Hoofing It

Last week I had my last (hopefully) appointment with the podiatrist regarding the issue I've been having with the second toe on my left foot. As I explained to him, from a pain standpoint it no longer feels as though I am walking on a marble. However, I do still have a burning sensation on the bottom of that foot at times. He performed his normal examination of feeling the toes and pressing on the bottom of my foot right beneath the toes.

orthotics

He is very pleased with the progress that has been made. He said it is nice and tight under the toe now, whereas before it was very loose due to the ligament being stretched out. In terms of the pain, he explained that it was to be expected as the healing continues. He does not want me to wear the toe splint at all, but wants me to continue to use the orthotic that they sold me on my first visit. In fact he said I will always need to wear them because I do not have any padding at all on the bottom of my feet. That is due to age and the bunions I have had forever on both feet. Because of that, I am never to go barefoot.

I actually had purchased a second orthotic from them at my last visit so that I always have a clean pair. I asked if I could trim a little off the front of them so that they would fit in all of my shoes, and he said that was fine.

So, overall very good news. I hope that eventually the burning sensation will disappear, but if not it is not the end of the world. The pain is very tolerable, and the fact that I did not need to have surgery is quite awesome.

Welcome June

It is so hard to believe that it is the first of June! Sometimes it seems like the months drag, and others they just fly by. That seems to be the case with May. The weather has been quite nice, though we have had periods of heavy rain. That is okay, though, as we are trying to recover from drought conditions. Hopefully all this moisture will alleviate the forest fires we have been experiencing.

The birds have been very active out back. For the first time since we have lived here, we actually had two ducks under our bird feeder. That's unusual since we are about 100 feet above the lake. I guess they like good birdseed, too. 

backyard birds

This week will be quite busy with pickleball, making lanterns for the Mount Holly Lantern Parade, a followup visit with my podiatrist, and company coming for the weekend. I am hoping this will be the last appointment with the foot doctor, though I am not 100% pain-free yet. I'm optimistic that he will say things are still healing and that is why I still have some pain. Fingers crossed!

Foot Followup

Wednesday I saw the podiatrist for a followup on my foot issue. When he asked how things are going, I told him that honestly I don't see much improvement in the pain despite the toe splint, orthotics, or Voltaren and ice treatments twice a day. He pressed his fingers underneath the second toe a bit, which was not pleasant. 

But surprisingly he said he could tell that my ligament has begun to heal itself. He said the pain is to be expected and is a good thing as it will keep me from doing things I should not be doing yet. I am to continue as before for the next four weeks. Then for the next four weeks he only wants me to wear the toe splint when I am going to be excessively active, such as walking for a long period of time or hiking. I presume that includes pickleball, thought I forgot to specifically ask that. I'll wear it then just to be on the safe side. I return to see him at the end of the eight weeks.

When I last saw him he asked me to bring my pickleball shoes in so he could take a look at them. I had told him that I wear Skechers, and he seemed surprised that they made a court shoe. I explained they are dedicated pickleball shoes. The problem is that I cannot wear the toe splint and the orthotic as there is not enough room in the shoe for both. I have been wearing my Acacias instead, as they can accommodate the inserts and the splint. So I brought in one of the Acacias and one of the Skechers to show him.

Skechers pickleball shoes

He performed a three part flexibility test on each shoe, and the Skechers passed with flying colors. The Acacias failed all three, and he said I shouldn't be wearing them. Visually we could see that the Acacias have more height in the toe box than the Skechers, which is why the added items work in the Acacias. 

My compromise for the moment is that I will wear the splint and the orthotics anytime I am not playing pickleball. For pickleball, I will wear the splint only in my Skechers as that will fit with the regular insert provided by Skechers. I may try taping my toe and not wearing the splint, which is acceptable to the doctor, and see if I can then make the orthotic work in my Skechers.

Overall, I am pleased with what the doctor had to say. I picked up a second splint from the office so I have a clean one to put on instead of always having to wait for the one to dry after washing. I also got a second orthotic so don't have to keep pulling the one set out of one pair of shoes to put in another.

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!