swollen right foot

by carol
(cardiff)

My daughter is 14wks PREGNANT and has been suffering for 10 days now with a swollen ankle, (has had no apparent twist of sprain due to any injury or fall) she went to the doctors on thursday 15/5 and she just told her to keep it elevated (which sometimes makes it swell up more) On friday evening a bruise seem to appear on her ankle but still it was swollen and my daughter was adamant she hadnt had any injury or fall. On monday 19/5 during the day the pain subsided and the swelling seemed to be going down. Then on monday evening after work her instep started to swell up alot. She has an appointment at 8.30am today at the surgery. Could you please explain what is happening to her as i am a very worried mum on the quiet. she is 26yrs old, works as a hairdresser in a very quiet salon so gets to sit down about 5 hours aday.

Hi Carol,
Without having the luxury of examining your daughter it would seem to me based on your story that your daughter's swelling is the result of the baby putting pressure on the veins which brings blood back to the heart. Since there is pressure on the vein, not all the blood goes back and this causes swelling in the foot.
Make sure her doctor checks to see everything is fine and if so I would assume once she gives birth, the swelling will disappear.
Marc Mitnick DPM

pain & swelling in top of foot, with pain shooting up leg.

Slight swelling to top of foot is apparent, near front (above toes)and slightly below ankle. This condition seems to return periodically. I feel a sharp pain in my foot (top) and up my leg, sometimes nearly to my thigh. I have been wearing Earth shoes (reverse heel) for the past 9 months and have found them to be very comfortable. I've had this problem before when wearing different shoes (saucony sneakers). Notice the pain is worse when pressure is put on top of foot.

My husband lost his job in June and we are without health insurance...so I want to take care of myself but can't afford trips to dr at the moment. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Hi,
Sounds like it may be tendonitis of the tendons that bring the toes upward.
Your earth shoes may actually be exacerbating the problem, because the negative heel may be putting more stress on those tendons when you walk.
Try moist heat and take advil or motrin (if you can tolerate it for about ten days). If the pain does not go away, you may have to see a doctor.
Since the pain happens periodically I do not think you have a stress fracture.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Swelling and pain in the left foot on the top of foot only, pain can shoot up my leg, in the ankle

by Gloria Dunn
(Elizabethton,TN)

I ws coming home from work one nite, i am a hairstylist, i was hit by a drunk driver. I did not realize my foot was hurt until the next day. I did hurt my neck and back. I never had problems with my foot until the accident. I am a very busy hairstlist, i am 55 years old. When i get finish with my clients by that night. of course i stand the whole day, i cannnot hardly walk my left foot is paining me so bad and swells, but it is not just work now it hurts all the time from the top of my left foot sometimes sending pain into the ankle and up the leg. Wheni lay down at night it husrts so bad i cry, even when a sheet or blanket on the bed touches the top of my foot it hurts so bad, the left foot looks from the top portion of the foot swolen at the top of the foot over to the left side of the foot. You cansee a big difference in the left fromthe right foot. It hurts to even touch the top if the left foot with your finger, bad pain. What could be wrong with my foot.

Hi Gloria,
You need to have the foot examined by a podiatrist which should include x-rays. There is a possibility you sustained a fracture or at the very least suffered soft tissue damage from the impact.
Do this as quickly as possible, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to remedy the problem.
Marc Mitnick DPM

SWOLLEN FOOT

by HEATHER
(CANADA)

SORE BIG TOE, SWOLLEN FOOT AND ANKLE, DISCOLOURED FOOT

Heather,
This is not normal and potentially dangerous, see a doctor immediately.
Marc Mitnick DPM

right foot swollen

by jcm
(New Jersey)

Hi Doctor..

You answered my question about the swollen foot. You advised that I should get my foot x-rayed. I went to an orthepdic doctor who took a foot xray and confirmed that it wasn't broken. He says it is a sprain of some sort. Told me to soak it in warm water and use advil. Should I see a podiatrist?

