Hi, I have been seeing my doctor for about a year on foot pain (podiatrist) and at first we thought it was plantar fasciitis so he did a cortisone injection right below the inside of my ankle, about 1 inch lower and 1/2 inch below the ankle...it seemed to work for a few months so I Returned to my doctor and we tried one more shot in the same place, I have a swollen area right under my ankle and a little more towards the toes like sticks out about 1/2 inch and is about 2 inches in diameter. I returned to my doctor yesterday (1 month after the last cortisone shot) cause I could not move my foot side to side without extreme pain, he decided to place me in a brace that goes from right below the knee to my toes cause my other option was a cast, I would like to try brace first...Im not optomistic that this is going to help me at all.

Do you think the shots might have made it progress faster?..What stage do you think Im at?...Turning my foot side to side is impossible due to the pain, but I can stand on toes, I do have pain when I do it but I think I have a high tolerance for pain so I say it doesn't hurt to bad, but I could see it being more and more painful if I had to do it over and over. Pushing down the trash in the small trashcan with my foot at work was extremely painful.

I am on restriced duty at work and I cant stand it, I am a Female 36 years of age, Correctional Officer at an Arizona State Prison and I am on our SWAT (TSU)team...anything you can add that might help me return to full duty sooner would be appreciated cause I cant stand missing our drills and work. I love my job and duties. I am on my feet approximatly 6 hours a day when on regular duty.

Ty for any input in advance,

Sincerely,

Officer Rutherford

The first thing I am going to tell you is go see an orthopedic foot and ankle specialist. Your podiatrist although probably helping you in some ways is not completely helping you he or she should have already referred you to see a specialist. Mine did within 6 months of treatments not working, the trick after the refferral is to find a good orthopedic foot and ankle specialist I went through about 6 of them until I finally met this last one. But even then if you do have PTTD it is (well can be) a long process I had to go through all the non surgical methods first which took about 9 months and then went through the surgery about a year after I met my doctor. I had it done on Jan 24th and it will take me 9 months to fully recover but at 7 weeks post op I am walking in a walking boot (and still sometime crutches or a cane) but hey walking is walking. I will let you know anything you want from my experience. I too have a very high tolerance for pain and I am very young and physically fit as well (24 year old marathon runner).

Kristin

He is a specialist, he is a foot and ankle doctor...

I really dont have many to choose from where I live he is the closest one and that is 30 miles away, next option is Flagstaff which is 90 miles...

Do you think at the stage Im at this leg brace might help? or do you think it's gone to far?


I read that PTTD at first can mimic the same pain as plantar fascitiis and I truely thought that was what I had, but after reading up on PTTD I am certian thats what it is...just wish I knew what stage I was at so I could figure out what type of treatment is perfect.

Kristen is talking about an orthopedist who is a foot and ankle surgeon, not a podiatrist. They have more training, and, while there are some great podiatrists out there, I'd say that with a really difficult case, an ortho is a better bet. According to the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society, there are 16 of them in Arizona. Most are in the Phoenix area, but one is in Flagstaff.

It's worth a try. My orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon figured out the best treatment for my problem in our first appointment.

Ok, thank you.

Rachel, I don't want to sound negative, and every case is different. But with PTTD unless you are very early in the degenerative process bracing will help with symptoms but it usually continues to progress. An orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon will give you specific tests to "stage" you. But no matter what stage you are in, different people do respond different ways. Some may get better results with conservative measures than others. I, unfortunately, did not. But, like Kristen said, it will still be a long process because your doctor will want to follow his own protocol for conservative treatment before considering surgery. I was 3 months in a walking boot then 6 weeks in a NWB cast before scheduling surgery. And that was AFTER I had seen a regular orthopod who had me in a boot already. But again, you may be one of the lucky ones to respond to conservative treatment. Let us know how you are doing.

Yea thats very true, I have had this pain in my foot and swelling right under the inside of my ankle for about a year now, I am just wondering cause it just recently started being extremely painful in one day to move my foot side to side, not up and down...guess thats my main question and concern, it started with arch pain and now its side pain and moving it hurts badly...I hate to be in a boot for 3 months then cast cause I love my job and it keeps me from being able to do the TSU stuff that I enjoy the most.

