I’m not asking for medical advice or treatment, just a question.
A few years back I started having this tight feeling in the tendons on the bottom of both my feet. I went to a Podiatrist who told me to have molds made of my feet for inserts which cost a hefty $500 out of pocket. After I wore those for about a year and realized there was no difference in my feet, I stopped wearing them and went to a different Podiatrist. This new Doctor told me that the tightness and sharp pains that I sometimes get is caused by my calves being tight and not stretching them enough. Well, now 2 years later and after constant calf-stretching (3-4 times a day), they still are not any better. Both feet are equal in tightness and shooting pains.
I’ve tried to search around online but haven’t found much. Most of the complaints from people are heel tightness and pain. My tightness is based around the ball of my feet (the soft padded part). Also there is a constant numbing to that same area and my toes that never goes away.
I’ve been in a few minor car accidents in my lifetime but it had been quite a few years. It could have started right after I fractured my ankle but that wouldn’t make much sense because it’s in both feet.
The pain is not in my heel, nor has it ever been. It’s in the padded ball area and my toes. Maybe my Doctor thought that is what the problem is too because he told me to stretch my calves all the time but it hasn’t helped.
I looked up “impignement on the nerves of the feet” and found a few things that are close to my symptoms. I don’t know if this could be the problem but I will see if my Doctor knows anything about it. Thank You.
Are you diabetic? If not, are you at risk? Risk factors are, other family with diabetes, overweight or over 50 years old. If so, you could be developing peripheral neuropathy, which is, basicly, the degeneration of the nerves of the feet and hands. Not all doctors check for diabetes.
A really simple question: are your shoes the correct size? It is amazing that the problems that ill fitting shoes can cause, and a size 10 isn’t always the same.
I started having a similar issue about 3 years ago, and went to my handy-dandy local foot and ankle orthopedic specialist. In my case, it turned out to be the aftereffects of a severe leg injury a few years before, which left me without complete range of motion in my left ankle, exacerbated by very high arches, which placed further stress on the balls of my feet.
My ortho doc told me I had metatarsalgia (basically "pain in the balls of your feet, in Latin) and prescribed orthotics which sound like the ones you describe, at least in theory. However, keep in mind that orthotics are a difficult thing to design properly; if they are just a little bit "off,"they can cause more problems than they solve. It’s amazing what a couple of degrees or millimeters here and there, when talking about feet, can do to a person’s biomechanics.
I’ve never been to a podiatrist, even with all my post-accident foot issues, but it took me 3 tries to find the orthopedic specialist who managed to do something that kept me from needing daily prescription anti-inflammatories. You might consider trying it yourself. Also, you may have more than one thing going on - I’ve had a couple rounds of plantar fascitis myself, but never until after my accident.
I don’t have diabetes, I just had it checked. But my Brother and my Father do and I’m a little bit overweight. I will read up on peripheral neuropathy, thank you.
Well, since it’s summer here I am wearing my slip on shoes, which probably are not the best for my feet. But they are the right size.
Yeah, the inserts I had made started making my feet ache when I started an all day standing job. The first day I wore my shoes without them was amazingly different. What a waste of $500!
I had plantar fascitis and it was in the arch and balls of my feet. My heels never got involved.
I had sesmoiditis and I had to correct the way I was walking (on the outsides of my feet to avoid putting any pressure on the sesmoid) because I screwed up my knees and back pretty badly. I still have to correct myself because I find myself walking on the outsides of my feet because of the memory of the pain.
No numbness, though.
IANAD and all the standard disclaimers. Maybe you do have plantar fascitis?