Hi JCM,
Assuming the soaking and Advil did not help I would suggest you see a podiatrist who probably will be a little more aggressive in a treatment plan in an effort to rid you of your pain.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Pain and swelling on the top of the foot

by Susan
(Missouri)

I am an auto worker on the assembly line and part of my new job is to release and reset the park brake. I have been doing this particular job for about 2 -3 weeks. I would estimate I do this approximately 500 times in a 10 hour shift. A lot of the time the brake is extremely hard to press down. I have had pain right above the 3 middle toes since 9-7-08, but figured it would ease up during my 3 days off (T-W and today), but noticed yesterday (Wed.) that there was swelling and it is still painful to walk. The pain is pretty specific when I press in the right area and seems to get worse the more I walk on it. Any ideas?

Hi Susan,
I think it would be obvious to anyone that this falls under the category of repetitive stress. The single action of having to press down on a hard brake is causing your pain.
The problem lies in how can you rid yourself of the pain and still be able to press down on five hundred brakes per shift.
My inclination is that you have a tendonitis of the tendons that raise the toes based on the location of your complaint.
Since you are on an assembly line I would assume you are wearing hard, stiff work boots. If not, that would be the first place to start. If the sole of the shoe can be made as stiff as possible, as you keep pressing down on those brakes there will be less bend in your foot at the level where you are experiencing pain.
If your present boots do have a stiff sole, than adding a very cushioned innersole to your shoe may go a long way to reduce the stress placed on your foot.
I do not know if it is possible, but changing the direction that you come down on the brake may also help alleviate the motion that is causing your pain.
You will probably have to experiment around to find an a solution.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Swollen ankle

by Colleen
(Australia)

i put on my reasonably firm supporting shoes yesterday. i havent worn these shoes in years and noticed by lunchtime yesterday my left inner ankle was was sore. It felt like my shoe was rubbing me. I took my shoes off and noticed the area around my ankle was red, swollen and very hot to touch. The area mentioned was about the circumferance of a cup. MY right ankle was affected but not as bad as my left. By the time i went to bed i was limping. By morning the swelling had greatly subsided but was still slightly swollen and red. I am 50 yrs old and drink alchohol.
Thanks Colleen

Hi Colleen,
If you put on a pair of shoes and all of sudden your feet or ankles start to hurt it is probably safe to say the pain and redness is coming from the shoes. Stop wearing them. The irritation should subside. If it does not subside within a couple of days, a trip to a footspecialist would be indicated.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Swollen, painful on the outside of the ankle

by Kelly
(Nampa, Idaho)

My 14 year old son started football on the 16th of August. Gradually his ankles have increased in tenderness. This week however, both his ankles hurt and are swollen on the outside. He is a flat foot. We have tried heel supports, arch supports, ankle supports. We had the trainer wrap his ankles and he said it made them hurt worse. At the end of the day we put ice on and eleveate followed up with some IBU. I do not know which direction to go. He has had this issue before but not to this extreme. He is wearing cleats that go to his ankle and he wears those skater shoes during the day. He is 142 pounds and approximately 5'9.
Thank you,
Kelly

Hi Kelly,
Assuming no outright injury to the ankles it would seem your son has a biomechanical problem and more than likely it is due to his flat feet. Cleats are notoriously poor when it comes to supporting the arch of the foot.
I do not know what kind of arch supports you have tried but if they are ones that were bought in a drug store, then chances are they are not going to work.
Your best bet would be to take you son to a podiatrist, have him evaluated. Quite possibly he will end up in prescription orthotics which will stabilize the foot, relative to the ankle and lower leg, and his pain will diminish.
Marc Mitnick DPM

bottom of foot by the toes are swollen and tight

by Cici
(St. Louis, MO USA)

I'm not sure what is wrong but it just came to me that I might have been bitten by a spider. I haven't seen any spiders crawling lately but there was one dead in the corner but that was weeks before I had any trouble. I just don't want to rule it out. Today is the first day I had any real trouble walking and now my foot is noticably swollen in comparison to the other foot.

