Foot pain, different from PF (but may be related)

[Vantreesta]

Bee, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's feet hurting so badly! What all has he tried? That would be depressing after a while.

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by kat999

Thanks so much, Taiga! I don't have a foam roller right now but I'll attempt some of the stretches and see if they offer relief. It sounds like even if I'm doing compression thinking the injury is one thing that it could be helping even if it's this other issue.

I will bring up both ideas to my doctor.

You can also use a tennis ball---it demonstrates that at about the 1:40 mark in foam rolling clip #1

[fanofladyvols]

Taiga what about those copper compression sleeves for the arch or only midfoot.

Would those help?

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols

Taiga what about those copper compression sleeves for the arch or only midfoot.

Would those help?

They provide much less support (basically just to the part of the muscle that attaches to the lateral foot) so are typically less effective. However, they can provide some relief if they stay in place.

[kat999]

Bee, that sounds awful about your husband! I'll definitely get some intervention before it gets to that point. I do not want to wind up debilitated. Being active is, to me, like a natural antidepressant, and I'm not sure where I would be emotionally without regular exercise practice of some kind.

I'm kind of waiting to reach out to my own doc but want to connect with my dad first, who had a podiatrist he liked a couple of years ago who helped with his own PF and other pain. If that guy is on my insurance, I'm going to seek him out, and of course my dad is busy doing a bunch of "retiree in the summer" stuff this week, so we're playing phone/text tag haha.

[fanofladyvols]

Originally Posted by Taiga

There's a possibility that you may have over worked your peroneal muscles (particularly peroneus brevis, which attaches on the lateral portion of the foot). These muscles help to stabilize in high impact activity and they are more vulnerable to injury if you have even a hint of inappropriate foot pronation or supination. As most of the treatment is directed to the leg portion of the muscle, it would be fairly safe to do a trial of foam rolling/gentle stretches to see if this helped. If you are game, start with foam rolling first. If that works well, go gentle on the stretches. Foam rolling can help lengthen/relax the muscle so that stretching is more effective. HTH.


Peroneus brevis

Foam rolling 1


foam rolling 2

stretches/foam rolling


ETA: Peroneal injuries are worse sitting cross legged and can also be worse in shoes that lift your arch high enough to let your foot roll laterally--that can cause tugging on the muscle. Compression sleeves on the lower leg or ankle can improve symptoms by supporting the muscle (so it doesn't have to work as hard when stabilizing the foot).

Taiga these were really great videos...thanks for posting!!

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by fanofladyvols

Taiga these were really great videos...thanks for posting!!

Hope they help I enjoy myofascial techniques. I think they are a crucial part of any exercise program as they keep us in touch with our body and help to prevent/ resolve injuries.

[bee]

Originally Posted by Vantreesta

Bee, I'm sorry to hear about your husband's feet hurting so badly! What all has he tried? That would be depressing after a while.

I'm not sure I can even remember all the things he's tried. This has been going on a long time. He got cortisone shots, he had epidurals done. He's been evaluated for a bunch of things. Honestly though, he's not a very good patient and obviously doesn't stay on top of things like he should.

kat999, I agree..... it would be very depressing to be unable to be active. Lucky for him he's able to ride a bike without pain, so he does that pretty much daily. But there's a lot of couch sitting! (which can make me grumpy, but then I remember how much pain he deals with all the time and I can't stay grumpy).

[kat999]

Originally Posted by bee

kat999, I agree..... it would be very depressing to be unable to be active. Lucky for him he's able to ride a bike without pain, so he does that pretty much daily. But there's a lot of couch sitting! (which can make me grumpy, but then I remember how much pain he deals with all the time and I can't stay grumpy).

I'm so glad he can still bike! Here's hoping he can eventually find relief.

I actually spoke with my dad finally about his podiatrist rec, and so I have a name to pursue, but I will also check with my PCP. But a friend actually reported that she was diagnosed with regular old PF with symptoms like mine, and she shared some of her PT exercises with me. That, and based on how old I told her my workout and regular shoes are, she recommended I go to a New Balance store STAT, so that's the plan for tomorrow.

[Vantreesta]

Originally Posted by Taiga

There's a possibility that you may have over worked your peroneal muscles (particularly peroneus brevis, which attaches on the lateral portion of the foot). These muscles help to stabilize in high impact activity and they are more vulnerable to injury if you have even a hint of inappropriate foot pronation or supination. As most of the treatment is directed to the leg portion of the muscle, it would be fairly safe to do a trial of foam rolling/gentle stretches to see if this helped. If you are game, start with foam rolling first. If that works well, go gentle on the stretches. Foam rolling can help lengthen/relax the muscle so that stretching is more effective. HTH.


Peroneus brevis

Foam rolling 1


foam rolling 2

stretches/foam rolling


ETA: Peroneal injuries are worse sitting cross legged and can also be worse in shoes that lift your arch high enough to let your foot roll laterally--that can cause tugging on the muscle. Compression sleeves on the lower leg or ankle can improve symptoms by supporting the muscle (so it doesn't have to work as hard when stabilizing the foot).

Thanks for posting the links, Taiga. I am bad about foam rolling and rarely remember to do the sides of my legs.