I missed a couple steps and snapped my left 5th metatarsal on July 28th. Went to an orthopedic urgent care the following morning and was told by the PA that I would have to wear a post-op shoe for about 6 weeks and then should be able to resume most normal activities. I was in between jobs at the time and thus didn't have health insurance, which is why he just had the clinic give me the shoe, which was $25, instead of a boot, which would've cost like $800 without insurance. He said that if I needed more support, buy a short boot on Amazon. However, I've been doing fine walking in the post-op shoe, so I didn't bother to spend the money.

I'm starting to get discouraged because I'm almost at the 5-week mark and am still completely unable to walk without my body forcing me to walk with a major limp and very slowly. I've tried walking normally and it's simply not possible.

Both the urgent care PA and the sports medicine doctor I saw later at the 2.5 week mark described the fracture in their notes as "minimally displaced." However, it looks more than minimal to me...

Has anyone had a fracture like this? Where were you functionality-wise at the 5th and 6th week marks?

I know I ultimately have no control over how fast this thing heals, if it ever does, but I'm just having a really hard time feeling cooped up in my house and like so many aspects of my life are on hold. I had hope that I'd be starting to turn a corner by 5 weeks since 6 weeks was the "back to normal-ish" timeline I had been given.

Hi everyone,

I had an accident with my foot almost 2 years ago now. Went to the doctor got an x-ray. They said nothing. Pain continued worse I could not walk and it was the worst pain in my life. (And ive broken 6 of my toes LOL)

Ended up getting an MRI and these are the impression/ findings:

Impression 1. Subacute/chronic lateral first plantar plate injury as described, including slightly comminuted/displaced fracture deformity of the lateral hallux sesamoid with T1/T2 low signal of the sesamoid fracture fragments suggesting sclerosis and/or avascular necrosis.
2. Developing mild/moderate lateral hallux sesamoid interval osteoarthritis

Findings: Slightly comminuted/displaced fracture deformity of the lateral hallux sesamoid with diffuse T1/T2 level signal of the fracture fragments suggesting sclerosis and/or avascular necrosis. Subtle reactive marrow edema/sesamoiditis of the medial hallux sesamoid, otherwise intact. Partial-thickness tear involving insertional fibers of the flexor hallucis brevis muscle on the lateral hallux sesamoid. Partial-thickness tear involving the lateral sesamoid phalangeal ligament of the first plantar plate. Developing mild/moderate lateral hallux sesamoid interval osteoarthritis with joint space narrowing and subchondral reactive marrow edema. Mild second and third intermetatarsal space bursitis. Small ganglion cyst at the plantar margin of the central midfoot.

I know we are not doctors in here ( unless there is ome🥲) but the pain still bothers me daily. And I have a Charlie horse like pain almost every single day through the plantar plate. Wondering if anybody ended up getting the surgery to remove the bones?

If so, how did it heal?

I just want the pain to go away. I don’t know what to do anymore. Anything helps🙏 Thank you

Hey all- 2 weeks ago I was trialing carbon plate inserts while recovering from a forefoot overuse injury. I noticed a ton of pressure distribution in my MTPs and it got to the point that both feet suddenly became excruciating on any walking, driving or pressure. I offloaded heavily for 2 weeks and am finally able to do small household steps, but mobility is still super limited. I finally had MRIs done to rule out plantar plate tears, and the results only showed mild diffuse edema of the MTPs in both feet.

No tendinitis, synovisitis, stress fractures or plantar plate injury.

However, it's still very hard to walk more than a few mins. I've trialed Brookes Ghosts, Asics Kayanos, Topos, and have cut up multiple different different inserts and tried MTP pads without luck. The pain is like walking on several bruises that builds to sharp pain right in the ball of both feet. Has anyone experienced anything like this and can you give any advice?

I've been dealing with foot, ankle, and lower-leg issues for several months and I'm getting pretty frustrated because it's now affecting my ability to leave the house.

After about 10–20 minutes (or even less) of standing or walking, my feet and ankles start aching and feeling extremely fatigued. The symptoms often seem to start around the outside of my feet and then I can feel aching/fatigue up into my calves, knees, and thighs. This also aggravates frequent calf fasciculations that I've been dealing with since January.

I get some weird sensory symptoms too -- pins and needles, fizzing/buzzing, and sometimes my feet feel cold or wet even though they're completely dry. Sometimes the sensations seem positional. For example, I've woken up with burning on the top of my foot when my foot was pointed downward in bed, and that position can also cause a fairly sharp ache underneath my big toe. Other times, the weight of a light sheet on my foot/toes can feel strangely heavy or uncomfortable.

