Do I have RSD??? - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Message Board

twright · 04-29-2004, 08:49 PM

Hello all,
I was just wondering if maybe some of you can tell me if you think I have this. I have been diagnosed with 2 stress fractures of my 2nd and 3rd metatarsal(it took my podiatrist forever to figure this out) it has been about 4 wks. I have pain in my right forefoot. I have swelling on top of my forefoot. and at the ball of my foot(not in the big toe or little, just underneath the 2nd,3rd, and 4th toe) the swelling has maybe improved 10% since 4wks ago. It seems a little red at times. She has checked me for gout, and RA which both have come back negative. I will suggest RSD to her next week and see what she says. I was just wondering if you guys think I have this. Any responsed would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. I also wanted to add that I don't have pain or swelling anywhere else, only in the front of my right foot.

xtanner · 04-29-2004, 10:28 PM

I had a stress fracture many years ago and as I recall it was painful and had some swelling for quite awhile. I only got relief when wearing a rigid post-op shoe. Have you tried that? If it still hurts while wearing a post-op shoe maybe it is RSD. Hopefully it's a slow healing stress fracture and not RSD. Keep us posted! Good Luck, Shelley

twright · 04-29-2004, 11:22 PM

Shelley,
thanks for the response. No, I do not have a post op shoe. I was just wondering, did you have swelling on the bottom of your foot at the ball of your foot, when you had the stress fracture??? This seems to be the most mysterious thing to me about it.
Thanks
Todd

xtanner · 04-30-2004, 08:11 AM

It was so long ago and my stress fracture was so minor, in the 3rd met. But I do recall swelling top and bottom but not on the ball of the foot. Do you have a bunion? I've also had a bunion that would get so flared I couldn't walk without assist and my entire foot swelled huge. I've also had, in conjunction with a bunion, the sesamoid bone out of position. You have 2 little bones on the ball of your foot that "free-float" in the grooves of the joint. Sometimes they get pushed out of position and ride on the ridge of the joint rather than in the groove. When that happened to me it felt like I was walking on a pebble. They were removed at the same time as my bunion was. Just a thought. (I also worked for a podiatrist for 3 yrs!). - Anyway, try the post-op shoe, if it offers relief, then I would say it's probably not RSD, you really, really don't want that! Keep us posted! - Shelley

sealover · 04-30-2004, 06:44 PM

I injured my left forefoot back in Nov '03 when I banged the dorsal side of my toes into metal by accident. It was the most excruciating pain ever! I thought I had broken a bone. My immediate symptoms were: nerve pain in my toes and ball of foot, hypersensitivity to touch, inability to move my toes, and swelling on the bottom of my foot. The swelling and hypersensitivity took about a month to go away and it took a good month to be able to move my toes with the help of physical therapy. The plain radiograph and the MRI I had revealed no broken bones, so I couldn't understand why I had those symptoms with no fracture. Also, it took a few months before I could walk without a limp. My treatment was: 2 cortisone injections, physical therapy, and Bextra for inflammation.

At first my doctors thought I may have RSD. I recently had a bone scan, a 2nd MRI, a neurological exam and an EMG test, and I am now told that I do NOT have RSD. I asked if it was possible that I had RSD that has gone into remission, and my doctors doubt it because they say that more damage would have shown up on the MRI. I currently have complications from the 2 cortisone injections and I have to go back into physical therapy due to the pain from the complications, so after 5 months, I'm still suffering, but not as much as I was in the first few months following the injury. So things take time to heal, I guess. If it were not for the cortisone injections, I would be so much better off right now.

I think it is possible that you don't have RSD, rather, you are experiencing swelling from your injury. 4 weeks is not a lot of time to give your foot to heal...perhaps your foot is still in the process of healing. Have you had a recent MRI or bone scan? When I broke my baby toe, it took at least 6 weeks for the bone to heal completely.

I wish you well and hope you heal soon.