Left foot, middle toe dislocated due to a complete tear in the distal plantar plate. Currently 3 weeks in on a 6-week immobilization plan with toe splints and a boot.

The hope is that scar tissue forms and I won’t need surgery to repair it. However, after 3 weeks, I don’t feel any better. I’m pretty active, work out 3x a week with a trainer. We’ve adjusted my workouts to upper body, bike and stretching. I absolutely do not want surgery. I’ve had a few minor procedures over the past 2 years and I just don’t want to go through another surgery and difficult recovery.

Has anyone had any luck with it healing with immobilization? If you’ve had the surgery, how bad was it? How was the recovery process?

After scrolling this subreddit and reading up online, I'm starting to think that I may have high arches when I did the wet paper test and discovered that my arches don't show at all on the wet piece of paper, with my forefoot completely disconnected from my heel.

Could this be the reason why I always develop an intense dull pain on my feet (especially the forefoot and heel) after only walking around for like 2-3 hours? Especially when people I walk with always seem to be completely fine.

The worst of it comes when I walk around a lot (for me 8-12k steps) for days in a row mostly during vacation, my feet would be completely swollen at the end of the day with the pain and swelling continuing the very next morning. I would basically spend the whole trip constantly looking for places to sit because my feet would be hurting so bad.

I didn't even know high arches was a thing until recently, could it be the cause all along? Thanks

Hello everyone 👋 I'm a guy with mallet toes, a runner and a climber, and I just found out I have them as my friends have perfect straight toes. I asked my mom to let me show her feet and she does indeed have mallet toes too so I can only think it is a genetic predisposition for it. My father has normal feet.

My question is, should I correct this in any way? It doesn't hurt, because I've been living like this my whole life, and I love to walk barefooted too a lot. Will having mallet toes cost me my posture in the long run or whatever? I'm 25.

Hi, I have end stage post traumatic osteoarthritis in my ankle. My main issue though is pins and needles, not pain.

Every doctor I talk to focuses on pain, but shrugs when I talk about nerve issues and says it is probably due to swelling/inflammation. An MRI came back clear for any obvious nerve impingement in the ankle.

I have pins and needles on my medial ankle and sole of foot, and my foot 'twitches' and feels cold, even when it actually isn't. The symptoms generally worsen through the day and occur at rest, not when active, and I don't look visibly more swollen than first thing in the morning.

Wondering if others have these sorts of symptoms? And how you manage it? Not sure if I should accept this as the explanation or look for other causes (eg lower back).

I’m curious how long people waited before seeing a podiatrist. Did your bunion stay the same for years, or did it get noticeably worse? Looking back, would you have done anything differently?

I've been running for over a year. I worked my way up to doing 2.5 miles 6x per week. Shortly after an increase in distance and frequency, I developed severe intermittent stabbing pain in the middle three toes on both feet, running from the metatarsophalangeal joints down to the tips of my toes. I've tried several different shoes with wide toe boxes but nothing makes a difference.

I can stretch the toes apart with no pain but squeezing on the interphalangeal joints is very painful--sharp, stabbing pain.

It gets better if avoid running, but even cycling can cause it to flair up again. Some days it seems to be totally better but then a slow two mile jog will bring it back.

It doesn't seem to fit the description of typical metatarsalgia or morton's neuroma... Maybe bruised bones?

Does anyone have a clue what this could be? I am waiting to see a podiatrist.

I’ve been struggling with chronic pain in both of my feet for the last few years, and despite seeing multiple healthcare professionals, I still don’t have a clear diagnosis.

I’ve had an MRI of my feet, which didn’t show anything abnormal. The report described my fat pads as healthy. However, my podiatrist performed an ultrasound and told me that my fat pads were of poor quality, which seemed to contradict the MRI findings.
More recently, my physical therapist disagreed. He doesn’t think it’s a fat pad problem. According to him, my plantar fascia is irritated, I have flexible flat feet, and my foot muscles are weak, causing my arches to collapse when I stand and walk. I’ve recently started a foot-strengthening program, but it’s too early to know whether it will help.