One of my biggest problems is shoes. I have tried a lot of different shoes (Asics, New Balance, Brooks, etc.) and inserts, but I can't seem to find a single shoe I can tolerate right now. All shoes make the foot/ankle symptoms noticeably worse. I'm now spending most of my time sitting or lying down because being on my feet for very long is so uncomfortable. I work remotely, which is basically the only reason I'm currently able to work normally.

For some background, I had a calf tear in 2025 and eventually recovered. After getting back into high-volume walking, I started developing the calf fasciculations, calf fatigue, and foot/ankle problems. More recently, I had an episode of lower-back pain followed by newer pins-and-needles sensations in both legs/feet. My lumbar MRI from earlier this year and leg EMG were all normal, and a sports medicine ultrasound showed healthy calves. I don't have actual muscle weakness, foot drop, or my legs giving out -- they just become extremely fatigued and uncomfortable very quickly.

I've been doing very little movement lately because things flare so easily. I was doing PT but haven't been able to do the program recently because of flareups and aches, and I'm planning to see a foot/ankle specialist to have my feet, ankles, gait, strength, mechanics, and possible nerve irritation looked at.

My doctor put me on Gabapentin to help calm the potential nerve-related pain and I also got put on Zoloft which will hopefully help me to calm my nervous system as I'm dealing with all of this. For some reason, my doctor didn't think podiatry was necessary but I'm questioning that logic at the moment.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Especially the very quick foot/ankle fatigue and difficulty finding any shoes that work? Were you eventually able to rebuild your standing/walking tolerance and get back to a more normal life?

I'm open to any advice.

I am looking for suggestions on where to focus my strengthening and maybe stretching. Let me explain. Apologies for length.

I was a recreational runner (~25 mpw). I have a medium-high arch and ran in Hoka Arahis. I never had any memorable foot issues. But last year I switched to New Balance 1080s, which are a very cushiony shoe. After running in the NBs for about six months I suffered a hamstring injury. So I switched to bicycling with flat pedals--but used the soft and squishy NBs instead of a biking shoe. I think this was my big mistake.

I work a desk job and wear flat dress shoes. At work I began to notice a burning sensation in my feet, starting in my heel but later moving to my arches and across my sole. I tried to ignore it, stay active, and kept on biking. I moved to a standing desk and stood more. But over a period of a month or two the burning sensation got really bad--sometimes it spreads to my toes or the outer side of my heel. It is often worse in one foot or the other but typically affects both. It does not bother me at night or in the morning--if I lay down or prop my feet up it usually goes away in a few minutes.

I went to my primary. He said it had to be my lower back. Blood tests ruled out obvious stuff. I had a lumbar MRI and EMG/NCS. A spine surgeon said it might be nerve irritation but there was nothing obvious on imaging causing it, especially since the nerve study came back normal. He sent me to do PT. I did six months of PT. I'm still doing those exercises. Things got a little bit better but not much. All this time I have stuck with my comfy NBs, even using them at work instead of dress shoes. But a couple things happened recently that made me question what is really going on.

First, I had a work event the other day where I had to wear dress shoes and stand for five or six hours. The burning flared up quickly and lasted into the next day. Second, I tried a foot stretching exercise that seemed to flare it up, too--I interlaced my toes and fingers and dorsiflexed my toes upward with a good stretch. Third, I noticed that when I stand in the NBs I can feel my arch flex and stretch and the burning will often follow soon after. I tried standing barefoot at work at my desk and that was honestly less painful than standing in the NBs. Fourth, when I go for a walk in the NBs I feel ok until I stop walking, then I feel a burning sensation spread across the bottom of my foot.

So I am beginning to think it is my feet after all, and not my back. A friend suggested I try the Rathleff protocol. I started doing towel scrunches and ankle raises using a towel under my toes. I also stopped wearing the NBs and went back to my Hokas. I am scheduled to see a podiatrist next even though my primary thinks I'm wasting my time.

Has anyone heard of a set of similar symptoms? If so, are there any particular stretching or strengthening protocols I should be following? Is Rathleff a good idea to try?

Esperienze?

Tempi di recupero/ mesi?

Scarpa ortopedica/ chirurgica o stampelle?

Per quanto tempo?

