Foot Pain

[Davidjohnson]

Since the age of 16 (now 44), I have suffered with a pain in each heal. Over the years I have consulted with numerous doctors, sports scientists and 'quacks' to try and find the reason for the pain, all to no avail. I have tried insoles and orthotics without success and an MRI scan didn't show up anything of interest, other than what was already obvious - big flat feet (no arch at all). I heard a mention of a condition known as 'neuroma' on the radio today and wondered if anyone knows whether this exists in the heal area and whether this would have shown up with x-ray or MRI

Any comments would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

David

[kemplr]

Hello,

Neuromas occur between the metatarsal heads (forefeet), commonly between the 3rd and 4th mets. What type of pain is it? Is it tingling, shooting, dull ache. Where is the pain exactly ( outsside heel), inside heel? It would not be a neuroma on your heel.

[Davidjohnson]

The pain is in the center of each heal and is feels as if someone is pushing something hard into the foot (imagine a finger knuckle joint being used). It is sometimes there first thing in the morning, but if not depending how much time I spend on my feet during the course of the day, will always be there by evening. The funny thing is, relief during the day is to sit down (good) and if possible put my feet up (best), at which time the pain completely disappears. As soon as I am on my feet again, the pain is back.
I have found some relief recently using MBT shoes (http://www.swissmasai.co.uk/), but maybe because of my flat feet, as they spread the load over the entire sole of the foot, rather than concentrate it between two points - one being the heal (bad for me!).
Hope this will be of interest.

[welshexport]

Hi I don't have any sugestions but have enclosed some info on my condition and have yet another appointment next week with Doc..try link at bottom

I hope you can help or give me some advice on an unusual medical problem that I have. About four months ago my right ankle became very sensitive to the touch and has been causing me pain on the right side of my head above the eye and temple region. It has been getting gradually worse, I can sit quite comfortably but when I flex my right foot I immediately get the pain in the right temple region of my head. It is so sensitive that I have trouble sleeping I just have to brush the bed sheets with my foot and the pain is there in my head. I find it painful just putting a sock on my right foot; the pain is always below the outside of the right ankle sometimes it feels warm and tingly.

I have had an MRI Scan of my head and that is all clear the Doctor who gave me the results said it could be the peroneal nerve but he was a bit dubious as to why this should be causing me a right sided headache. The neurologist I have seen also seems to be at a loss as to why the right foot causes me a right sided headache and does not seem to accept that I have this problem he wanted to give me a month course of anti-depressants. I asked him how he thought that tablets could help with this problem but he didn’t have a conclusive answer for me. I can assure you that I am not depressed I am happily married and we have four terrific children. My problem is lack of sleep over the past four months because of this unusual problem that I have.

Yesterday I spent an hour in Osteopathic treatment the conclusion was that the nerve could be damaged he mentioned something about the nerve just under the ankle. He also was at a loss about why the right foot is causing me a right sided headache he said if anything it should be the left foot causing me the pain. Now I have two Doctors who have said it seems like a nerve problem not one of them is a neurologist but both are at a loss to where the head pain is coming from. I have assured them that the slightest touch to the region below the right ankle causes me pain in my head, I told them its like pushing a button as soon as you touch the skin below the ankle the head pain is there and as soon as the ankle is left alone the pain is gone and now even pressure from walking is a problem.

In the past I have had back problems and the pain travels through my hip and down my leg my house Doctor told me this was the sciatica nerve from time to time I still have this problem. I have also had pain between the vertebrae in the chest region no lower back problems. An x-ray showed that the vertebrae are curved and close together and I always seem to have pressure there. I have read that there can be a link between the sciatica and other nerves I have suggested this to the various Doctors that I have seen, but they still insist that the right ankle cannot cause pain in the right side of my head and as for the sciatica having something to do with the nerve around the ankle they have not heard of this.

Now I can assure you my pain is not a figment of my imagination and the Doctors I have seen seem to be pretty sceptical of any patient who looks up information on the internet and try’s to help himself. My lack of sleep because of this problem is now affecting my work. I am a driver mainly buses and heavy goods vehicles and now my foot is preventing me from carrying out my job.

That’s all I want is for somebody to except the fact that I have this problem and try to resolve it for me. I have also been told that it could be a neuroma of the ankle…try the following link this site says that you can have a neuroma of the ankle [moderator note: website address has been removed]