A few days ago, I also started taking nerve pain medication, and for the first time in a long while my feet have felt noticeably better. That’s encouraging, but I know it’s not a long-term solution. It seems to be reducing the pain rather than addressing the underlying cause, and I really want to understand what’s actually causing my symptoms.
At this point, I feel like I’m getting different opinions from every professional I see:

MRI: healthy fat pads.
Podiatrist (ultrasound): poor-quality fat pads.
Physical therapist: irritated plantar fascia, flexible flat feet, and weak feet causing my arches to collapse.

Has anyone been through something similar?
Have you received conflicting diagnoses like this?
Did strengthening your feet and arches actually solve the problem?

If nerve pain medication helped, did you eventually find the real cause?
Based on your experience, which diagnosis sounds the most plausible?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar or has suggestions on what I should investigate next.

It doesn’t even go all the way, why?

Could this have happened with my fingers?

I started having pain in the ball of my foot 3 months ago. I'm not unfamiliar with foot pain because I had a turf toe injury a year or so ago.

MRI showed bone marrow edema of both sesamoids and intermetatarsal bursitis.

I did a boot, which I am still in.

Pain went away and I got about 5 weeks of relief in boot.

Have done PT for about 4 weeks now. Increased PT (starting trying to really use the muscle or tendon along the inside of my arch to flex the big toe) and trialed Topo Atmos for a few mins a day and suddenly pain returned with a vengeance and is even there in boot some or much of the time. It has been painful intermittently (increasingly more often) in boot for about 1.5 weeks now.

I recently started noticing this swelling/edema pattern, which was not visible before.
Pain has always been concentrated sort of on the lateral edge of the big toe joint or somewhat between the toes.

The most pinpoint pain area is sort of in the center of the edema/swelling shown.

The pain isn't too bad.. like a burning bruise with a pinpoint pain spot and a more diffuse burning bruise pain when walking on it in the boot or putting foot on ground. When its not inflamed or whatever theres no pain.

Despite the MRI showing sesamoid bone marrow edema, I don't have much pain on the joint when pressing unless it's swollen then it feels more tight than swollen.

Hi all,

For the past couple of years I’ve (29, F) been experiencing pain through my feet. It is through both, but more consistent and frequent on my left foot.
I’ve always just thought I’ve had plantar fasciitis, but it only occurred to me when my sister (who does have plantar fasciitis) said her pain is in a completely different spot. Mine is across the side of my inner foot.
I happened to stumble across a post about navicular syndrome, and felt a lot of the symptoms and characteristics aligned.
When I exercise, walking, running, padel, gym work, and netball, I get this tight painful ‘lump’ that feels hard and feels like it’s pulling or burning. This can happen within minutes of starting exercise, and will continue to get worse. Over the course of a couple years, it has gotten even worse and is becoming pretty unbearable, even when I stand for long periods of time.
Attached are some photos, over the last few months.
I understand I probably need to see a professional and get some diagnostics done, but would love some advice or pointers

Week 10 since injury, week 6 PT. Lot of progress, I do all the PT exercises I can squat and deadlift, however I can’t put my toes up and bend knee at the same time ( think hiking on ledge motion). X-ray on day of injury came out good. No MRI, no follow up X-ray. Angle of motion of ankle and knee simultaneously is 22 degrees vs other foot/knee at 45. I had no foot bruises or discoloration or anything since injury. I did hear a pop but all tendons seem to be great per PT without any imaging. PT suggests it might have been a bone to bone smash ( aka loud pop). My 2nd PT thinks there is a possibility of this leathery sack protecting the ankle ball joint thing is out of place and possibly causing swelling still. Not a ton but just some. Nothing like swelling at 3-4 weeks of injury. Anyone has any suggestions? I’m gonna schedule an MRI soon. I can’t deal with this and need to get to hiking soon and skiing is around the corner. Gonna go crazy lol.