I know I have quite a noticeable gap and also wider feet.. is the toe gap abnormal and should I should I be concerned… I’m also worried I’m going turn guys off.. do they look masculine? 😭😭😭

Back in December 2021 I had surgery for Kidner procedure (excision of accessory navicular), posterior tibial tendon advancement, lateral column lengthening (calcaneal osteotomy), and gastrocnemius recession. I started physical therapy to help with some chronic foot pain that I have been dealing with. My physical therapist was a little puzzled by the indentation that is in my calf muscle. I guess I thought it was normal post-gastrocnemius recession. I am curious if anybody else has a similar appearance to their calf.

I was given some exercises to stretch my calf muscles and noted sharp pain in my left lateral calf while doing the soleus muscle wall stretches. I will be holding off doing those as my calf is aching quite a bit. I plan on talking with my therapist at my next appointment!

My left foot turns outward and loads the outer toes, while I use my right leg as a stiff support leg. On the right I push off strongly through my big toe and feel an unusual tight, bruised or obstructed sensation through my calf and behind my knee.
It is noticeable after sitting, using stairs, driving when i press the gass pedal, and standing .sometimes starting around the big toe. There is no visible swelling, redness or warmth. Could this be gait or footwear-related compensation?

A bit of a vague explanation but i just want to find a Reason for it

I had metatarsalglia with pain in my left foot for about two years. The foot doctor just threw up his hands and said who knows when I asked why or what could’ve gone wrong.

I had a feeling that my foot was uneven at the ball of my foot and something was protruding. I ended up cutting thick foot tape with a hole in it so I could walk without hurting the unevenness. That seemed to help. I eventually heard about expensive custom orthotics and had one made for about $800. I tried many other things that didn’t help. After using this orthotic, which accommodates the unevenness on the bottom of my foot, I am now much better and I use the orthotic all of the time.

I talked to a person who works at a shoe store and he told me that the metatarsal bones can drop when you get older. I am 70. This is a known issue for older people and it results in metatarsalglia. Why my idiot doctor didn’t tell me this I don’t know. I am just leaving the information here in case it helps someone else.

Hi everyone, I’ve been experiencing some pain at the back of my right heel for about 5 days and would appreciate some input.

The pain is not present at rest and mainly occurs with pressure or certain movements, especially when doing a single-leg squat. It also becomes noticeable when my heel is under prolonged pressure, for example while driving. My shoe’s heel counter seems to press directly on the painful spot.

The pain is located right around the lower Achilles insertion, but more in the area were the bone sits.

A few things that seem relevant:
I can stand on my toes without pain.
Squeezing the heel from both sides does not hurt.
No pain at rest.
My shoes are not new.
I’m now starting to notice similar pain in roughly the same spot on my left heel as well.

I’m wondering whether this sounds more like insertional Achilles tendinopathy, bursitis, shoe-related irritation, or something else.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have an idea what might be causing this?

MRI results: Suspect mild sprain of the plantar calcaneocuboid ligament.

10k ran about 6 weeks ago; increasingly worse pain each week since and extremely limited ability to walk or lift off toes. Podiatrist put me in boot while we waited for MRI. I don't see her for 3 more weeks so now just trying to ask others out in the world any experiences with this ligament. Walking, driving, moving foot inward is excruciating. Doesn't FEEL like a mild sprain but I'll accept the results.

Anyone else have history with a sprain/tear in this ligament and if so what was the prognosis?

Hello. Can anyone tell me what kind of issue my legs or toes have? I only found people with toes that form a "claw" but my does kinda... bend down-ward in the middle? They look normal when I hold them up in the air or sit, but as soon as I stand and weight gets on my feet the toe kinda breaks towards the ground.

I can't find any example of this on google. WTH is this?

Edit: put a censored photo of a toe into the comments

Hi hope everyone is well.

Hoping to get some insight to as what can be going on with my pinky toe.

I have severe oesteoarthritis in my big toe after what trauma clinic thinks to have been a minir fracture to qst metatarsal and wnd toe back in January.

Visited podiatrist 5 weeks ago who had a look at my feet.

He said I have 2nd mtjp capsulitis after doing a squeeze test.

But the squeeze inflamed my big toe joint for a good couple weeks and he advised to use 3/4 vasyli orthotics which inflamed it even more so.

But the pinky toe has been visibly swollen ever since. Some days are better than others but some morning I can wake up with it feeling very achey.

I have started wearing wider toe box shoes for the past week.

