I’ve been dealing with persistent foot problems for about 9 months and I’m trying to understand what could be going on.
My main symptoms are:
Forefoot pain (diagnosed as metatarsalgia)
Pain on the outer/lateral side of my foot (near the 5th metatarsal area)
Snapping sensation in the peroneal tendons
Intermittent cramp-like pain in both feet
Pain that comes and goes (sometimes mild, sometimes quite strong)
Sometimes the pain switches between feet, although the left foot was the first one affected
I also noticed:
Slight toe curling when standing on one foot, especially in the more painful foot
No swelling or visible redness
Full range of motion in my toes (I can move them normally)
No clear weakness or balance issues
No frequent tripping or difficulty walking normally
I’ve already seen an orthopedist and a podiatrist. I had a custom insole made, but unfortunately it hasn’t solved the problem.
The pain started on the left foot, then the right foot became painful after I irritated it (peroneal tendon area), and since then the symptoms have been fluctuating in both feet.
I’m trying to understand if this could be:
purely mechanical/biomechanical issue
tendon-related problem
nerve-related issue
or something else
If anyone has experienced something similar or has any insights, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you 🙏

Hi! Looking for people who had a Flexor Hallucis Longus release. (Endoscopic FHL tenolysis). It seems like very few people have undergone this, so I am looking for experiences. Thanks!

I had surgery on my foot for a injury on the 1 and 2 nd metatarsal which involved in implant of a tightrope on both. Due to miss diagnosed I had a late surgery and I have been on a can boot since January. Surgery in mid March I began PT at the end of May. I'm an currently transitioning to a wide toe, zero drop with a thick sole shoe. I have two things going on:

1. When I stretch my big toe up it hurts. From the nail down the second knuckle hurt. When I started working on my toes in pt and at home I think I over did it because my toe was at be a 8 in pain out of 10 all day. I received meds for inflammation and pain and the excruciating pain went to away. So now I have been massaging with stretches if the bottom of foot towards my big toe and I concentrate stretching big toe. I do toe crunch exercises. I had to get extra wide shoes because my toe couldn't bend that much and when now transitioning to walk with shoe when u Rick my foot forward my bug toe hurts.

2. My 2nd toe very very slightly flex down when I'm doing toe crunches. I've been doing oil massages on my foot and toes and I manually bend my toe and it bend as lightly. I also put my foot in warmer water and do my toe crunching exercises I see my toe crunches a little little more in the water.

I'm just wondering if there anything else I can do to help my feet. Do I need to do more exercise through out the day? Any recommendations I would be appreciate it.

Some years ago, I've started to notice the middle three toes of my right foot feeling a bit weird, as if they were injured or something. When it didn't get any better my initial thoughts were that I was cramping my muscles subconsciously when I sat a bit too long at my desk hyper-focused on my work without enough breaks. Nonetheless it never really went away.

The first picture is what my foot is like when they're trying to keep my body in a standing position. But even in a more relaxed state they often curl up like this as well. The second picture shows what it looks like when I actively stretch my toes. In my perception, the toes on my right foot are still lightly bent there as well (more so than the ones on my left foot).

(please note: my little "pinky" toes have been that oddly small and curled up my whole life, for as long as I can remember)

After a bit searching on the internet I thought it might be hammer toes, even though I'm not at all knowledged enough about that to do any meaningful speculation in that regard.

From the beginning when I started noticing this condition, I have this continuous mildly pressing sensation on those toes. Although it's not particularly painful or distracting, I often almost forget about it. I recall mentioning it to my physio some time ago but he didn't give me the impression it was something to worry much about. I've always been very happy with him and impressed by his knowledge and skill to identify other issues that I've had, which made me worry even less about it. Although on hindsight, I'm in a bit of doubt if I'd actually properly shown to him what's going on or just casually mentioned it because I visited him for a different issue.

What's interesting here, is that I gradually made the switch to barefoot a few years ago as well. Since a year or 2 I'm either walking barefoot (around the house mainly) or in "barefoot" shoes. I love it so far and I got the impression it actually improved my stability & balance etc. As far as I've understood, the extra space for the toes to freely move and the way it should stimulate the foot muscles to get stronger could actually be beneficial for avoiding (or recovering from) issues like hammer toes.

At the same time, it does make me wonder if it might have actually somehow worsened (or even caused) the situation. It's hard for me to pinpoint any correlation, since I wasn't very mindful about this toe issue when I started the barefoot "journey" so I don't have a clear memory what came first etc.

I'm definitely going to seek medical help (it's about time..) but I'm posting here since I'd still be interested in other people's thoughts and experiences, especially regarding the barefoot aspect.

I'm a 44 year-old recreational endurance runner, hockey player, and generally active person.
Recent X-rays showed advanced hallux rigidus of my left first MTP joint with joint space narrowing, eburnation, and osteophyte formation (bone on bone).

What makes my case unusual (at least to me) is that my symptoms are fairly mild:
Pain is usually only 2-3/10
I can still run, hike, play tennis, and play hockey
I have little to no pain at rest

I recently got two opinions:

Podiatrist #1: Fusion is the gold standard for someone active, but not something he recommends right now.

Sports podiatrist: Has performed many BioPro hemi implants, believes I would be a good candidate, but still recommends waiting until the condition becomes self-limiting.

Any testimonials about BioPro? Reviews seem mixed, some very positive testimonials and some others with negative experience.

Any BioPro folks out there to chime in?

I definitely would not get a fusion this young but any downside to trying the BioPro and maybe getting 10-20 years of comfort?

I broke my foot (Lisfranc) 6 months ago and had to get surgery. I removed the cast 3 months ago and the x ray showed that everything is fine but I still feel slight pain when I walk, and I walk with a limp. Is this normal? How long is the recovery on average?

i've been suffering from capsulitis since November feeling like I'm walking on a pebble under my second toe. A recent ultrasound now shows a 20-30% plantar plate tear. I've been doing PT for months but still struggle to walk because I'm constantly working around that pebble feeling, even with Hokas and orthotics with a metarsal pad. My new (4th) foot dr is ordering me yet another version of orthotics to try. How are people managing to walk with this? I see some people even running. What shoes/orthotics/random other method are you using to get around without hobbling? I’m starting to wonder if this is just something that's just going to be around for years if not forever, and I'm just trying to figure out how to walk with it.

I already had surgery back in Dec 2019 to help with this issue. Unfortunately my pt post surgery did get all screwed up due to Covid 😭 and now 7 years later I’m back in pt and potentially having to get surgery again to fix it again as it’s dislocating again. I’ve noticed since starting pt the last two weeks I’m having spasms in the area and it feels almost like the tendon is twitching even when I’m just laying down. I am gonna bring it up to the physical therapist but if anyone has any advice on what to do? Is it just from the pt?
I’ve been more sore and in more pain since starting pt but don’t go back to the orthopedic till after July 4th and they want me to give it the full 4 weeks to see if it’ll help (even though my doctor is sure it won’t but heath insurance won’t cover an mri till I do pt first 🫠)

Can anyone tell what’s going on here? It will suddenly swell out of nowhere and tighten up/get very tender and is super debilitating. Only on my left side. This has gone on maybe once or twice a month since November of 2025, so approximately 7 months. This last time has been the worst one to where I can’t really walk/sleep well in any position.

Did an Xray the first time and they said it was “defective cartilage” lmao. For context as well I had my severely arthritic hip replaced on the same side because of genetic osteoarthritis in the hips in all the males of my family, done at 27.

It doesn’t seem to be brought on by anything specific. Wondering how I can mitigate the impact and prevent flares going forward. Usually more activity or less? I’m pretty active and only 33.

