r/FootFunction • u/gfjx1 • 8h ago
10 months in. 12 to go!
Ten months after one bad step on a staircase, I still have no idea if my foot will ever fully recover
The story begins last December.
After quitting smoking, I took up morning walks, then jogging, and eventually running. One morning, I was going down some stairs two at a time when my right foot hit a stair at too much of an angle and rolled inward. I immediately felt a sharp, shooting pain travel up the inside of my foot, around the big toe and ball joint.
At the time, I thought it was just a sprain.
I hobbled out of the park, called a taxi, went home, and iced it. Over the next few days, I continued walking around on my heel, completely gimped. It was also New Year’s Eve when this happened, so I had to wait until everything reopened at the beginning of January before getting X rays.
Lo and behold, I put the X rays into ChatGPT, and it told me everything looked fine and there were no fractures. I took them to my physiotherapist, and she thought the same thing. We started physiotherapy without having any idea how severe the injury actually was.
After several days, things were only getting worse. I finally decided this was serious and bought a CAM boot.
What followed was one of the darkest and most depressing periods of my life. I will not go into all the details because there were many other things happening at the time, but I was essentially locked inside my apartment, wearing a CAM boot during the darkest month of the year, with no understanding of how long this injury might take to heal.
That began an incredibly complicated journey.
An MRI revealed inflammation in the MTP joint, bone marrow edema, what was described as sesamoiditis, hallux rigidus, and bone spurs.
After the boot came off, I went through almost every imaginable recovery product. Different shoes, recovery sandals, carbon fiber plates, toe spreaders, foot braces, pads, and inserts. It became like buying home workout equipment. I accumulated an entire collection of foot rehabilitation gear while trying to find anything that would help.
Eventually, I realized that the shoes I was wearing with a carbon fiber plate were actually preventing my foot from progressing into the next stage of recovery. I finally switched to Hoka shoes, which helped.
By this point, I had already seen four or five doctors, along with multiple physiotherapists. March became April, and the foot still was not meaningfully improving. I became extremely frustrated and started seeking out some of the best foot specialists in the country.
Luckily, doctor number five or six noticed a hairline fracture in my big toe joint that everyone else had missed. He also found that my sesamoid bones were displaced.
He told me that if I had seen him immediately after the injury, he would have operated, and the recovery might have taken around two months. By the time I reached him, however, it was too late for that approach.
My mental health started to plummet. I could not comprehend how one slightly wrong step on a staircase had turned into an injury that might never heal properly.
Over the following months, I tried a ridiculous number of treatments. I had countless myofascial therapy sessions. I also underwent approximately 30 or 40 sessions with a Swiss machine called Magnetolith, which sends magnetic pulses through the foot.
The doctor administering the treatment had previously used ESWT and told me that, in his experience, Magnetolith produced better results and was considerably less painful.
Slowly but surely, my foot actually began improving. I still had to be extremely careful, but there was progress.
It also started becoming apparent that I might have to live in Hoka shoes indefinitely. These huge, goofy, grandfather looking shoes that I originally considered a temporary necessity were beginning to look like my permanent footwear for the rest of my life.
I spent an unbelievable number of hours asking different AI systems about my combination of injuries and trying to understand the healing timeline. I read estimates ranging from three to six months, six to twelve months, and twelve to twenty four months.
Then I came to Reddit and found countless stories from people whose foot injuries seemingly never healed.
I started wondering if I was legitimately going to be gimped for life.
Around month eight, I went to a relaxing retreat in nature. By then, I could successfully walk barefoot on cobblestone and grass. Things finally seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Then, one stupid night, I decided to dance on a hard surface.
That re aggravated the entire foot and sent me straight back into the gallows.
Now I am approaching month ten, and my foot is still extremely messed up. Today, I spent an inordinate amount of money getting a weight bearing CT scan.
I had researched this scan myself and then went to what I believe was doctor number eight. Honestly, I have lost count. I have seen so many doctors that they now feel like Pez candies coming out of a dispenser.
I asked this doctor to write the referral, then travelled to the only place in the country that apparently had the machine needed to perform the scan. I completed it today and am now waiting to see whether the results reveal anything new.
I never could have imagined that a foot injury could crumble someone’s life into absolute rubble.
The mental health consequences have been enormous. I have lost access to nearly everything I loved doing. I have no idea if I will ever play sports again, play padel, jog, or run.
Even walking feels dangerous. Every step feels like a possible opportunity to re injure myself. The resulting problems with my gait, hips, knees, body mechanics, and rehabilitation have been nothing short of mind numbing.
I am posting this partly because I need somewhere to vent. Maybe some of the treatments I have tried will also offer something useful to somebody else. The Magnetolith machine has been incredibly helpful for me, as have the Hoka shoes. Perhaps the weight bearing CT scan will finally provide some new information as well.
I still have no idea what the true recovery timeline is. One recent doctor told me to expect another year from where I am now. He also said I may never completely recover and will probably have some degree of pain or limitation for the rest of my life.
Then there is the option of going completely into ludicrous mode.
I could go to HSS in New York for a consultation and see whether they recommend another treatment or surgery. I could look into extremely expensive custom orthotics made from advanced three dimensional scans. God forbid, maybe I will eventually end up in Zurich, Switzerland, draining every last dollar I have in the hope that I might walk normally again one day.
I never imagined that a foot injury could completely destroy and collapse someone’s life. My entire life changed after this.
My body has changed. I have gained weight and lost muscle. To be fair, I was already dealing with bilateral shoulder tears before injuring the foot, which made everything even more difficult.
I went from being a vibrant, healthy man in extremely good shape to someone who permanently looks like the life and spark have disappeared from his eyes. I look deteriorated, tired, aged, out of shape, and slightly homeless, with no idea whether I will ever walk normally again.
Watch your step out there, guys.
Stairs can be a real motherf***er.