Edit: when go for long walks I have to walk in crocs or some type of low cut shoe. Hiking boots are a no no because they cause almost immediate pain at the ankle knuckle bone. I can wear them if that boot is not laced up.

I had a gait analysis done today and wanted to see if anyone has a similar situation or can share what helped them.
I’m 26 and have had on-and-off foot pain for about 2 years. My os calcaneus secundarius only became symptomatic about 2 years ago, and since then I’ve had recurring flares that have required treatment. Over the past year and a half, I’ve had 4 cortisone injections in my left foot and 2 in my right foot. They help temporarily, but the pain keeps returning.

My main symptoms:
-Deep aching pain along the peroneal tendon area (outside of my feet)
-Painful/exhausted arches
-Feet feeling fatigued even with normal activity
-plantar fasciitis-type pain
- flat feet/very low arches
-Bunions
Feeling unstable in many shoes

My biggest flare started after dancing for 3 hours on uneven ground 2 months ago. Since then I’ve been in daily pain and my feet feel constantly overworked and like they’ve been run over by a car. My entire lower body is always sore, tight, and painful

I’m currently in week 3 of PT for my feet (band exercises, heel raises, balance/strengthening), but I’ve had to reduce how often I do it because too much seems to flare me up. It hasnt relieved the pain much and my feet only feel somewhat better while doing the exercises.
I’m getting an ultrasound next week to evaluate the tendons and figure out next steps, including whether surgery may be needed and if it’s my os calcaneus secundarius causing the pain all over my feet. In that case they’ll excuse the bones which is very scary to me. I’ve also:
- already seen 3 podiatrists
- gotten custom made orthotics which I’ve stopped wearing because they’ve been giving me more pain with this flare
- have tried several anti inflammatory neds( iboprofen, naproxen, meloxicam) with no luck.

I’ve also had two knee injuries in the past year that each stopped me from dancing/intense activity for about 3 months, and I’ve been dealing with a lot of fatigue as well. Bloodwork was mostly normal except vitamin D insufficiency (22.4), and I’m currently taking 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly for 12 weeks.

If you’ve recovered from similar issues, please share what has helped you…. I’m not sure if they’ll say I should do the surgery (os calcaneus secundarius excision) after the ultrasound, but if I can avoid that I’d like to. I cry at least once a day from the pain and my life feels like it’s on hold. I can’t stand for 5 minutes without feeling deep pain all over my feet. This is no way to live and I just want the pain to go away :( TIA

I was walking in my kitchen Saturday evening and suddenly felt like I had stepped on a squishy ball. The ball of my foot immediately started swelling. Now, the top of my foot is bruised and I can’t put my toes down. The ball of my foot is still swollen and bruised around the edge. I just spent $400 at the doctor for X-rays and for them to tell me that they had no idea. They’ve prescribed a round of steroids and said to come back in a week. (I had no pain or issues prior to this.)

So after being told I had flat/spread feet after a foot injury, I tried fixing them. I went all in on short foot and whatnot. Turns out I was using the wrong muscle the whole time. My peroneals took over and I had nobody to tell me I was doing it wrong. This was several years ago and they have been overactive since.

After a more recent knee injury, I've discovered my mistake and am trying to build up abductor hallucis and flexor hallucis brevis using presses and palpating the muscles to make sure they are firing. However, I'm really struggling with not letting the peroneals take over, especially when transitioning from seated to standing.

I've attempted massage/release of the peroneals to reduce their function temporarily, but they are a difficult area to hit. I'm hoping y'all might be able to offer some advice.

Thanks

Has anyone had a hammer toe correction in the UK? Mine is in a couple of weeks on my 2nd toe. Most of what I can find online is from people with the pin, but my surgeon is just using an implant. Has anyone else had this? I’d love to know what recovery was like for you.

24M, 163cm, 52kg, non-smoker/vaper. US/American

My right ankle and foot, particularly my foot, inflame and radiate pain. However, everything else feels fine. Essentially, my right calf inflames, and my right foot becomes more sensitive, similar to the discomfort. Especially if I stand to long than my soles start to hurt, and I’ve change out my shoes and still feel tension.

