What type of doctor should I see?

[khalloc]

I've complained about this hear before. I'm doing it again. I am in extreme pain on both of my feet. It started last May and that was diagnosed as achilles tendonopathy by a P.A.C at an Orthopedists office. I went back to him just this week. He says its still at my insertion site, so where the achilles attaches to the bone at the back of my ankle. He gave me a referral for PT since it finally feels well enough that I have some good days.

But now the bigger problem is that my right heel is killing me. It was fine this entire time and just started hurting in February. The pain is excruciating. Especially when I wake up. But he said it didnt seem like plantar fascitis. The pain is not in my arch at all, just all around my heel, especially the rim and it feels like I have a nail or glass in my heel. He said that it seemed like the fat pad on my heel was damaged and not cushioning my calcaneous bone. He sold me some heel gel pads for that.

The kicker is about 5 years ago I had arthritis and it started in the joint in my big toe and then moved to my knee on the same leg. I saw a rheumatologist who put my on Humira. I took that 3 times and it was heaven. I could move again! I am not sure if what is going on now could be related? Should I call the rheumatologist and try to get an appointment? My pain now is not joint pain though. I dont know what to do. I'm sick of not being able to walk though. I feel like my life sucks. I just want to walk around without bracing myself for shooting pains.

I will try the physical therapy for my left achilles, but I feel like there is no plan now for my right foot and the new heel pain I am having there.

So Rheumatologist? (since I obviously have a history, even though this is not joint pain? I dont want to waste her time)

A Podiatrist?

New Orthopedist?

I do have another appointment at the same orthopedists office for end of April but this time with the real doctor/orthopedic surgeon. I imagine his idea was that I would try PT for a 6-8 weeks and then go back and see how I was feeling.

Thanks for any advice!

[KpbS]

I would see if you could get into a Podiatrist in between now and the next Ortho appt. I hope you are feeling much better soon! :hug:

[Mrs.Skeeter]

Could it be something like a bone spur that cause the pain to come back suddenly? I hope you get some relief soon.

[swissair81]

I think I would see a Podiatrist. That is a total layman's opinion though.

[MaiseyDog]

The heel pain sounds like the pain I had back in the summer. It turned out to be a heel spur. I went to see a podiatrist and after an steroid injection and splinting it at night it was 100% better in about a month.

[jse107]

Sounds like aheel spur. I have been nursing one since last fall. It hurts more in the morning when I first get out of bed or I have been sitting for a long period. I've been wearing my sneakers with inserts, which has helped some.
Your sore heel is the result of foot muscles tightening up overnight. The tightened muscles accentuate the pull on the heel bone spur and ligaments, or plantar fascia, making your first steps painful. You know you have heel pain if getting out of bed in the morning and stepping down makes you want to yell out. In fact, the medical term for heel pain, post-static dyskinesia, means "pain after rest."
You may also notice symptoms of heel pain when:
Plunging into exercise without warming up first.
Moving after any inactivity, such as sitting in a car or at a desk. The initial movement will result in sharp, shooting heel pain, giving you a sore or painful heel.

[khalloc]

Thanks for the replies. I do have a night splint for the leg with the achilles issue. But I never wear it because it is too uncomfortable on that foot. My achilles is pretty tight i guess. I will try wearing it on the other foot with the new heel pain.

[wimama]

I would go see a podiatrist and rheumatologist. I think you could possibly benefit from a steroid injection in the bottom of your heel if you pain is on the bottom of you right heel, custom orthotics and possibly a night splint/splints. All which a podiatrist should be able to address for you. Call around to make sure you find a podiatrist that can offer all of these options. But, since it sounds like you have a history of arthritis, I would also go back to your rheumatologist. Rheumatoid arthritis and other seronegative forms of arthritis cause you to be much more likely to have inflammation in multiple joints AND in tendons and ligaments. In short, it makes you much more likely to have any type of "itis".

[hopeful_mama]

I would also ask the physical therapist what they think. If your feet have been giving you pain, you've almost certainly altered the way you walk - you could be placing unusual pressures on the heel that ended up causing problems. And when one muscle or group of muscles is hurting, nearby ones are used more in an effort to compensate. [I am in PT for pelvic issues, but she's also helping my back pain that she feels was largely caused by the tightening of the pelvic muscles. Similarly, she says people with neck pain often end up with back pain (or vice versa).]

Good luck, I hope you can figure it out and get some relief soon. :hug: