Bump on top of my foot

by Briana Newland
(Tulsa,Oklahoma)

about a month ago I hit the top of my foot against a metal part all though it was very painful it went away after an hour. Thru the next 2 weeks I would notice the roof/top of my foot would be in pain but as soon as I would get off my feet it would be ok. The last 2 weeks the pain has increased and the bumb comes and goes if I'm standing on my feet for more than an hour. I also have been wearing an Ace band aid that helps relief the pressure and pain but as soon as I remove it within an hour or so the pain and pressure begin again.

Hi Briana,
Since you traumatized the foot there is a chance you may have fractured the top of the bone and if for no other reason you need to have an xray to rule that out.
If it is not fractured then you did soft tissue damage, including possible damage to one of the veins on top of your foot which might account for the increased swelling and inflammation when you stand up.
I think the fact that this has now been going on for more than a couple of weeks without improvement warrants a visit to the doctor.
Marc Mitnick DPM

A burning pain in my left heel

by Delores parillo
(Saratoga Springs, new York 12866)

A few days ago, I started having troouble all day and night with a burning sensation in my left heel. I walk on it during the day but then when I sit, it hurts and burns again.

Hi Delores,
Read my section on heel neuroma. If the burning persists beyond 10 days or so, I would recommend you see a local podiatrist for treatment.

Marc Mitnick DPM

Severe, but brief, pain in right heel.

by Don
(St. Helena, CA USA)

I sometimes have sudden and severe pain in right heel. It seems to come after sitting awhile, and only lasts for about a minute.

Hi Don,
Pain in the heel after sitting for a period of time, may be the first sign of plantar fasciitis (see my site for more information).
If this has been going on for longer than 10-14 days, I would recommend you try a good arch support. The purpose here would be hopefully to prevent the problem from getting worse.
Severe plantar fasciitis can be a debilitating problem.
Marc Mitnick DPM

How long can a broken ankle be in a splint before you see an orthopedic doctor?

by Joanne
(Garden Grove)

I broke the top of my ankle 11 days ago. The ER told me to wait a week, because of the swelling, before I go to an Orthopedic doctor. They put my leg in a splint and told me to stay off of it. I can't go to an Orthopedic doctor because I was laid off and I no longer have insurance. The free clinic can't see me for another week so that would mean my leg would be in a splint for 16 days. Is that too long?

Hi Joanne,

I do not know how bad the break is but technically you could stay in the splint for a while, as long as you do not bear weight on the foot and ankle. The splint, although not quite as good as a cast will still immobilize the ankle to keep the pain down. By not bearing weight you are eliminating stress being applied to the ankle.
Since I do not know how bad the break is I cannot comment on whether or not you are a candidate for surgery.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Freckle on Foot

by Stephanie
(Vidalia, GA)

I am 24 female and I found a very small freckle on the bottom of my foot yesterday that I have never noticed before. I don't look at the bottoms of my feet much so I don't know how long it has been there but I'd say it's fairly new. It is very small like 1mm or 2mm and its color is brown(not dark or light, sort of inbetween). It is perfect in roundness, no jaggies. It does not hurt nor does it itch. It is located in the arch area of my right foot towards the middle but a slight more to the right if you are looking at your right foot with toes up. Just wondering if it is anything I should be concerned about.

Hi Stephanie,
In most cases these are benign moles but the problem with moles on the bottom of the foot is that they are subject to excessive friction from walking and in some cases may undergo malignant changes.
To put your mind at ease, have a doctor take a look at it to make sure it is nothing to be concerned about.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Discomfort from recently corrected bunion.

I had a bunion op last August '09 and I've recently discovered that the screw at the base of the bone is impinging on the joint, which is causing discomfort. What treatment am I likely to need?

Hi,
More than likely the screw will have to be removed. Do not wait too long before seeing the doctor because if the screw keeps irritating the joint, it will eventually cause damage to the joint.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Foot and Toe pain

by G Tomlinson
(Bristol)

Have had pain and swellingin the top rightfoot, expecially at base of toes,radiating out to whole of toes. Whole of the top right foot is painful and tender and the pain wakes me up at night. Skin feel hypersensitve, even the duvet touching skin at night wakes me up. Apart from big toe, other toes are painful and seem to be sqaushed together and I am unable to spread toes.

Have had the pain for 4 months. Have had 2 x-rays which have proved a normal foot with very slight degeneration of the big toe (which does not hurt) Have had blood tests for rheumotoid arthrits which have proved negative.

Hi,
The most common type of pain in the area you describe is from tendonitis of the tendons that bend the toes upward.
This should be readily visible to any doctor who primarily treats foot problems.
If that is not the case then an MRI might be very helpful in making the diagnosis.
Marc Mitnick DPM

base 5th metatarsal fracture

by Adam
(Malaysia)

i recently fractured my left base of 5th metatarsal. I have gone for surgical fixation whereby a screw was inserted last week. I would like to know what are the passive exercise that i should do while waiting for the fixation to heal?

Hi Adam,
You should really ask your doctor what he or she would like you to do, but in general passive exercise for this type of problem is probably not necessary at this point in time.
Marc Mitnick DPM

foot arthritis; achillies tendon; restructure heel

by carrie
(albuquerque, nm)

I have moderate arthritis on the second joints from the toes on the top of my foot. It is getting worse. I also have a tight achilles tendon, and a misalligned foot, due to compensation for arthrtis. My left forefoot moves toward the outside and I basically have no more arch. All are very painful.
After orthodics and steroid injections over time my doctor and I have opted for fusion of 3-4 joints on the top of my foot; lengthening of the achilles tendon; and some kind of heel surgery that would realign my foot to improve my gait, and my arch and would decrease pain. Do you think these surgeries are viable options? Are there other options you might consider?

