sealover

Hi everyone.

(I still don't know whether I ever had RSD in my left foot that went into remission or whether I have a mild case now.)

I have read that warm epsom salt soaks are good, however, when I soak my feet in my footbath with epsom salt and warm water, my bad foot (injured in Nov. 2003) starts burning (not major burning, though) in the forefoot where I have chronic pain. My foot doesn't feel much better when I remove it from the footbath. I've been doing the warm epsom salt soaks since December 2003 about once a day because I read that epsom salt is helpful for injuries. Then why does my forefoot have burning sensations when I soak it with the epsom salts?

Also, in physical therapy, I received 15 minute whirlpool treatments with a whirlpool that uses a powerful water jet. The whirlpool helped alleviate stiffness and pain in my bad foot, but when my feet were removed from the whirlpool, my bad foot would have powerful muscle spasms that would last about 5-10 minutes, yet my right foot never had any muscle spasms. I asked my physical therapist why my bad foot was having muscle spasms after whirlpool treatment, but she had no answer. Maybe someone on this board is knowledgable and can explain why my foot was having the muscle spasms.

I want to say that I don't know what to make of my left foot. I have bone pain where I was injected with cortisone because my fat pad has atrophied and I am walking on bone. I have uncomfortable nerve sensations that are hard describe, but sometimes the nerve sensations are a mixture of itching and prickling sensations that I experience in different parts of my foot at different times. I don't know why the nerve sensations come and go and are experienced in places like my heel, my toes, and the ball of my foot. My EMG came back normal, but, if I'm correct, an EMG cannot show damage to the small nerve fibers. Is there a test that can show if the small nerve fibers are damaged? Right now the ball of my foot and some of my toes are burning...I soaked my feet in the warm epsom salt bath about an hour ago.

Thanks a bunch for any comments and answers.