was from joint inflammation, and my primary care physician, who thought it might be an insect bite, back at the end of April. Neither doc x-rayed it. I don't remember any kind of 'break' or injury, and I have a good deal of generalized foot pain as background noise, so it just never occurred to me that something might be broken. The break occurred in an area known for stress fractures, but I think I vaguely remember dropping something on my foot. I can't be sure, though, and it really doesn't matter since it is almost healed. I've been hiking, biking, and walking on the beach. I tilled the garden a couple of times, planted trees, and have generally spent a lot of time on my feet. If it is a stress fracture, it probably happened from biking. The image at the right shows the location of the break. I'm kind of amazed that it has healed in the correct plane.
The reason I got a referral to a podiatrist was not for the swelling in my right foot, but the pain in my left from my tailor's bunion. It is bothering me a lot these days and I can't keep a lidocaine patch on it 24/7 indefinitely. I thought that the podiatrist would prescribe orthotics, which he did, but for different reasons, yet, to my surprise, suggested surgery to shave off the bone cysts-you can see them on the x-ray-looks like I have caviar topping the joint-LOL-and reshape the bone to relieve the pressure on the nerves and tendons. If I have this minor surgery now, I can hopefully avoid major bunion surgery with pins and wires and artificial joints later. They will just deaden my foot, and I will be fully awake and able to watch. I'm not sure I will actually want to watch him chisel away the bone
I was born with a fairly common condition known as accessory navicular bones. When I was a kid, the extra navicular bone on my right foot was larger than my ankle and it would hit the other foot and cause me to fall when I tried to run. I was a slow base runner, and the kids laughed at my awkward stride to keep bone off bone. As I grew, the bone grew, and it put a lot of pressure on various tendons that caused pain. When I was in the 7th grade, I had surgery to remove the extra bone and they rerouted my tendons to build in an arch as I was flatfooted. I recall being on crutches for over 3 months, and that surgery exempted me from most PE courses throughout high school. I think that was a bit of overprotectiveness, so I made up for it by becoming a long distance run
ner, softball player, tennis player, volleyball player, and soccer goalie in college. :) The bone in my left foot was never large(about the size of the one in the image at right) and has never caused any trouble or pain, thankfully, but in 1993, I had another foot surgery to remove scar tissue from the original surgical site on my right foot. As it turns out, over time, the tendons and ligaments have loosened and that allows some instability. Add in my rheumatoid arthritis and you get the ingredients for all kinds of foot injuries,including fractures and sprains. The custom orthotics will fit in my shoes and support the architecture of my foot to prevent further injuries. In addition, it might have the side benefit of reducing my sciatic nerve pain. If your stride is right and your posture is good, you reduce pressure on your spine and the nerve doesn't get pinched as much. There's no guarantee that it will help my back, but I'm hopeful. Insurance doesn't cover the orthotic inserts, but since they can last for several decades, and they can prevent injury and reduce pain, the $300 price tag seems like cheap insurance. By the end of the summer, I should be set for even more strenuous exercise, all in the mindset of taking care of these small issues and getting healthier to live longer.
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