Pain in top of foot

by Dave

Just over a week ago I spent a short period of time lifting, transporting and putting down heavy objects possibly in a fairly awkward posture although at the time i didn't feel any pains.

A few hours later i was walking when I started to feel a pain in the top of my left foot which continued for the rest of the day. The pain seemed centered in the area behind my big toe and the one next to it going up to my ankle and occurred when my body weight was over the front of the foot/toes- e.g. when walking normally. Walking flat footed without putting my weight on the toes, walking with the weight on the little toe side of my foot or walking on the heel didn't cause pain. There was no swelling and there was no pain when moving the foot about.

A week later and things aren't much better. I have noticed that if I press around my left foot there is a slightly tender spot on the top about 2 1/2 inches back from the big toe and toe next it. Rotating or flexing the foot upwards often causes discomfort in the affected area, especially if i have had my foot planted on the floor for a while (e.g sitting down). Unwisely moving to stand on tip toes yesterday produced a intense splitting pain through the foot coming from the same area.
Walking without putting too much pressure on the front of the foot produces moderate discomfort and foot ache which continues for a while even after i have stopped waking. Ordinarily if I am sitting or lying down without having recently put weight on the foot there is either very little discomfort or just a dull ache inside the foot.

I'd be grateful if you could give me an idea about what might be wrong with my foot.

Thanks :-)

Hi Dave,
The first thing that comes to mind is a tendonitis of the tendon that brings your big toe upwards (based on where you state the pain is coming from). My next thought would be the possibility of a stress fracture which could have occurred from all the work that you did on the day in question.
Then of course you also have to consider some sort of ligament damage possibly from the quirky way you planted your foot while lifting.
In any event, a week has gone by and if you are not appreciably better then my best advice would be for you to see a foot specialist, have an examination and an xray and get an accurate diagnosis. You do not want this to become a chronic problem.

Marc Mitnick DPM

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