pain on top of left foot when walking

by Diana
(Florida)

Hello,

I sometimes have intense pain on the top of my left foot when taking a walk. It feels like the foot locks up and will not bend forward. I can rotate the foot from the ankle, but cannot put weight on it. Usually when I rotate the foot, I will feel a snap like something is going back into place. Then I can walk just fine. These episodes seem to come in groups two or three times per year. Lately, though, it takes a lot longer to get the foot to snap into place, sometimes two or more blocks when walking. I wind up walking with the painful foot sideways and dragging it along. I cannot trace it to any type of injury, nor does it occur in only one type of shoe. I have tried different types of athletic shoes and sandals, but nothing makes a difference.

I am a 49-year-old female. 5'5", 120 lbs. I have high arches. I also have the beginnings of osteoarthritis in my toes, more in the right than in the left. My doctor says I have several multiple sclerosis type symptoms, but I have not had testing yet. I do have muscle spasms and twitches in my arms, legs, hands, and feet. I get feelings of electric shock. Both my hands and feet are usually tingling. I have several other MS symptoms as well.

From reading your responses to others with pain on the tops of their feet, it would seem my problem may be tendon based. Is this a problem that is associated with MS? Have you observed it in anyone else?

I would appreciate any insight you may be able to offer. Thank you for your time.

Diana

RESPONSE

Hi Diana,

The reality is that I have no idea what is wrong with your foot simply because I do not have the luxury of actually examining you.

Your description of your symptoms sounds more like a mechanical problem then anything else. By rotating your foot, you are usually able to get something to snap and you are then able to walk, until the next time it occurs. The "snap" in most cases is a tendon, but it could also be a ligament, or even a bone snapping back into place.

An x-ray might prove to be very helpful, for if there is a lot of bone spurring on top of the foot, then the tendon may be getting caught in spurs and "locking" into place until you are able to dislodge it.

If you have a ligament problem and one of the bones is slightly displacing, the foot would feel better once the bone "snaps" back into place.

Neither of these scenarios are consistent with MS. Additionally, you would not necessarily have had a history of trauma to the foot for this to occur.

You have to decide how much this hurts you. Based on your narrative it sounds like it can be very painful as you have to "drag your foot", which in itself can lead to other problems away from the foot.

My suggestion would be to have a foot specialist actually examine your foot along with x-rays, to see what is going on. It sounds like you have had this problem for some time and it also sounds like it is getting worse.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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