Hi Carrie,
In general terms if you have tried all the conservative options your doctor thinks would help and they have not, then surgical intervention is an option you should consider.
My only advise beyond that would be perhaps to have a second opinion, to see if the procedures your surgeon has suggested are viable options for your type of problem.
Marc Mitnick DPM

i had back surgury 2 weeks

by sandra
(skowhegan,me)

i had back surgery 2 weeks ago. now my leg and foot are all red and swolen i had a disk pushed against my spine. i think the operation came undone i bent over to put my slipper on and something poped and now i am in a lot of pain. its like a burning sensation.

Hi Sandra,

You should not be talking to me about your problem. Call your surgeon immediately.
Marc Mitnick DPM

knot under my toes

by Lynell
(austin,texas)

right foot, feels like a knot when i walk under 2nd and 3rd toes on ball of foot, my foot will swell with standing. I saw a foot doctor and he said it was because my feet were out of alignment, inserts by doctor have provided no relief.

Hi Lynell,
"Out of alignment" means a lot of different things to me. Generally the two things that cause swelling in the area of the foot that you mention would be capsulitis or Morton's neuroma, both of which you can read about on my site.
If that turns out to be the diagnosis inserts can be very helpful but they must be built in a certain manner.
I would suggest you make an appointment with a different podiatrist and make sure you bring along your inserts so he or she can see what you already have. In many instances the existing inserts can be modified so you may not need a new pair.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Able to move pinkey but still swollen several weeks later

by Paul
(New Jersey)

about three weeks ago I tripped and banged my pinkey and at the time dislocated it I was able to put it back into place my concern is that it still hurts and is swollen

Hi Paul,
The toe needs an x-ray as there is a chance you may have broken the toe as well. If it is not broken then the toe will need to be immobilized to allow the inflammation to subside.
Marc Mitnick DPM

bluish purple feet toenails falling off

by kathy
(seattle)

My mom who is 89 years old and has hyperthyroidism and has been seing an endocrinologist for about 6 years has nows got bluish purple looking feet. Her toenail felloff and bled and now she is afraid she will get ganggreen. Do you think she has diabetes? Don't you think her endocrinolgist would have tested her for it? She says her feet don'thurt but she walks around like they do. And the worse of it is she won't go see another doctor or go back to the endocrinologist. Help!

Hi Kathy,
Bluish-purple feet are a sign of poor circulation. She would be wise to be evaluated by a vascular specialist. An endocrinologist would not be the doctor to see in this instance.

Marc Mitnick DPM

intense pain in calves

play tennis several hours each day.At night I am awaken with intense pain in both calves. What can you tell me concerning this problem?

Hi,
You really did not give me much to work with, but if your calves only hurt after exercise you may have what is known as an overuse injury or perhaps a very tight heel cord (achilles tendon).
You might want to try an orthotic to see if that alleviates the problem. If not, you will have to see a local podiatrist.
Marc Mitnick DPM

small pea-sized lump on sole of foot

Fiv days ago I felt the sensation of a small lump under the outer edge of the arch of my right foot (I was barefoot at the time). Upon examination I noticed that this lump was blue (burst blood vessel ?) but was not worried. However, I still have this small lump and the sole of much of the foot now looks blueish. Is this a minor sub-cutaneous bleed? I am currently taking medication for sensitive distal neuropathy in feet and hormone therapy for breast cancer.

Hi,
Obviously it is difficult for me to tell you exactly what is going on without being able to examine you. What I would do is give it a week to ten days, if you do not see any improvement have your doctor look at it.
If it is a broken blood vessel then it should improve over that time period.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Purple raised area on the front of the ankle

by Rik
(Ontario, Canada)

Alright, I'm a 20 year old male, and my problem is that I had surgery in February 2009, as well as August 2009 for an ongoing issue with the pilonidal sinus. After the surgery in February, I became very ill and was hospitalized in isolation for a few days. Upon my release, I noticed a small purple dot on the front of my ankle, and recently it had raised about 1/4 inch, and became extremely painful - to the point where I couldn't even wear a shoe on that foot. After about 2 weeks the size decreased, but there still remains a slightly raised area, and a deep purple color in the tissue. My doctor has failed to give me an answer as to what this might be, and I would really appreciate any help I can get, because it's now February 2010 and - from my perspective - a year without any answers to any of my recent afflictions is much too long.

Hi Rik,
Insist that your doctor take a biopsy of the lesion as that is the only way to determine what it actually is. He can do a punch biopsy where you only take a small sampling of the growth. If the biopsy comes back as benign then you can leave the rest alone, but if it were to come back malignant (which it can in a small amount of cases) then the whole lesion would have to be removed.
If this growth is abnormal in its appearance then a punch biopsy should be performed.

Marc Mitnick DPM

my left foot is darker in color than my right foot.

also my left foot is not as flexible to bend as my right foot is. do you know why?

Hi,
Usually a difference in color is due to a circulation problem. Have your doctor check both your arterial and venous circulation.
Marc Mitnick DPM