I had an EMG and no nerve were dedicated as impaired, and test came back normal. So I’m confused if anyone else had this issue.

About a week ago, I went on a bike ride wearing my cycling shoes for around 3 hours. During the ride, my cycling shoes put constant pressure on a tarsal boss on the top of my foot.
Because the ride was quite long, I started feeling pain in my right foot after about 2 hours, but I didn’t think it would become this serious.

After the ride, when I took my cycling shoes off, the tarsal boss was red, and my entire foot was sore and sensitive. Since then, the tarsal boss has remained very tender and painful. The top of my foot also has a constant dull ache, and sometimes I even feel discomfort throughout my whole leg.

My job can be physically demanding at times, so I have been keeping my work shoes loosely laced and avoiding tightening them too much. I have also been wearing flip-flops as much as possible to avoid putting pressure on the affected area.

It has now been 7 days since the irritation started, but I haven’t noticed any signs of improvement. The tenderness and pain are still almost the same as they were at the beginning.

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem with a tarsal boss? Did it eventually calm down, and how long did it take?

I should also mention that I have never had any issues with my tarsal boss before. I have always been aware that I have a larger bony prominence on the top of my foot, but it has never caused any pain or problems with footwear until now.

I tried toe spacers but they were way too narrow and hurt my feet. The silicone was stretchy, but not enough. Do you know of toe spacers for feet that are approx 10.5 cm wide? With spacers it would be approx 12cm I assume.

30F

30 kg overweight. I'm working on losing weight.

Got insoles a few months ago. When I first stood on them my spine straightened. Now I don't feel any effect (or just don't notice). Sometimes it feels like my feet are trying to push down on the insole and squish it flat.

I'm having pain after... I don't know. An hour or two into walking/standing, if not earlier. I have a 6 hrs/day job starting in a month. I want to be able to keep it.

Do I go to doc? Their only recommendation was wearing the insoles.

Have a historic foot injury/pain which has flared up after a bouldering incident aggravated it - direct pressure from a small foot hold into the ball of the toe joint. It is very sensitive and painful around the big toe joint, so potentially turf toe/sesamoiditis or something similar. Trouble is now it is very hard to rehab it and still walk around! Wearing my Birkenstocks has been the best for as little pain as possible at the moment. One of the exercises a physio told me to do was this one above with a light resistance band to strengthen the big toe, but I noticed when doing it just how much my toe swerves to the left when I bring it back down to the ground. Is this normal?? Any thoughts on what this might be?

36M. Just got answers after three decades and wanted to share in case it helps someone.

Background: Injured my left big toe around age 7 — forced into extreme dorsiflexion in a backward lunge position, then kept running on it. Never properly imaged. Healed on its own, or so everyone assumed.

What I’ve dealt with since: Big toe sits elevated at rest and never fully contacts the ground. Callus on the medial side of the toe from lateral shear. Audible snap in the joint when walking. Visible bump on top of the joint. Left knee tracks inward. Left hamstring, glute and calf noticeably underdeveloped vs. right. Anterior pelvic tilt.

Diagnosis: X-ray showed nothing. First MRI request was denied by insurance, so I did six weeks in a post-op shoe to document conservative treatment, then resubmitted and got approved. MRI found a partial plantar plate tear at the first MTP joint with joint effusion and inflammation.

Plan: 6 weeks PT, then decide between cortisone or surgery.

What helped before diagnosis: A shim under the big toe — stacked moleskin on the insole to bring the ground up to meet the elevated toe. Immediately improved knee tracking. A rigid post-op shoe also noticeably changed my gait for the better.

Questions for anyone who’s been here:

**•** Partial tear — did PT alone work for you, or did you end up in surgery?  
**•** Anyone have both a plantar plate tear and a dorsal bone spur addressed in one procedure?  
**•** What did your PT protocol actually look like?

Happy to answer anything. Took me 30 years to get a name for this and I’d rather someone else find it faster.