Posted on 01/25/2019 7:19:47 AM PST by Tennessee Conservative
I seldom post and never post vanities but I'm desperate. In November I fell and twisted my foot under me. The foot swelled but swelling was minimal a week later. A month later I went to the Podiatrist for x-rays because I thought it should be 100% by then. Nothing was broken but he said I had torn all of the ligaments and tendons in my foot and ankle. He told me then that exercise would aid with healing but DO NOT fall on it again and if it hurts stop doing whatever was causing the pain. I have been using a cane when necessary and wearing an orthopedic boot outside on unlevel ground on his advice. Except for the first two weeks there has been very little pain, except when I try to put a regular shoe on, so I don't. It's mostly just extremely tired at the end of the day.
At two months I called and asked why this foot was still swelling some and I couldn't walk normally by now. He said that it could take up to six months to heal.
At three months post injury I'm still wearing hiking sandals with firm soles because it still hurts to flex the joint behind the big toe, not as much but painful enough that I don't want to do it. I walk better but I have a slight limp because I can't flex the toe area without pain and I walk slowly. I can't get a regular shoe on. I tried yesterday and after the pain subsided the toe swelled. The foot randomly swells in random areas. It's minimal and wouldn't be noticed unless compared to the other foot. It's also still slightly blue. It's never swollen in the morning. Sometimes it doesn't swell until after lunch. Sometimes it swells immediately. There is not much pain, just swelling in different areas of the foot and inflexibility in the joint behind the toe.
He said I could ride the stationary bike as long as the pain was "tolerable" so I have been doing that. It doesn't hurt unless I raise the resistance and even then the pain is minimal. He said I could even get the road bike out as long as it didn't hurt but I'm afraid to try that right now. He said pedaling a bike would aid with healing as long as I don't crash.
He said I could use muscle heating rubs on it but they make the swelling worse. Ice makes the swelling less. I walked all over the Wal-Mart super-center yesterday and had minimal swelling. Today I haven't done much and the swelling is worse than yesterday. Socks, even loose ones, make it swell more. I have to wear the hiking sandals without socks and it's freezing outside. The stationary bike doesn't cause swelling.
I need advice and encouragement from Freepers that have gone through this. When I complained about it not healing fast the doctor laughed and said a break would have healed faster.
I am very discouraged because I'm an outdoor person and sitting around is driving me nuts and causing me to worry about the fate of the foot.
Investigate:
Systemic Enzymes (e.g., “Neprinol”)
Noni Juice (both internal and external via soaking.)
M.S.M. (flake or powder)
“Silica Gel” (Hubner)
Christopher Originals “Complete Tissue” (formerly, Bone, Flesh, and Cartilege) - original formula only available in cut & sifted, and powder
Look into prolotherapy for torn ligaments and tendons. There should be some good ones not too far from you.
What it is...Injections precisely into where ligaments attach to the bone to accelerate their healing.
You need an orthopod buddy
Podiatrists like osteopaths and chiropractors have limitations
Torn tendons and ligaments needed surgery
“just partial tears”......Try prolotherapy. Skip surgery.
I fell and tore ligaments and the Achilles’ tendon in my foot (as well as suffered a break in the ankle and 2 metatarsals). It took a good 6 months and physical therapy for everything to heal. I ran a marathon 16 months after the fall. So ligaments and tendons do heal. It just takes time.
Damn I could use that.....mine are like that
Once you tear and sprain bad it gets to where you sprain much easier but heal much faster
Was it that way for her
I sprained and tore mine in a series of bad eggplant swollen sprains in the early 70s
With knots up above my ankle where tendons and ligaments curled back up
I was walking in the hills off Hwy 7 north of Columbia near Santa Fe TN
My ankle snapped bad to one side while in my crocs...I thought damn
But it was just sensitive for a while
That level of ankle bend in my teens and I woulda been down for the count
And miles in the woods
No phone reception and low teens at night
I always forward my location to my family before though....so I’m not coyote food
Man I knew the day women stopped noticing me
Prolly early to mid 50s
Sucks
It’s harder on girls though no question
Everyone now and then I catch a middle aged woman glancing....mainly cause I’m quite tall
But I noticed about ten years ago thirty somethings saying sir to me..lol
I’m 62
I find young women so lovely but I know my perspective
Women are at risk for microfractures as hormone levels decline. Microfractures in the foot can cause swelling.