Hi Cici,
Without being able to look at your foot I have no idea if you were bitten by a spider or not, but in general terms the skin is too thick on the bottom of the foot for insect bites.
Since your foot is swollen and painful it can be coming from any number of sources; I think your best bet would be to see a podiatrist and let he or she make an accurate diagnosis.
Marc Mitnick DPM

swollen feet

by Ashley Figueroa
(chicago,illinois,us)

My feet are about 3 times the size they usually are 'm 36 weeks pregnant..... they have become black and blue. The day before yesterday when I took a shower and shaved i couldnt even feel the razor against my skin! They are so itchy i can't take it anymore....when I call my doctor she says it's just because i'm pregnant but i'm really concerned! I've tried soaking them in buckets of hot water they became worse and elevation made them worse also.......

Hi Ashley,
Although your condition is probably related to your pregnancy, I would insist your doctor take a loot at your feet just to make sure there is not some other problem going on. Pregnancy and humidity will make feet swell, but it sounds like your problem is a little worse.
Stop soaking your feet in hot water; that will actually make it worse.
Marc Mitnick DPM

pain and swelling of the foot

by Jose
(Dallas, TX)

Last week, I was working for my night shift. It was very busy on that restaurant. Then, I somehow smashed my foot on a big beer keg. It hurt a lot, and the next day, it's swelling and really painful. I had my sister massage it, but my girlfriend said that I shouldn't because it'll just keep swelling. She instead told me to put an ice, or soak it in cold water, elevate and avoid pressure on it as much as possible. What do I do? Thanks in advance for your help.

Jose,
Before you do anything, go get an x-ray and make sure you did not break a bone. Icing and elevation will certainly relieve the symptoms but until you know whether or not it is broken there is no way to determine how long your foot will hurt. If it is broken and you continue to walk on it, you may do further damage.
Marc Mitnick DPM

swelling of the ankle bone

by marcy
(michigan)

All of a sudden my ankle bone is swollen, and only my ankle bone, no clue why? It goes away over night when i'm sleeping, and after an hour walking its swollen again. Its been going on for about a week or so.

Hi Marcy,
Since I do not even know your age or any other pertinent medical information about you I will tell you in general terms that swelling which is prevalent during the day but goes away at night is usually due to poor venous return, in other words when you are on your feet and standing the body is unable to get all the blood back up to your heart. This is usually due to breakdown of the veins that drain blood from your foot.
While you are at sleep the veins because they are not working against gravity are able to drain the blood from your ankle, so in the morning it looks normal again, only to return when you stand up for a period of time.
This is generally not a serious problem but you should have your doctor look at it to make sure that is all it is. There are treatments available.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Left foot swells after I walk my daily 2.87 mile walk

I have been walking for over a month and a half. I walk early in the morning and love it. I average about 2.87miles a morning. However since I've been walking my left foot swells in the late afternoon early evening. If I get in the pool it's not as bad, but it's every day !! I've also noticed since walking the longer I sit at the computer it swells also. otherwise, I'm great !! I'm 49 and trying hard to make walking a daily life style for my over all health. Any suggestions?
Thank you Judy

Hi Judy,
Since you do not mention any pain associated with this problem I will assume it does not hurt and so I can rule out things like tendonitis.
Based on your description, the first area I would look into is venous insufficiency. This tends to worsen as the day progresses and could be relieved by going into a pool, especially if the water is somewhat cool.
I would recommend you see a doctor just to make sure that is all it is.
Marc Mitnick DPM

lump pain swelling

my husband has a hard painful lump on his left leg about 2 inches above his ankle. it is red and is swelling. below that on his foot he has a bumpy bruise with a puffy vein leading to that lump and swelling. he is on his feet all day and on concrete wearing work boots. we don;t have insurance so we are tryng to see if there is anything you know or that i can research about to give us an idea.

