I was diagnosed this week with tarsal coalition. Ive had the symptoms for nearly a decade. I went to the doc early on and was told I had chronic tendonitis and would just have to learn to live with it. I lived with it until recently, the pain had just become unbearable. Because I went so long without having it fixed I now also have arthritis in the subtalar joint. My doctor has put me on Lodine for now, while I decide whether or not to have surgery. If anyone here has had the fusion surgery Id love to hear from you.

My husband doesnt want me to have the surgery. He seems to think that once the medication starts to work Ill be able to get back to the gym, and strengthen my ankle. Will working out help this condition? Since it is a bone and not a muscle condition Im not sure if it will help or not. Plus, Im not enjoying this medication at all. Im still hurting, and now Im dizzy and nauseaus as well.

Are there any other options than surgery? Im a firm beleiver in chiropractic care, will that help at all? The way my doc described it..there are ways to "manage" the condition with medicine and shoe inserts, but it wont help fix it. I dont want to be stuck on medication for the rest of my life. Im scared theyll cause even worse conditions.

Im just not sure what to do here.

I too have tarsal coalition and was first affected by it when I was 16 years old. I was in pain 24/7 at that time and it affects both feet. For several years during and after college I was actually OK. However, I'm in my 30s now and the pain has become unbearable again. I have tried everything over the years including orthotics (three different times and they were so painful I had to stop), anti-inflammatories (now I have an ulcer from overusage), physical therapy (twice - it did nothing at all for me), and steroid injections (I'm one week after the injections and they are starting to wear off). Now I am afflicted with back, hip, and knee pain as well. At this point I think I am headed for fusion surgery and will be happy when the day comes that my back, hip, knees, and feet are no longer hurting!

By the way, I seriously doubt that working out at the gym will help. I have worked out with trainers and by myself and it has not helped the condition or made it worse.

Hi Mimi..thanks for the reply. Do you have a surgery date set, or are you still considering it? What type of doctor are you seeing...an orthopedic Dr, or a podiatrist?
Im going tomorrow to see a podiatrist for a second opinion, before I commit to surgery. I was hoping there would be some alternatives, but it sounds like most didnt work for you. What was painful about the orthotics?
I also have alot of hip back and knee pain. I favor my ankle so much that I know it throws off the rest of my body.
Im leaning towards the surgery, but am still a little uncertain. It sure would be nice to be pain free for good!

I have seen orthopedic surgeons in the past (long time ago) who recommended surgery. Now I am seeing a podiatrist because he seems to do this surgery more than most orthopedic surgeons. The hospital that I work at does not have any good foot/ankle orthopedic surgeons and I would rather go to someone who does this often. I even went to an orthopedic surgeon about my hip a few years ago and he didn't even know what tarsal coalition was! It was the physical therapist who figured out that my hip pain was related to my coalition. Therefore, I think I will stick with this podiatrist who seemed to know a lot about this condition. I had toenail surgery with him (though this is much more minor) and he did a nice job and was a true perfectionist with the postop treatments. If I go through with the surgery, it will probably be during the summer when my boss takes off 3 weeks! I am dying to get rid of this back (upper and lower), hip (awful), and knee pain! Not to mention the horrendous foot/ankle pain! When I was a teenager I put the surgery off, and now I don't want to put it off until I can't walk! Good luck with your planning. Let me know what happens! ;) Oh, the orthotics just caused a lot more pain in my feet. Much more of the coalition pain (if you can imagine it being worse). They were unbearable - I couldn't keep them in for 5 minutes!

Makena:

Is your coalition in both feet or just one? I have it in both so I imagine the surgeries would be about one year apart. I can't imagine having a bad foot as the dominant foot for a while, but I guess that will have to be.

Hi Mimi...

The coalition is just in my left ankle as far as I know. If I do have it in the right it doesnt bother me at all.
I went to the podiatrist and had a good long visit with him. He recommnded that I wait on the surgery for a while. He said that I will probably have to have it eventually, but since I still have a few active years in me I should wait for a bit. His explanation was that the fusion will cause extra stress on some of the other joints eventually wearing them out and possibly causing some arthritis, so I might as well wait a few more years until Im a bit less active. So for now he changed my medication (which is sooo much better), and recommended getting cortisone shots when I need them. (Like if Im going on a trip or something).
The other thing he recommended was something called a richie brace. So we're looking into that too. He mentioned orthotics too, but didnt really go into them too much. He was leaning more towards the brace.

It sounds like most of those things didnt help you out too much..or even made it worse. Do you have arthritis in your ankles too? The pod said that the coalition has caused alot of arthritis for me and thats causing alot of the pain. How far off from surgery are you?

Well...I hope youre feeling alright. Its nice to know someone who understands exactly how this feels.

Take care!