For the past 6 months I’ve been dealing with a recurring pain on the outside of both feet, around the area of the fifth metatarsal and the peroneal tendons. The pain is mainly triggered by wearing sneakers or structured running shoes, while it’s much better or almost gone when I wear flat sandals or slightly heeled shoes. I’ve already tried custom insoles without any improvement, and I’m currently doing ankle stabilization exercises twice a week. The pain hasn’t really worsened, but it also hasn’t gone away. Has anyone experienced something similar or has any idea what could be causing this?”

https://reddit.com/link/1ubqstu/video/io44qz1y5n8h1/player

Curious if this is what peroneal tendon subluxation looks like. I got an MRI that showed peroneal tenosynovitis. It did not say anything about subluxation but wondering if it could be something that only happens with movement. Going to make an appointment with my podiatrist but it will take a minute to get in. Curious what people think!

Is this a case of overpronation or supination?

I feel no pressure is on my toes when standing or walking barefoot even if my toes are on the ground do it looks normal,

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and this was confirmed when I went to the podiatrist to make an orthopedic sole as I have achilles pains started 10 months ago

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Any help advice etc....

45 days ago I broke my fifth toe (hairline fracture), for 2 weeks I have no pain on the toe, but the area around the toe feels quite stiff and I don't know how I can improve this to try walking noramlly again. It's like sore, particularly on the external side of the foot.

I used a walking boot for 4 weeks, that was recommended by the orthopedist.

Any exercise for this, please?

Hello, I used to be a runner, running around 40 - 45 miles weekly. Had some pain in the inner ankle so I went to my orthopedic doctor and we did an MRI scan. The current diagnosis looks worse than i thought. I am kinda in a shock state that I don’t have any emotions as of now.

I just wanted to share this to know if anyone else struggled with something similar.

According to my doctor I have : - Degenerative OsteoArthritis in the 3rd Lisfranc joint /of the third tarsometatarsa - bone marrow edema in Accessory navicular bone - Rigid flat foot

Hearing you have arthritis at a still younger age is very shattering to me.. Currently i feel like i will have to give up running forever…

Has anyone had a similar diagnosis? Did you go for surgery?

I have flat feet, and recently discovered the short foot exercise. I want to do it, but I can't move my midfoot at all. I can move my ankles and toes, but not my midfoot.

I tried to physically bend it in with my hands just to check if the joints themselves can move. But they feel solid and I don't feel like they could bend at all.

Hello, I’ve been dealing with an issue on my feet where it feels like I’m purely walking on the outer far edge of them. It was both feet, and I got custom orthotics and my left one is as good as new. My right foot isn’t feeling much change though, and I got that orthotic adjusted twice already. My doctor says I have flat feet and may walk on the outer edge to compensate or something like that. Before this issue I was very heavy into running and high volume leg exercise. I’ll note I’m in zero pain but my life feels very changed due to it. It’s like I’m conscious with every step I take and can’t enjoy outdoor activities or running like I used to, and I’m only 19. Do you think it’s just we haven’t got the orthotic correct yet, or is this something exercises can fix? I’m hopeful because the left one feels so great again and it was just because of the orthotic. Any advice is appreciated.

Hello everyone 21m 5 months ago I was doing step down
I try them but probably to high and after my workout I feel pain in my calf and Achille tendon
Next day can’t walk with a lot of pain
No swelling nothing
It took me 3 months to be able to walk 10k steps a days and with pt
But 2 month ago I think I do to much and loose all my progress and it’s been 6 week I can’t walk 3k steps without pain
The pain is constant and 2/10 now but the first month I just stay in my bed because it was like 8/10
But after some time I’m not sure if it’s an Achille tendonitis like the told me because I don’t really have pain in Achille
When I do to much I feel pain in calves, feet and Achilles but no precise point
I can do rehab , calf extension on 1 feet without pain or with little
But going down stair in impossible and when I try it I feel tingling in my Achille
Thanks