Foot Problem

The day before my birthday, while walking in the office, my left foot began to hurt. The best way for me to describe it is to say it felt as though the bones where my toes connect were broken. Tuesday night I put an ice pack on it and hoped it would cure whatever little thing was going on. Wednesday morning I decided to put the custom-made orthotics into my shoes to get a "head start" on any plantar faciitis that may be deciding to pay a visit. All day long I wore them, but got no relief. The upper part of my foot was swelling up and my shoe was very tight. I iced it again during the evening. Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday, so I made an appointment to see the doctor on Friday afternoon.

At the clinic, the doctor examined my foot and told me it wasn't plantar faciitis and to not wear the orthotics. He ordered x-rays, and they showed nothing. No bunions, no cracks, no fractures - just healthy looking bones. He told me the pain I was describing was close to that of the gout - but in the wrong area of the foot. He had the nurse wrap it in an elastic bandage and told me to stay off it as much as possible this weekend, and ice it often. Tylenol should help with any pain. He suggested crutches may be of help, but when I stopped at the medical supply store to purchase them, the clerk adjusted them to fit me and I gave them a try - a few times, but nearly fell over backwards. Feeling a sore foot would be better than a concussion, I decided to do without them.

It's been a quiet day for me - some reading, TV watching, computer time, and sitting on the patio a bit. Iced my foot many times. My foot feels about the same.

When I was a little girl, we had a shoe store in town - Smith's Shoe Store - wherein one could put on a pair of shoes and walk to the "Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope" - which was basically an x-ray machine. You looked through the window and could see the bones of your feet and how close to the edge of the shoe they were. Parents used this to tell if they were buying the shoes big enough to last for a little while. You can see a photo and read about it here. I remember being fascinated with being able to see my toe bones move as I wiggled my toes. No need to explain why these are no longer seen in any shoe store.