foot pain

i'm hoping someone might have some insight into foot troubles i've had for the last couple months or so. none of my doctors have any real advice which is quite frustrating.
it is isolated to the ball of the foot behind the big toe and through the big toe (in both feet). if i have no weight on my foot the whole area mostly feels stiff and sore and looks slightly swollen. pain increases when i walk and is most acute right at the joint which connects the big toe and bone of the foot on the bottom (the part that is making contact with the ground). if i poke that spot, bump it on something, etc. it hurts quite bad. hiking obviously multiplies that a number of times. i find it strange that there is such a specific point the pain radiates from.
i was hiking more and longer days than ever before in the spring and beginning of summer, but since this started i have taken more time off. at this point i've gone two weeks with no real physical activity on it and have seen no improvment. i hate to keep paying my doctors to tell me to take advil. has anyone had the same type of problem?
thanks so much for your help.

bryan

Boy oh boy can I relate!

as everyone knows i am sitting here feeling sorry for myself because i am currently off the trails due to the same problem you may very well have. if so, it's called morton's neuroma. and what it is, is the nerves in your feet. they have been aggrevated and hiking sure can bring an underlying problem to the surface as i found out. if it is the nerves, what happens is they swell up and hurt and each time this happens the body reacts and scar tissue forms around the nerve. in essence they become tumors,however not cancerous types. they can be, as mine are, incredibly painful. i actually have them between every one of my toes on both feet. it SUCKS. not only can't i walk without pain, but i can't even wear all my normal shoes, like heels to work, sandals, even most of my walking/hiking shoes hurt. anything right now with a closed toe pains me. i went thru a series of cortisone injections. you can only get so many (usually 3) in each area - the side effect of additional injections is actually the breakdown and damage of surrounding tissue. and insurance will only pay for so many anyway. they helped quickly in most spots, but the worst is the outer edge of my feet, 4th toe area. this is not responding well at all. i just had my last set of shots yesterday and i am actually sitting here at work with ice on my feet as i write this. because i wear so many differenty types of shoes, orthodics, due to the cost, probably won't be an option for me. insurance won't pay for them and they run appx $350-$400 so i can' afford several prs for different types of shoes. so, if these last shots still don't help, my last option is surgery.
you need to see either a good podiatrist who is sympathetic to sports related injuries and up on new, less invasive surgical techniques, if you ever need to go that route or an orthopedic surgeon. you are lucky if it's only the one spot, but i found that it started in one area and i ended up getting them in all areas. i hope this doesn't happen to you.
ice packs do help and use them a lot. a boot with a wider toe will also help bec you don't want anything pinching your toes together any more than necessary. and you can get some decent inserts on-line. i got some for $60 or so, made out of gel, specifically for ball-of-foot pain.
hope this helps. and since i am going thru this now, feel free to email me with any questions you have: [email protected]

Shadowcat-

If you can drive, perhaps you should consider coming to next weekends gathering just for the night. Sit down, drink beer, eat. Sounds like you're clawing at the walls, getting out could help some. Just an idea..

if its only behind your big toe it may be sesamoiditis, common for baseball catchers and dancers.
sesamoids are little bones which act as shock absorbers.
try googling it.

cutting a space out of your insole under the painfull area may help as well as taping your big toe in a bent position to aid in healing and distribute the weight away from the area.
i suffer from chronic foot pain and have found no real relief besides rest, ice and bong hits!!!

i chose to shell out the bucks for orthotics, got full length padded ones with a metatarsel pad which fits in all my shoes boots etc, helps some but seeing that i work on my feet all day... im screwed.

i was out of commission for months last year..leg cast and all, hiking again now...there is hope
thinking of going to an acupuncturist, i will let you know how it turns out.

peace all and keep rolling that frozen water bottle under your feet.
charlos

to warren:

thanks for thinking of me. is this the gathering up north in the daks? or are you downstate in the catskills? if i remember there were 2 different ones posted. let me know the details.
bj

It's peakbgr's in the Adk's, next weekend see this link

A recap is on the top of that page, the last page in a very long thread.

Though if your posts per page is set different from mine that may not be so.....