My foot hurts on the bottom toward the front,not the ball of the foot but just to the left of the left foot. I have no idea of what i have done or what it is. I have ruled out a stress fracture because it is not on the top and does not hurt to the touch. It just started yesterday
brownbear
I wonder is this is faciatis. I hear it is very painful. An inflamation of the connecting tissue under your foot. I know there are some hikers out there on the forum that have had to deal with this.
Big B
Did you check for nails? I picked up a nail somewhere in Maine last year. Hurt like mad untill I was able to get to a town and remove it.
Maintain
I sounds to me like plantar faciatis. It is an inflammation of the sheath that holds that tendon to the bone. It can be very painful and if not tended to, can take all the joy out of hiking. Before my 2002 section hike, I had the problem for 2 months before my hike started. Ice is very helpful, which I applied daily and stretching can also help. When I started my hike, I was still having some pain in the foot. I found that walking uphill was very helpful- the stretching going up hill really helped with the pain and it lessoned as the weeks went by. One problem that I didn’t anticipate however. I somewhat favored that foot and so that shifted some of the torque to my knee. I ended up having to come off the trail for 4 days to ice down and rest the knee. It remained painful for the rest of my hike, but I was able to hike from Fort Royal, Virginia to Deleware Water Gap and the foot improved as the days rolled by.
Good luck with your hike. I hope the pain eases soon.
Pastor John from Georgia
Pastor John
I sounds to me like plantar faciatis. It is an inflammation of the sheath that holds that tendon to the bone. It can be very painful and if not tended to, can take all the joy out of hiking. Before my 2002 section hike, I had the problem for 2 months before my hike started. Ice is very helpful, which I applied daily and stretching can also help. When I started my hike, I was still having some pain in the foot. I found that walking uphill was very helpful- the stretching going up hill really helped with the pain and it lessoned as the weeks went by. One problem that I didn’t anticipate however. I somewhat favored that foot and so that shifted some of the torque to my knee. I ended up having to come off the trail for 4 days to ice down and rest the knee. It remained painful for the rest of my hike, but I was able to hike from Fort Royal, Virginia to Deleware Water Gap and the foot improved as the days rolled by.
Good luck with your hike. I hope the pain eases soon.
Pastor John from Georgia
Pastor John
if it is Plantar Faciatis it will be most painful in the morning when you first step to the ground. I had it when I first started hiking because of boots that did not provide enough support. What cured the problem for me was to extend the foot and rotate it. this apparently massages the inflamed layers of skin.
FLETCH
My wife had a Neuroma which occurs between the third & fourth toe causing great pain on the bottom of the foot. It is a enlarged nerve. She had five injections into the nerve which killed the nerve. Sometimes they have to be surgically removed. She said they are very painful. She is doing great now. I suggest you see a Doctor soon.
Cookie
Another possibility is a planar wart. Mine went unoticed until I was finishing a section hike in the Smokies. Went from tooling down the trail to hobbling in pain in a few minutes. Evidently this darn thing had been on the sole of my foot for some time, then got big enough, along with the stress of a good, fast four day hike (for me) to start bearing on the plantar faciatis, etc. Felt like a stone bruise, so I ignored it for a few days.
To find out if this could be your problem, look at the sole of your foot. If there is an area where the sworls, etc, that are normal on your sole are less pronounced, the area is slightly discolored, and it’s close to the painful area, it’s very likely to be a planar wart. The wart itself is painless, but it seems to work like having a pebble in your shoe; presses upward on the foot structure with every stride. Once that joker gets big enough, it can really ruin your stride.
Standard wart remedies work, but are slow. Had a dermatologist take a shot with liquid nitrogen, and didn’t find that any better than OTC remedies.
Two Speed
I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV but I do not think you have Plantar Faciatis, which I have. Pain associated with PF occurs in the heel and is commonly confused with bone spurs. Due to your pain being in the front left of your foot you may have another problem. Hope this helps.