So now Im in the boot still and with crutches...Although I did find out my doctor does orthopedic surgeries, he seems like a great doctor like he really knows what he is talking about but the crutches dotn seem to be helping either, I can still stand on my toes without pain but can pinoint where the pain is and after a full day of using the crutches even 1 week later it still has the same ammount of pain.

I almost thought about lying and saying it was better just to get back to full duty at work but then my daughter old me not to be a hypocrit and reminded me that I always told her to never ever lie to your doctor.

*sigh* I really miss working on the floor at work.

It is hard to go through the conservative treatment as well as any surgery for PTTD. I had the boot and crutches for awhile before I ended up having surgery and after 2 days, I dumped them and went with a scooter (Turning Leg Caddy). Just know that your dr is trying to allow the tendon to heal and it takes a LONG time, as the blood flow is very minimal around the PTT. If you can heal up and not have to go through surgery, all the better! It could be a lot longer time if you have to go to the next step. You know how you and your foot feel, so only you know the right thing to do. Take care of yourself and best wishes...I know how hard it is! :(

Well MRI showed (not sure about spelling) flexor digitorum longus split tear, as well as really bad tendonitis of the PTT...not sure where we are going from here.

It's good to know what you're dealing with after waiting it out, but doesn't sound like the news you were hoping for. When will you meet with your dr to discuss options? Are you still in a boot? Weightbearing?

Well, I'm still in a boot, weight bearing but on monday he said I will either walk out of there in a cast or with an appointment for surgery, not sure what it all means though and have tried to research it, something like (not sure about spelling) sublalor artho aresis, and some kind of surgery to repair the tendon?...can't find info.

Subtalar arthroeresis, I would assume.

The flexor digitorum longus tendons are ones that curl your toes in, they connect to muscles in the calf that control the toes.

That unfortuenatly was my news on a light note, my dog was hit and killed by a car this week, she was loved by our family and will always be.

:(

Rachel,
I'm so sorry to hear about your dog! :( I am owned by a pug and can't imagine losing her, and what it must feel like!

The procedure your dr is talking about is the subtalar arthrodesis (a type of fusion) and maybe PTT repair or a FDL tendon transfer. I think there's a lot of information out there about it...just do a search. Also, I believe some others here have had that done, so might be of some help. It'd be good to find out more so you can have a list of questions ready to ask your dr on Monday.

Keep us posted on what you find out!
Krista

Well gonna get surgery on 21st, Ill keep you all updated.

Rachel,
Sorry to hear that you're having to face surgery. It will get better and hopefully you'll be able to return to doing what you love with work and all. What procedures are you going to have done?
Krista

flexor digitorum longus repair, clean up tendonitis on ptt, and subtalar arthrodesis...Thats what we are shooting for I think.

If anyone has done these please throw some info my way if you can.

Ok, so surgery is on this Friday the 23rd, he said I have a Fdl tear and a possible PTT tear so he is going to be doing this: Right foot all, Sabtalor Arthroesis, repair Flexor digitorum, repair posterior tibial tendon, and attach FDL and PTT tendons.


Anyone ever had any of this stuff done?

:confused:

I don't quite understand the 'attach" the FDL and PTT. When I had my PTTD surgery (of course the FDL wasn't torn like yours) he transferred the FDL to the PTT and grafted them together. My PTT was mush so could not be repaired - had to be replaced. I had calcaneal osteotomy where they cut my heel bone off, moved it over, and screwed it back on. I'm guessing the subtalar arthrodesis is in place of that. Good luck with your surgery and recovery.

Hey Rachel,
I'm thinking of you today. Hope you're surgery went well and that your recovery goes well too. Post an update when you feel up to it.

Kris

Well, the surgery went very well, he said that my ptt was probably hurting more than the fd tendon, some stuff wrapped around it I guess, not sure what I will ask him next appointment. I went back in today for my postop appointment and he took the splint off and casted it, said it looked good, now as far as pain goes it does hurt, like extremely bad and he had asked me to start trying to wean myself off the pain meds, I know I can stop at the spit of a dime but it hurts way to bad to start already...It has been 3 days anyone happen to have any idea when I should be able to live without the meds? as far as right now he must be outta his mind thinking I can stop.

