Pain in arches and sharp shooting pain

by Lee
(Now in CT)

About 6 months ago I used to do in home walking on a very hard surface after which there would be times when my shins would ache, the bottom of my feet would hurt and my toes were numb. I decided it was not working and quit. At the time I lived in a tropical climate and although the weather was nice for walking outdoors my neighborhood was not the safest; I quit all together. I'm 5'3 and 212 lbs female (yes, I know im severly over weight) Because I lived in the tropics for two years I took up wearing flip flops almost everywhere I went even to work sometimes.In July I went to the gym severa times without incident. Well about 3 weeks ago I noticed the bottom of my right foot would ache a little then eventually it intensified. One morning I woke up and stepping out of bed hurt my heels so I decided to step on my tippy toes. I went to see two Drs. who said it was Plantar Fasciitis. My problem now is that a few times I get sharp, shooting pain in my big toes to the point where I curl them up. The pain last for a few seconds but its intense. I had my Dr. check for gout and my uric acid level was fine. I'm really scared and have been full of anxiety because I'm not sure what could cause this. I have a bunion in both big toes but never had problems before.

Hi Lee,
Undoubtedly the plantar fasciitis that you developed was a result of wearing flip flops (no support) and your weight. This was compounded by the fact that you were walking for exercise.
Hopefully, one of the podiatrists you saw offered you some sort of orthotic to support your arches along with other treatment including but not limited to anti-inflammatory medication (assuming you can tolerate it) as well as physical therapy and perhaps even night splints to reduce the morning pain.
If aggressively treated you should be able to overcome most of the plantarfascial pain.
As far as the pain in the big toes, without examining you, I am not sure what is causing that. It may be related to the plantar fasciitis. Why not see a podiatrist in Conn. and see what can be done for the pain in the toes?
Marc Mitnick DPM
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