Dragging My Feet

toe splint

My feet have never been pretty. Ever since I can remember the bunions have stuck out and the toes have curved sideways. My mom, my sister, and my sister's son all have/had the same thing - bilateral hallux valgus. It does have a hereditary component, and is more common in women aged 40-60. That is interesting since we all had them forever. In fact when my nephew was born, the delivering doctor asked who had the funny feet.

At any rate, none of us ever had pain in our feet or saw a doctor about them. But around 9 months ago the ball of my left foot began to hurt a bit. It felt like I was walking on a marble, and only hurt when I put weight on it. Oddly, when I would press on the ball of my foot with my hand, it did not hurt.

I wasn't overly concerned about it, but did notice that after I played pickleball it hurt more. Since that is a game where you put more pressure on the balls of your feet, that made sense to me.

I tried resting it and also purchased shoe inserts. Some days were better than others. Obviously it is not a debilitating pain as I could walk and play pickleball. It just hurt all the time I was upright. With a break in our travel schedule I saw a foot doctor last week. They took x-rays to rule out a fracture, and the doctor poked around on it a bit. When he pressed the area where my toes meet the bottom of my feet, I sure felt that!

His diagnosis is that I have predislocation syndrome, which is a slowly progressing condition where the structures that hold the joint of your second toe stable begin to degenerate. He said because we are catching it early he is hopeful that wearing a splint on my second toe (taping the toe is also an option, but since I am allergic to adhesive that won't work well for me) as well as better orthotics in my shoes will fix the issue. I am also to use a diclofenac gel on the area twice a day, and ice it. He will see me again in six weeks to check on improvement. 

Honestly I thought this doctor would take one look at my feet and declare that I needed surgery done to both of them. To be able to go a non-invasive route first with no limitations on activities is quite the gift. Several people in my neighborhood have gone to this guy and sing his praises. I will be adding my voice in song. Especially if this approach does the trick!