Frankenfoot

I'm not sure what the rest of my body ever did to piss off my left foot (aka Frankenfoot), but it has always been the unruly child in this conglomeration of body parts.

When my feet are sore, it's the left foot that is always more sore. When I have a plantar faciitis flare-up, it's always been the left foot. The cyst and bone spur surgery was the left foot. And now, a new development. With the left foot.

I went to the podiatrist yesterday [I thought] to have new orthodics molded. The ones I have are at least ten years old and, while they are in good shape, my feet have been almost constantly achy lately, so I thought maybe a new set would be a good idea. Dr. G agreed, but he was more interested in the foot aches and pains I was having.

He started poking and prodding and then pinching and manipulating the joints at the bases of the toes on my left foot. And OMG! When he got to the joint at the base of my "ring toe," it HURT! The middle toe wasn't overly comfortable, either, and it felt like something was moving around in there... but that ring toe... OUCH!

So what is it now? He thought it could be a neuroma...

From www.mayoclinic.com:

"Morton's neuroma is a painful condition that affects the ball of your foot, most commonly the area between your third and fourth toes. Morton's neuroma may feel as if you are standing on a pebble in your shoe or on a fold in your sock. [It] involves a thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves leading to your toes. In some cases, Morton's neuroma causes a sharp, burning pain in the ball of your foot. Your toes also may sting, burn or feel numb. [It] may occur in response to irritation, injury or pressure. Common treatments for Morton's neuroma include changing footwear or using arch supports. Sometimes corticosteroid injections or surgery may be necessary."

Seriously?!

So, off I went to get an x-ray. Nothing showed up on the x-ray, but Dr. G said that doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing there. Great. He said it could also be just an inflammation of the joint. I'm voting for that one. Although, doesn't that generally mean arthritis? I'm not even 40 for goodness sake.

The good news is that I don't have any pain... I didn't even know there was a problem until he squeezed the area. I don't feel like I have a pebble in my shoe. The balls of my feet don't really hurt unless I wear uncomfortable strappy shoes (and that happens extremely rarely and is really just a result of wearing uncomfortable strappy shoes).

So. Long story short, I'm going to have new orthodics made, and he's going to add some kind of cushioning in the insert right where the ball of the foot meets the arch. This will apparently relieve pressure on the nerve in question. And we'll see if that makes a difference.

I have no restrictions in the meantime, which is good because I'm doing really well with the exercising! But that's for another post...