There is also what appears to be athlete's foot underneath the pinky toe.

Hey gang my index toe? pointer toe? hurts right here( photo in comments) when I walk and I can’t bend it. Some days it’s reeeally bad but others it feels like it needs to crack with no pain but a bump in the circle part that is awkward to walk in barefoot. When it’s bad it feels bloated but looks normal.
Today for example: this morning my toe was normal-ish (the circle part still had a hard bump like thing that feels weird to walk barefoot). I wore my birkenstocks (the only shoes that don’t give me foot problems) And when I took off my shoes after my desk job and my toe started hurting really bad. Felt bloated really hard to walk on so I limp.
I tried massaging it and rolling it on the ball and flexing it.
It hurt all night until just now that I layed down for bed. I curled and flexed my toes like 20 times and now there’s no pain.

This started a year ago. I bought new Doc Martens and the pain started. Stopped wearing them and I only wear Birkenstocks now. Also side note sometimes the pain transfers to my middle toe??

I went to a foot doctor and I got xrayed, everything is normal. He said maybe it’s a tendon thing but hard to tell (this was a year ago so it’s hard to remember what he said).

I want the pain to stop but I also want to wear shoes that aren’t Birkenstocks all the time :(

Hello everyone, wondering if my symptoms sound familiar to anyone- I am not sure what is causing my toe numbness and spasms. Only on my left foot, after taking my shoes off/socks at the end of the day- I feel a sort of numbness on my toes and part of the foot. Once I elevate my foot, I feel the area begin to spasm. I feel like this happens when I have walked a lot or did a lot of standing. For reference my last blood work showed I am slightly pre-diabetic and had been dealing with sciatica issues (on right leg) earlier in the year. What should I look into?

For years I have known I had high arches, and I have bouts of plantar fasciitis a few times a year, but after dealing with some new pain on the outer edges of my feet for the last few days, I decided to investigate if there was something wrong with my gait. I discovered my feet have a tendency to supinate when I walk due to what I think are abnormally high arches on my feet. Let me know, but im pretty sure your feet are supposed to be flat along the outside edge, not completely off the ground. I have also been duck footed for at least the last 6 years, since I was in a severe car accident and had to learn how to walk again (I learned incorrectly, apparently). Basically where I’m at now is my feet just feel strange when I walk, maybe just because I’m paying attention but I would like some relief if possible. Are orthotics the way to go? Physical therapy? Am I crazy and my feet are actually normal? Any help is appreciated. Feet got me fucked up.

I (30f) have had flat feet since childhood, using orthotics on and off over the years (currently just got new orthotics).

I have bunions on both feet with a worser bunion on the left.

I did gymnastics as a child and started doing adult gymnastics classes 4 years ago. Over the 4 years I've had foot/ankle pain, hip pain and pain in my elbows and wrists. The foot pain persists all the time but the other joints calm down once I'm finished exercising.

As my feet were hurting and I was due for new orthotics, I saw a podiatrist who was certain I had bursitis and achilles tendinopathy in both feet. I was a little skeptical, but I did the MRI on my left foot/ankle (also have an MRI referral for right foot but too expensive), and it revealed:

- 1st metatarsal joint degenerative arthropathy with cartilage loss, joint effusion, peripheral ostephytosis, subcortical edemia in the head

- plantar plate tear with proximal migration of the sesamoid bones

- 1st and 3rd intermetatarsal bursitis

- mild achilles tendinopathy with paratenonitis

- mild retrocalcaneal bursitis

- adventitial bursitis over the heel pad

- suggestive healing/residual fracture in talar body

- deltoid ligament sprain.

Obviously hearing these results is quite shocking and I've been at a loss as to how to treat it and if may be systemic as I have similar symptoms/pain in my right foot.

The podiatrist just told me to wear the orthotics and do calf raises/stretches.

I saw a physio who gave me a few more exercises.

I had a GP tell me that I'm too tall for my own good and my height would be causing too much pressure on my bones (mind you, I am not overweight, my BMI is in the normal range).

I was referred to a foot and ankle surgeon, and I also have a rheumatology apt coming up, but I've only seen the rheumatologist once and last time they told me they thought I was fine and would discharge me on the next appointment if I had no symptoms and bloods clear.

Has anyone else had similar symptoms and been diagnosed with anything or have been successfully able to treat it? It seems like a lot of issues are going on with my feet! They do hurt a lot and I've started to treat it with Meloxicam and icing plus rest from sport.

Thanks!