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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Pain in one foot started sudenly like rock in shoe next to ball of foot

by Dan
(Mexico)

Last night for no apparent reason I had a sensation of a stone in my shoe. The pain quickly became so intense I can hardly stand on the foot as the pressure sends shooting pain into the area just to the left and towards the back of the ball of my left foot.

Today after waking the pain is still there very intense as soon as I stand.

I am a runner 66 years old run 4-5 miles a day 5 days a week. The strange part of this problem is I had not run for 3 days prior to the pain, and have not been suffering any foot discomfort..

RESPONSE
Hi Dan,
Usually, when patients complain to me about the feeling of a "rock in their shoe" I usually find a cyst or at the very least a thick callus on the bottom of the foot.
I have assumed you have looked and/or felt the bottom of your foot and there is nothing to be found.
If the foot feels warm and perhaps mildly swollen in the affected area, then there are two other issues to consider.
One would be a stress fracture. Although you state you have not run for the last couple of days, anything is possible, and the fact that you are a runner in your mid 60's it is certainly in the realm of possibilities.
The second would be a gout attack. The interesting thing about a gout attack is that it can occur spontaneously and can be very painful. It might not feel exactly like a stone in the shoe but the foot will be very tender. Once again I would expect the affected area of the foot to be red, hot and swollen.
The last thing that I can come up off the top of my head and without the ability to actually examine you, would be a neuritis. A neuritis is an inflammation of a nerve ending. In most cases there is some degree of pain in a localized area, where the nerve ends.
I cannot say exactly that the pain is severe, nor do most people complain of the rock like sensation but it is a pain that can come about for no apparent reason and no real explanation.
If the pain begins to subside over the next couple of days, you probably do not need to do very much about the problem, but if it were to persist beyond a few days then my best advice would be for you to see a foot specialist in your area who could then make an accurate diagnosis and also offer you some form of treatment as well.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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Penn State Medical Center

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Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation

ScienceDirect

Stanford Health Care

Illinois Bone and Joint Institute

Mount Sinai Hospital

Institute for Chronic Pain

University of Florida Health

American Family Physician

Cedars-Sinai

University of Maryland Medical Center

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San Diego, CA

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Wonderful advice

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This is the best site for foot problem info.

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location unknown

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Thank you for your response. It sounds like a good plan to me. He did not cut the wart out first ...

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Florida

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location unknown

Pain in one foot started sudenly like rock in shoe next to ball of foot

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