I have woman friend who was a mail carrier. She stepped funny one day getting out of her truck and people inside the building that she was about to enter could hear the loud snap as both of her tendons broke. So did two bones in her foot and ankle.
She had surgery to repair the tendons and pin the bones. Recovery took almost a year, except that the swelling in her foot never wanted to go away. After many more examinations the surgeon told her “Your foot is worn out. Microfractures.” She had had a hysterectomy but no HRT and that, plus her job, probably resulted in the microfractures. This was over four years ago and the swelling still plagues her constantly. A shame because she enjoyed her job and will never be able to return to it. Not to mention that it interferes with the rest of her life.
Anyway it is something that you should probably ask your doctor about. I hope that you have something other than this but it is a possibility that you should know about.
Low blood pressure can cause that. Too low BP can cause strokes, just like very high BP can. Do you have a cuff, and do you know what your blood pressure is?
Thanks for the reply. At my age it’s something to think about for sure. The doctor took three x-rays that he showed me and nothing was broken but it doesn’t mean something won’t be the next time.
I would be able to walk normally and get a shoe on if the joint in the big toe didn’t hurt when I try. It doesn’t hurt at all until I twist and flex it to go in a shoe or flex it up with weight in it to walk normally. Some mentioned gout but I don’t think a fall causes gout. It’s more like turf toe.
“But I noticed about ten years ago thirty somethings saying sir to me..lol
I’m 62”
Oh man, nothing so cold as that first time some smokin’ babe calls you sir. They just look right through you.
Thank you for your reply.
I have always had fairly low/normal BP always thought that was a good thing.
I’m 51
Last night at work same thing, feeling like i’m on a boat at sea.
same right now sort of.
This is my prob, for a while i was unemployed, here in MA it is illegal not to have insurance so i was put on free Medicaid, MassHealth it’s called here.
I officially now work “part-time” even though it’s 32-48 hrs/week so no benefits.
Masshealth caught wind a few months ago of my employment and now i have zero insurance....of all times...
Do i go to my doctor for a consultation for maybe a $100-150 for the visit then get totally reamed with blood tests, MRI etc and put myself in a debt hole for the rest of my life or try to wait it out hope it goes away?
It’s been about 14 days now.
My co-worker says my health is far more important than crushing debt.
anyways will i even be able to get treatment without insurance?
PS Pelham
I am far from rich, got about 11 grand in the bank and that is IT.
My whole life....11 grand.
That would be eaten up instantly with a few tests etc.
ugh...
It started with injuries while playing tennis in High School. Yes, once she tore the tendons, she could turn her ankle very easily after that. Every time she twisted her ankle, she'd tear a bit more of the tendon.
Finally, at age 30 she got the tendons stapled into her ankle bone.
I won't say how old she is now, but 25 years later her ankles are still extremely stable.
Dizziness can also be an inner ear issue. Meniere’s Disease is one. See if it fits:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menieres-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20374910
Gout would hurt all the time, not just when you flex.
The surgeon didn’t mention my friend’s microfractures right away so they may be difficult to spot unless they are looking for them. If you had that, your foot would swell and not just the toe. I wonder if you could have a small bone chip in that toe joint. You never realize how much you use your feet until you get some mysterious pain in one.
I sometimes have plantar fasciitis in the other foot and the toe in the hurt foot feels similar to that. When I hurt the foot the entire arch of the bottom of the foot swelled. After the swelling was gone the heel hurt so I think I hurt the plantar fascia ligament when it twisted. That would explain why when I twist the foot to get a regular shoe on or flex it too much, it hurts behind the toe. That ligament attaches to the big joint behind the toe.
My daughter has been nagging me to get a second opinion by seeing her foot doctor so I agreed to do that. If he can’t get it fixed I’ll be going to an orthopedist. I put a slip on shoe on this morning and turned my toe down instead of up and it didn’t hurt so I’ll try that a time or too and see how it works. By doing that it doesn’t pull on that big tendon.
It was somewhat better last night...keeping my fingers crossed.
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