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Rachel,
Glad to see you're on the other side!

From what I've read about post-op for this surgery, it's best that you take your meds on a schedule of every four hours until the pain is under control. Then you can consider switching to another over the counter pain reliever that your doctor OKs during the day, and taking the stronger stuff through the night. Make sure you have enough medicine and that you don't run out! Don't be afraid to let your doctor know how much pain your in and that you need the meds. It's probably just something he routinely says to patients post-op.

Take care,
Kris

Rachel,
Good to hear that things went well, but sorry to hear about the pain. I know how that goes...I stayed on Percocet for the first few months this time, though had signficantly reduced the dosage the last 3 weeks of that time. My first surgery I took them for more like 3 months, weaning myself down over time. It varies for everyone, so don't feel pressured to stop taking meds that are helping you be more comfortable at this point. It's still pretty early in the game to look at that, but maybe like clouth said, he's trying to prepare you for the switch that will come with time. Right now I take Celebrex for the soreness and weird feelings that come with rehab. But the need for that is decreasing as well. So, just keep up what you're doing. When do you see your dr next?
Krista

see him in 2 weeks. Right now in the cast it hurts probably from the swelling, it feels like a basketball in a garden hose.

I have had shoulder surgery on both shoulders, twice on one, knee surgery on both knees at the same time and NOTHING I mean NOTHING is like the pain I feel from this. Feels like like foot is about to break my cast and it burns like hell, this is what I feel after taking 2 percocets about 1 hour ago.:(

Rachael,

I had foot surgery this winter and was casted almost 7 weeks. My foot was burning hot for about 5 of those weeks and if I didn't keep it elevated way above my heart, it would have exploded the cast. I couldn't put it down more than 30 seconds. Drugs - my choice was oxycotin - did help with the burning. Ice bags really did help with the swelling and tightness. Even with a cast, you can get the cold to your foot. Try putting ice behind your knee too. If it's too uncomfortable call your Dr. I had my cast replaced at 4 weeks because it was killing me - it had hard bump that was constantly jamming into the side of my foot. I felt bad/wimpy getting it changed, but they said casts shouldn't be that uncomfortable. However, they did say that you have to keep your foot elevated after surgery or you'll be a hurting puppy.

Good luck, I feel your pain. The first week is the worst! :dizzy:

Abby :)

PS: There's something called a Game Ready that you can rent from a medical supply store that is an ice machine for after surgeries. Alot of insurance companies don't cover it, but it might be worth it. I'm thinking how hot it is in AZ and how that might contribute to the swelling. My foot swelled significantly more here last week when it got to 85 F. Hot fot MT!

Well i went to the doctor, cause he asked me to. He cut off the cast. And found it to be infected, and thats what was causing the pain. So he changed my antibiotics. And put me in a cam boot and i go back to see him on monday

Sorry about the punctuation in that last post, my son typed it for me.

Well 1 week and 1 day post-op and its still hurting so bad when I stand up (not weight bearing) I am hoping this is gonna end soon cause it's making me crazy, the throbbing hurts so bad. I must say it feels slightly and when I say slightly I mean slightly, better than yesterday

Anyone else been thru infection with post op?.

Yay! I'm really starting to feel better. I ended up with the flu 5 days after surgery and we were not sure if it was an infection fever (102.4) or if I was sick, it was horrible and I did not start feeling good until yesterday! I also ended up with a extremely bad rash all over my body head to toe from my antibiotics. My doctor said that I am his only patient he ever had that had surgery, got the flu and quit smoking all in the same week not sure if thats a nice record to hold.

But wow what a difference. I am not using my boot much I just use my crutches and NWB. I go to doc today and will update ya'll. (maybe my infection is healed enough for me to get the stitches out) I feel like I still need the pain meds a little bit, like when I sleep it really helps. I did have a lot of pain this morning when my bloodhound puppy decided to hop off my bed by using my foot.

Just thought I would give everyone a brief update since I finally feel good. :)