Pain in the right foot starts in the early morning.

I am woken in the early hours by a severe pain only in my right foot.

I am unable to put any weight on it.
The foot itself not the ankle becomes very swollen and this will last for up to a week.

Then over the next couple of days I can put more and more of my weight onto it until I can walk on it normally again.
After this I have no pain for several months.
I go out walking and go to the gym and regularly run 10 miles and get no pain.

This has happened now four times.
The first time I went to A&E and had it x-rayed, but nothing was seen.
The next time my doctor referred me to the DEPARTMENT OF RHEUMATOLOGY.

They x-rayed my foot from several different angles which showed no evidence of a stress fracture.

They then performed a MRI scan on the foot which showed no fractures but did show some inflammation in one of the tendons.

The problem is that by the time I get a hospital appointment several months later, I no longer have any pain in the foot.

I am unable to flex my foot or toes at all in any direction. My foot is very sensitive even to touch, and all the veins can be seen standing out on the top of my foot.

I have tried freezing sprays, and keeping my foot in a bucket of ice water for several hours at a time, all to no avail.

The only way I can even rest with my foot of the ground is to use a compression elasticised foot support, which is wrapped as tight as I can get it.
This seems to lesson the pain along with pain killers.

I am a man of 44 years old and have never broken or sprained any part of my body.
I have never smoked and do not drink, and there is no family history of note.
I do not carry heavy loads e.g. tool cases bags etc.
I am slightly overweight, which is why I go to the gym.

I have also been checked for arthritis which was clear.

The last time this happened I was going down the stairs slipped and put my full weight on the foot. There was a loud crack and the pain was incredible then after an hour I could walk on it normally with no pain.

Could the bones be locking together, if so wouldn?t the x-ray have shown something?


Hi,
This is a difficult one to try and diagnose without actually examining you, but based on your "story" it would seem that you might be dislocating something. (<>)

The problem is it sounds like you cannot get to a doctor in time to examine the foot while it is painful.

As a side note, based on the earlier part of your story, you may have to rule out some degree of vascular compromise as the reason why your foot can stay swollen and the veins distended.

I am not so sure your problem is rheumatology related as generally people with rheumatological problems tend to have pain and swelling in multiple areas of the body.

I hope my input helped you somewhat.

Marc Mitnick DPM