Hi,
Does the lump appear just above the top of his boot? What happens many times is that where a shoe or boot ends, if it is too tight, it irritates the skin. That might be the source of his problem.
A puffy vein and bruise sounds like it might be a superficial phlebitis.
Unfortunately, I think the leg should be looked at by a doctor, you would not want the condition to worsen.
Marc Mitnick DPM

left top foot very swollen, top of foot very red and painful.

by denise
(san pedro,ca)

steped down off curb to street ,landed on left outer side of foot, felt a snap then a feeling like my foot folded like a taco shell..major swealing and brusing but could totaly walk on it 2days after ,then most of the swealing went down and the pain set in and my whole foot sweeled up again and the top is now very hot and bright red.

Hi Denise,
You need to have your foot examined by a doctor. The "snap" you felt may indicate a torn tendon. You also need to rule out a broken bone and the only way that is going to happen is if you have an x-ray.
Do not put this off, the longer you wait without proper treatment, the worse it may become.
Marc Mitnick DPM

ankle swelled up overnight

by maureen
(martinsville va)

started wearing orthotics and my ankles swelled, normal? I just comnpleted 3 months in a cam walker boot for a calcaneal stress fx-also have plantar fasciitis

Hi Maureen,
Sometimes a foot and ankle can swell when you first get a new pair of orthotics, but generally will subside in a few days. I think the bigger issue here is that you are just coming out of a cam walker and you are putting more stress on the foot and ankle and that is why it is swelling. It too should subside as you get used to walking normal again; if it does not, you need to make your doctor aware of the problem.
Marc Mitnick DPM

foot swelling and tenderness

by Joe
(Kansas)

I have been experiencing tenderness and soreness at the base of my second toe (The one next to the big toe). There is swelling. I feel like I am walking on a pad. There is swelling on top of the foot and soreness. When I lace up shoes I feel the soreness on top. I also feel soreness when I touch the tendon on top of the toe or push on the joint of the toe on the bottom. I know of no injury. I was walking 2 to 4 miles a day for exercise, but stop exercising about one week ago. I first noticed the tenderness on the bottom of my foot about 15 days ago. There is no discoloration. There is no difference in temperation from my other foot. I'm 61 years old.

Hi Joe,
There are a number of things that could cause this type of pain, but rather than give you a "laundry list" of possible conditions I would suggest you see a podiatrist, quite simply, because the pain has been present for over two weeks. My rule of thumb is that a pain that lasts longer than 10-14 days is probably not going to resolve itself anytime soon and medical attention will go a long way to resolving the problem.
Marc Mitnick DPM

foot still swollen

by Judy
(New Jersey)

Hi Doc.

I broke my foot last year and after standing on my foot for too long recently, my foot began to swell. I went to see a doctor and I was told that there was no break, so it was most likely a sprain. It has been two weeks since my foot starting swelling.. is there something more to it? I have including some pics.

Thanks,

Hi Judy,
Sometimes it is necessary to think outside the box. If your foot started swelling for no apparent reason and the foot itself does not hurt then I would have your venous circulation tested. Since apparently it is only one foot, I would have your venous return in your right leg looked into.
Marc Mitnick DPM
Judy

Foot swells and turns cold

by Shannon
(Broken Arrow, OK)

I had hip surgery 3 weeks ago to remove a bone spur and to repair two large tears. Now when my leg is hanging down it turns a puple color and turns ice cold. My calf mucle on my leg also turns cold. The doctor keeps telling me to give it time. Do you know if I am getting enough blood in my leg??