Eric
i think it’s tension of small tendons in the foot.
anti inflamatories wil help, not iboprofen.
zammy
try buying or borrowing a tennis ball, and at night and in morning before walking, roll it back and forth while pressing it down with your foot. this will massage it really well. this helps for a mulitude of bottom of foot ailments. (yours sound like p.f. to me. i had it last year and use dthis technique. a better way is to have a frozen bottle of water and to roll it back and forth for a cold massage to help with ache, increase circulation and reduce inflammation all at the same time. frozen o.j. concentrate works really well for this. the amount of time needed to warm th oj to a temp where you can’t use it is the amount of time you need to use cold massage, give or take a few minutes…my wife’s boss ( a doctor) gave me this advice…it worked for me…but on the trail, use a tennis ball to massage daily for ten to fifteen minutes before begining the days hike…it will help, i promise. :happy
Big Dee
I have had a similar problem and after limping for 8 months I went to a Podiatrist who is also a backpacker and hiker. Guess what, it was plantar faciatis. The pain on the side of my foot was from subconciously trying to take the weight off my heel and straining the tendons along the side. I ended up with a shot of cortisone in the heel which has helped tremendously and a regiment of stretching everyday. I was not in favor of the shot, but after limping for months, eating advil, celebrix, and stretching alone, it was the last resort - I wish I had it done last August.:bawling
stumps
Dear Everyone:
I’ve recently been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, in both feet, which I experience as severe pain in both heels.
The options, medically, appear to be: oral medication; then, if that doesn’t work, an injection of cortisone deep into the heel; then, if that doesn’t work, cut the fascia to release the tension in the inflamed tissue and thereby end the pain.
I am aware of the bio-mechanical therapies, which are, among others, these: stretch the calf, tapping (strenthens the muscles on the sole of the foot), sleeping with the foot locked in a streching position, regular massage, ice massage, and so forth.
At this point I would like to know, first,what worked for you, resulting in a complete cure.
Second, regarding the injection into the heal, how painful was it (my doctor says “very”), what sort of relief did it yield, how long did it take for the relief to become apparent, and did the injection permanently end the problem (ie, the pain)?
Thanks very much.
The sooner you can respond, the better, as I see my doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, again tomorrow.
Sincerely–Conan.
in the heal
Conan
When I had my problem I saw a sports Podiatrist in Atanta(worked with Olympic ath during the '96 Olympics). He told me everything your doc has told you, but before we did anything major he put Sportsfeet(any brand will do) inserts into my running shoes (no hiking at the time, only running), stretch in the morning, and for the inflammation buy a pack of frozen peas and place them under your feet for about 15 minutes a day. The streching is VERY INPORTANT. Place your foot flat on the floor and then lean towards the wall, therby streching your calf muscle. According to my doc, not doing this streching exercise before hiking/running is like trying to drive your car with the emergency brake on.
That was 4 years ago and I have had only minor problems since then…only because I didn’t strech before running or hiking.
Feel free to email me with any questions. Good luck.
Eric
I am a podiatrist & long distance hiker ME-GA '95 & ME-TN '03. From what you described it could be any of the possibilities mentioned above. Pain on the left side of the left foot is not specific enough for me to pinpoint a diagnosis & treatment. I’ve found that a lot of foot pain from hiking can simply be related to improper shoe gear or orthotics (foot inserts). Also carrying too much weight & pushing too many miles especially early on are contributing factors (improper training). As mentioned you can also rest, ice, elevate, & vitamin-I in combination with the above factors can usually help most foot pain. Today is 3/5 & your posting was 3/3. Do you have any improvement?
If no improvement within a week, I’d seek professional help. A stress fracture is always a possibility & can present in different ways. I personally am moving from PA & will be starting with Earnest Foot & Ankle outside of Richmond, VA in early April.
Mark A. Erdman, DPM
Earnest Foot & Ankle
1336 Alverser Plaza
Midlothian, VA 23113
804-594-1944
Happy Trails!
Rainbow Slick
The Rainbow Slick is right - see a foot dr.
However, regarding my shot. It was more uncomfortable than painful. It was sore for about a week afterwards.
Relief was within 48 hours (my foot still hurt from the shot, but the pain from the pf diminshed. I am stretching 20-30 minutes per day - rolling a frozed waterbottle or can under the foot helps also.
good luck
stumps