Why do I have foot pain?

by Megan
(Orlando, Florida, USA)

About a few months ago I had stepped on some glass from a pot. The glass stabbed through my entire foot causing me to lose a lot of blood. When I got to the hospital they pulled the glass out from the bottom of my foot and cut the top of my foot open to get the rest out. I had a chunk of skin hanging out on the bottom that they did not stitch since it could cause an infection. Since than it has healed shut, leaving a bump on the bottom of my foot. Now it feels like all the the nerves went to the top of my foot and the slightest touch, for example putting a sock on hurts and tingles my whole foot up to my leg. My 3rd toe I cannot even move/bend it, sticks right up. On the bottom of my foot underneath my third toe is also a sharp pain. I don't know if there is glass still stuck in my foot and why it tingles so much. Please help give information on what I should do. Thank you so much!

RESPONSE

Hi Megan,

Let me start from the end of your narrative and work backwards to try and explain what appears to be going on. If you have any concerns that there may still be glass in your foot, then you need to go back to the doctor or hospital and either have an ultrasound or an MRI. Either one of those tests should be able to determine if there is still any glass in your foot.
An x-ray will be of no value.
The most likely reason your third toe is standing straight up is probably due to the fact that the glass cut the tendon that brings your toe downward, the flexor tendon. Obviously, if cut, the toe would spike upward and stay there.
I am only guessing here since I do not have the luxury of examining you, but there is probably a soft tissue procedure that could be performed to bring your toe downward. Whether that involves reattaching the tendon, only an MRI would tell. More then likely a procedure could be performed that would bring the toe down, but would not allow you to bend the toe up and down, although, as you state, with the way the toe is now, you cannot move it up and down.
They did not stitch the bottom incision shut due to the possibility of infection, but I am not sure what exactly was hanging out of the bottom of your foot; they could have cut that away.
Since your wound was a fresh wound, assuming you went to the hospital immediately after stepping on the glass, they probably could have closed it, but that is an individual clinical decision.
In any event, you now have scar tissue in the area and that is probably what is causing your pain. Due to the location of the wound, essentially on the ball of your foot, I would have put you on crutches and made you go non-weightbearing on the foot for a couple of weeks. That might have prevented some of the scarring.
At this point, my suggestion would be to see a foot specialist simply because your regular doctor or the hospital ER simply are not versed enough in the anatomy of the foot to give you the care you need.
Even though I earlier suggested an ultrasound or MRI, I would be leaning more towards an MRI at this point because it will tell you if there is any glass remaining inside your foot and will give your doctor a better picture of damage to your foot from the glass, specifically, as to whether or not it is possible to re-attach the flexor tendon.
More then likely the scar on the bottom of your foot will have to be excised and re-sewn back together.
Good luck.

Marc Mitnick DPM
DISCLAIMER