Hi Shannon,
Although the swelling associated with your hip surgery might compromise your circulation I do not think it would to the extent you describe.
Go see a vascular specialist for a second opinion and let he or she tell you its nothing, because if your orthopedist happens to be wrong, you could lose your leg.
Marc Mitnick DPM

swollen and hot stabbing pains from instep to toes.

by kay smedley
(blackpool. england)

broke ankle 23rd feb this year,no pins etc cast off after 6 wks told 80% healed felt ok had to get back to work in bar/restaurant full time.ankle still stiff do exsersizes but prob not really that its very swollen,very tender and i have hot stabbing excrutiating pain nearly all the time.saw a gp in my practice he said elevate when can take ibuprofen and it did get better for a while saw another gp he gave me dicloflex 50 mg 3 times a day. on my final visit to hospital the doc there said stop taking dicloflex which i did . i am so fed up foot so bad dont know what to do rang docs couldnt get appointment so left a message he now says go back on dicloflex ????? so three days on it still no change . . every day i try to work,i love walking and just want a foot back to normal i am in agony please help!!!

Hi Kay,
The sad reality is that sometimes a problem like a broken ankle, even with proper rest, will be an ongoing problem particularly if you have a line of work that requires you to be on your feet for long periods of time.
Since I do not know your age or weight or other pertinent information I can only make limited suggestions.
One would be to have another xray to make sure the break is completely healed. If so, you should inquire about physical therapy of move the healing process along more quickly and lastly you should be wearing an ankle splint of some sort. Ankle splints come in various designs so if you happen to be wearing a splint (and it is not helping) you should consider trying a different type of splint.
Marc Mitnick DPM

swollen foot

by jcm
(new jersey)

Last summer I broke the 5th metatarsel bone in my right foot. A couple of days ago after wearing heels for a longer period of time than usual, my foot started to hurt and swell a little. I iced it and it subsided. I wore flats the next day (in order to avoid wearing heels) and now my foot is swollen alot. I can walk on the foot without discomfort. Did I break my foot again?

Hi,
The only way you will know is to have the foot x-rayed again. A swollen foot is not a normal situation, have it checked out.
Marc Mitnick DPM

swelling in feet

by Colin
(Birmingham UK)

My wife has recently fractured her right neck of femur and is worried that her lower leg/ankles/feet are swelling unless she is lying down. Is this anything to worry about

Hi Colin,
More than likely this is nothing to worry about but she should check with her doctor just to make sure the cast is not too tight or perhaps the rare possiblity of a phlebitis.
Marc Mitnick DPM

numb feet and swollen ankles

by Gina
(USA)

I had surgery 5 years ago on my peroneal tendon in my right ankle, a broken left ankle and fibula 3 years ago, and lumber spinal fusion last May. My feet feel numb and slightly tingly when I take my shoes off, and my ankles are swelling after a day at work. Any ideas?

Hi Gina,
If I had to "guess" I would say the tingling and numbness is coming from the spinal fusion. Since I know nothing else about you in regards to age, weight, medical history, etc. I cannot comment on what is causing the swelling.
Marc Mitnick DPM

Swollen left ankle

(Miami, Florida)

My left ankle is always swollen, so is that foot and bottom part of that leg, up to the point where the foot starts turning purple and get a throbbing pain that anything that touches it causes extreme pain. I take diuretics on a daily basis but I get no much help, it only lowers the swelling a little bit, I also take Trental which also helps a little bit. When I do not take those 2 meds, it swells so much that I can not even walk.

Hi,
If you are not already, you need to be under the care of a vascular specialist.
Marc Mitnick DPM

front half of right foot is hurtting and swollen,

by Sam Rasul
(San Diego Ca, USA)

the full half of front foot is hurting, hard to walk and there's pain when touch or push the swollen parts. I dont think it's the shoes but don't know what causes this and what would be the best solution. thank you.

Hi Sam,

You do not mention your age but a swollen, painful foot would certainly warrant immediate medical attention. Assuming it is not of vascular origin , the first thing that comes to mind is a stress fracture.
Have your foot looked at immediately.
Marc Mitnick DPM