findingmeg

I have been working with a podiatrist for two months to find the cause of foot and ankle pain that has plagued me for 6-7 years. I do have a history of frequent ankle sprains and have personally referred to my right ankle as "weak" in the past.

Initially, the podiatrist felt that my foot symptoms were consistent with a neuroma, and was pretty close to recommending surgery. However, I added that I also had pain shooting from mid-foot to each side of the ankle, and he recommended a bone scan to see if there was more to the story.

The bone scan was positive. It showed mild uptake in both the right and left mid-foot, but severe abnormalities in the right ankle joint. As a side note, I should mention that he also ordered blood work to test for arthritis. The results indicated that I was undergoing "mild changes"...not enough to explain this level of pain and discomfort, much less give a diagnosis of arthritis.

Feeling that it was possible I may have synovitis in that joint, he injected a stereoid into the joint seven days ago. He mentioned that, should the steroid not eliminate or help the symptoms, he would want to take detailed x-rays and, should he not find anything, he would likely order an MRI. I should note here that previous x-rays *were* performed before the bone scan, but were of the foot (as that's what I pointed to and said "Ow").

I expected problems with the steroid injection in the first 24 hours (this, from past experience). However, in the first *72* hours post-injection, I was completely unable to bear weight on that joint. I kept it elevated and applied ice 20/20. Since that phase, I have had intermittent pain and a burning/ache that makes it difficult to put weight on the joint at times. I am also unable to walk for more than a few minutes without launching into a pronounced limp and feeling ankle instability and a burning pain. As a matter of fact, my foot and ankle symptoms are actually *worse* than before the injection. ???*confused*???

I will visit with the podiatrist again in four days. However, I wanted to throw this thread out there to see if anyone has experienced anything similar - either with bone scan results - or a poor reaction to steroid injection (that lasted longer than 24 hours).

I also don't know whether something such as a torn ligament would provide positive bone scan results...bone scans show increased *bone* growth or repair...having nothing to do with ligaments..........right?