I totally understand how it feels! It's hard for others to understand because we try not to let it consume our lives. I'm also not a complainer. Mine is equally bad in both feet and the arthritis is quite bad. My doctor showed me a foot x-ray of someone born in 1915 and then showed me my x-ray. He said that person's foot was normal and then showed me all of my arthritis. One of my biggest problems is that I'm on my feet all day at work. I had a meeting with him yesterday and will probably have the surgery in July, which will be a good time for me to be out of work for 6 weeks. He said most people are out one week, but since I'm on my feet so much, it will be at least 6 weeks. I'm really not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to having no more pain! The worst thing will be putting my weight on the non-operated foot since that one is just as bad. In a couple of years, it will all be behind me!

Good luck with your conservative treatment. Let me know how it works! :wave:

Hi...I hope youre feeling well. Sounds like youre ready and raring to go for the surgery.
Ive never had surgery of any kind, so Im a bit to scared to go for it without trying some of the alternatives first. I go in next week to get fitted for the brace. It sure would be nice if that did it for me, but I kinda doubt it. My guess is that I wont be too far behind you for the surgery.

I work in retail so Im on my feet all day too. Do your ankles seize up after youve been on them all day then sit for a few minutes? Mine tightens right up and I cant walk on it at all after its rested. Some nights when I come home I have to crawl up the stairs in my house on my knees.

I cant wait to hear how the surgery goes for you. Six weeks of temporary pain is well worth a pain free future!

Take care and keep me updated!

Yes, my ankles swell and throb at the end of the day. Resting with them elevated helps a little, but I still wake up with pain. Basically, the pain is 24-7!

I'm actually nervous about the surgery, more about the anesthesia and the possibility of blood clots, etc. afterwards. I work in medicine so most people probably think that I think it is not a big deal, but it is different when it's yourself. I only underwent surgery as a child and don't remember much about it. Now I almost know too much. But, even though I'll be out of work for a while (and bored like crazy and probably in a lot of pain), I think it will be worth it. Looks like the surgery will be in the very beginning of July. Yuck - my leg will be sweating in the hot summer!

I'll keep you updated. Let me know how the brace works! :)

I know that it has been awhile since anyone posted on this board, but I am hoping, MimiNP, that you update with how the surgery worked for you. I am 21 and, after years of doctors giving me the run-around, I have finally discovered that I have talar coalition, which they only discovered because of the talar beak that developed on my right foot. I have been in severe pain since I was about 12 years old, and because I was born with a club foot (which was corrrected with surgery as a baby) they told me it was just arthritis that had developed and there was nothing they could do other than send me to physical therapy and wear shoe inserts. Much like the rest of you, these inserts were unbearable for me to wear and physical therapay just did not work at all. I have treid every NSAID out there, and the pain still persists. When my doctor finally did tell be about the talar beak, there was no mention of there even being a surgery to help with the talar coalition. I have discovered this all on my own, thankfully through posts of other people suffering, like you all! I can totally relate to crawling up the stairs at night (I am in Pharmacy school, and run around for 10 hour shifts in the pharmacy where I work). In my line of work, there is no getting around the pain, and I want to be able to run around with my kids when the time comes for me to have a family. I am excited to hear how the surgery has worked for other people. Please, keep me updated.

I was hoping someone would respond too! I have surgery in one week for my subtalar fusion due to tarsal coalition. I am so scared because I hear all these horror stories about how long the recovery is. I told my work I would be back in two weeks. Its my right foot too so i won;t be able to drive. I hope you get a response....

If anyone has had this surgery please let us know how it goes!

I had a right subtalar fusion in March 2005 for a subtalar coalition. My ankle hurt me my whole life (I was 45 years at the time of surgery) I was told that I just had a sprained ankle. I finally was able to find out what was wrong with it. I had antiinflammatory agents and steroid injections into the arthritic joint but the pain was too bad at my age. Since the surgery, I have continued to have pain. From what I understand some individuals go on to have pain even though the CT scan showed that all of the screws and bolts are in place. I was recently told that the joint in 75% healed. I was prescribed a bone stimulator last month. I don't think this device is doing anything. The contraption cost $2,000 and you sit there with this electrical thing on your ankle. The doctor said I will likely have to have some of the hardware in my subtalar joint removed when healing is complete. I see the doctor in October 2005. I am living everyday with this ongoing pain every time I bear weight. The pain from the arthritic subtalar joint was intermittent with increased pain mostly at night after a day's activity. This pain is every step I take. Has anyone had this problem? Does removal of any of the hardware help this pain. I am beside myself over not being able to walk normally. I care for my elderly mother with Alzheimer's, lost my job, and just lie around all day waiting for the pain to go away or this bone to heal or to have some of the screws removed later this year. Thanks for any advice. Janet

Janet- have you tried getting other opinions? I would definately talk to other doctors to make sure that everything looks ok and is heeling right. Also can you find out about your surgeon (ie- find out what other doctors/patients think about him and if he has other patients who have had this problem?)

I have been putting my foot/heel down and I think I am ok- I even stomped on it (by mistake) and although yes it was painful at first when I did it - the pain was only for a short period of time. I only have one bolt/nail whatever it is....I am praying not to have longterm pain....

Did you always have pain? How about when you were in a cast?