, and that includes some longer and hilly walking in the trainers.

[JessUK98]

Well, the Dr wasn’t a great deal of help. He doesn’t think it’s tendonitis or a break in the metatarsal, although that appears to be the location of where it hurts. He thinks it could be some soft tissue bruising and said to take some ibuprofen and come back if it gets worse.

[PinkDalek]

Well, the Dr wasn’t a great deal of help. He doesn’t think it’s tendonitis or a break in the metatarsal, although that appears to be the location of where it hurts. He thinks it could be some soft tissue bruising and said to take some ibuprofen and come back if it gets worse.

Are you wearing anything new in the footwear line (when you are exercising as described elsewhere)?

Anyway, if it does recur and your Doctor doesn't get you anywhere, he may be able to refer you to the Rheumatology Department at your nearest hospital. I avoided a referral for many a year, using non made to measure insoles, which didn't assist long-term. Ended up with a couple of made to measure NHS orthotics (available privately as well), slightly different shape for each foot. This primarily for fallen arches in my case (bungeejumpers' as ever eloquent description of my issue being a sharp front-to-back stabbing pain of a stretched tendon across the instep and the Boots link talks about heel pain, which I also had.).

This resulted, when the feet had bedded in, in near total relief from the pain but does depend on wearing the correct footwear, such that the blood circulation is not cut-off!

... and said to take some ibuprofen and come back if it gets worse.

He's the Doctor, of course and should know your history, but I had been using self administered ibroprofen for the pain.

Turns out I have kidney issues. Ibroprofen and some other products, such as high dose aspirin, can cause further kidney damage. See https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Kidneyhealt ... emedy.aspx for a fuller explanation.

That might help anyone who reads this and knows they have kidney damage. However, I only found out about the long-standing kidney problems more recently and that was only established due to other unrelated tests being undertaken. How do people know they have damage without the tests (rhetorical question).

Clearly this is not to be taken as medical advice.

[JessUK98]

Well, the Dr wasn’t a great deal of help. He doesn’t think it’s tendonitis or a break in the metatarsal, although that appears to be the location of where it hurts. He thinks it could be some soft tissue bruising and said to take some ibuprofen and come back if it gets worse.

Are you wearing anything new in the footwear line (when you are exercising as described elsewhere)?

Anyway, if it does recur and your Doctor doesn't get you anywhere, he may be able to refer you to the Rheumatology Department at your nearest hospital. I avoided a referral for many a year, using non made to measure insoles, which didn't assist long-term. Ended up with a couple of made to measure NHS orthotics (available privately as well), slightly different shape for each foot. This primarily for fallen arches in my case (bungeejumpers' as ever eloquent description of my issue being a sharp front-to-back stabbing pain of a stretched tendon across the instep and the Boots link talks about heel pain, which I also had.).

This resulted, when the feet had bedded in, in near total relief from the pain but does depend on wearing the correct footwear, such that the blood circulation is not cut-off!

... and said to take some ibuprofen and come back if it gets worse.

He's the Doctor, of course and should know your history, but I had been using self administered ibroprofen for the pain.

Turns out I have kidney issues. Ibroprofen and some other products, such as high dose aspirin, can cause further kidney damage. See https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Kidneyhealt ... emedy.aspx for a fuller explanation.

That might help anyone who reads this and knows they have kidney damage. However, I only found out about the long-standing kidney problems more recently and that was only established due to other unrelated tests being undertaken. How do people know they have damage without the tests (rhetorical question).

Clearly this is not to be taken as medical advice.

No, no new shoes. I have looked at all my shoes though and it looks like I under pronate quite a lot. Funnily enough, the most wear is on my foot that is OK.
I might try massaging the fascia with a tennis ball (if the dog lets me borrow one of her balls that it), and doing some stretches as suggested in a few different articles I've just read.

Anyone had any experience with insoles or wedges for under pronation? There seems to be quite a lot of insoles for over pronation, but not under pronation. I might be better off trying some wedges.

[PinkDalek]

No, no new shoes. I have looked at all my shoes though and it looks like I under pronate quite a lot. Funnily enough, the most wear is on my foot that is OK.
I might try massaging the fascia with a tennis ball (if the dog lets me borrow one of her balls that it), and doing some stretches as suggested in a few different articles I've just read.

Anyone had any experience with insoles or wedges for under pronation? There seems to be quite a lot of insoles for over pronation, but not under pronation. I might be better off trying some wedges.

I of course missed your earlier soft tissue comment and hopefully the pain will pass.

Neither of us suffer from under pronation. However, we both suffer from over and it was the other half who got me to go via the GP, eventually to get the NHS orthotics. She gets hers made privately and swears by them. The orthotics people take a cast of your feet, thus my made to measure.

Other stuff may be going on of course. Knees, back, hips etc may be a cause.

[JMN2]

Deep Vein Thrombosis?

[Loir]

On the side of your foot about midway between the little toe and your heel you will feel a bump. This is where the toe bone joins onto the complex bones of the heel. In reflexology this point is a link between the foot and the hip.
So it may be (!) that you actually have a problem with your hip on that side. If you have pain in your hip then massaging this bump will help with it and may (!) fix it.

There is no solid evidence that reflexology does anything at all. But if it works for you, great.

Steve

[Nimrod103]

Deep Vein Thrombosis?

I am not a doctor, but from experience there is no mistaking the pain of DVT in the leg.
However, I had some pains on one foot, which then morphed into Plantar fasciitis in the same foot, which I then had for c. 2 years. Almost to the day that the PF disappeared, I began to have the symptoms of DVT.
Make of that what you will.