Ask The Experts
I have to start from the beginning because I feel it's all related. 5 years ago I woke up like every morning and walked to the bathroom on my toes. My calves are so tight in the morning and sore especially if I got a Charlie horse in my sleep. The tightness and dull ache would go away within a few minutes of me being awake. But this particular day it didn't go away on my right leg and over the first week it got more painful to walk. I was not able to flatten my foot on the ground so I walked as if my one foot was in a high heel. That resulted in shin splints in my other leg and many more pains everywhere else like my back hips even my butt etc. I went to my family doctor. He x-rayed and found nothing and a few more weeks of keeping my foot and leg up and ice and heat it and taking Advil he sent me to the first specialist of many that I saw. Not one specialist of any kind has heard or seen of this and had no answer and would send me to the next one hoping they had answers. So I still can't flatten that foot but my heel is not stuck up as high as it used to be. Some days it's worse than others. Now 3 days ago just randomly sometime during the day it started to hurt when I would lift it off the ground to walk. But it hurts more from the outside and not quite to the middle. And this pain is unbearable. Almost feels like it's cramped and while I'm sitting I try to rub it to get the pain to go away and I find it's when I pull up on my baby toe it stretches this part of my foot that hurts. The pain doesn't go all the way to my heel just to part way down the side and a bit inward of my foot. To go down the stairs I just lean my back against the wall and with my better leg first I go down. This way my bad foot is completely flat with my body leaning back and when I lift it I don't feel a thing. But as soon as my body is up straight just a tiny bit of pressure down puts me in tears and takes my breath away when I lift it. I pray someone out there can help me. I can't clean or play with my kids this is completely disabling me and I can't take much more of the pain. Thank your for your time.
Thank you for contacting IPFH. We do not diagnose or provide treatment recommendations on line. We are very sorry to hear that you are in such pain and that you don’t seem to be able to determine what it is. You mention that you have seen many specialists, but you don’t say exactly in what areas of specialty they practice. Until your condition is diagnosed, it is difficult to treat, and the only thing that we are aware of that can be done in the absence of a diagnosis is to treat the pain. But that is not a long term solution. Our best suggestion is for you to continue to consult a medical professional(s) until you can get a diagnosis. Once that has happened, then it will become more clear what treatment(s) would work best. You mention that your x-rays did not show any damage, so at least your physicians can eliminate fractures or breaks in bones as a possible cause. Other areas you might explore are neurological disorders and systemic conditions that can affect the muscles, tendons and other soft tissues in your legs and feet. Consulting a neurological specialist would be one step to take in addressing the possibility of such conditions. Another possible route to take would be consulting a pain management specialist (if you have not already done so) to help you manage the pain in the short term. You could also consult a foot health practitioner who might help you by prescribing mobility assistance devices (orthotics, or other types of equipment) that may help keep you mobile without such high levels of pain. Lastly, you might consult a doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM and R, also called a physiatrist) or a physical therapist to address your condition (these are practitioners who work to address conditions and pain with physical remedies as opposed to medication). You should do this with the advice and counsel of your primary care physician or a trusted medical specialist. Again, we are sorry to hear of this condition and especially that it seems to elude diagnosis. We hope you will continue to pursue professional medical assistance, and that you will soon have a diagnosis and effective course of treatment to follow.