Foot impact injury, any help really appreciated (images included)

Hi people,

This post may seem fairly long however I just wanting to explain exactly what’s happened and where I am at the moment, after visiting my doctor twice lately and nothing been done I’m not really sure what to do next.

The injury happened three months ago while I was playing football indoor, another player went to kick the ball at the same time as I did and before I could get to the ball he made full on contact with the top of my right foot (as I was in the striking motion also). Since then I’ve discovered that this injury could have been made worse due to having football cleats on which don’t suit the shape of my foot (leaving the area which has been injury overly exposed). I’ve attached an image of the cleats on my foot below and how they were tight on the lace section (image was taken before the injury occurred) I think I have a high profile foot?

http://s1.postimage.org/4wu7pamn5/boot.jpg

I went for an X-Ray the day after the injury (as it was hurting so much) and there was nothing seen in terms of breaks or sprains. It’s been three months now and all I’ve been doing is resting the foot (no sports) it seems every time I wear anything other than running trainers the pain comes back, for example if I wear flat shoes which don’t fully support the area which is in pain, at the end of the day/night its really hurting again (almost back to stage one). All the supports I’ve tried just seem to make it hurt more than without one on (as I think it’s putting too much pressure on the injury). I tried to have a run around a week ago and the foot just feels so weak and fragile, I managed to complete the run ok but it just doesn’t feel right at all.

There wasn’t a huge amount of swelling or bruising after the injury so I’m totally baffled as to what’s up with it. I’ve added some pictures below of both of my feet along with an image of where the pain is occurring. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks

http://s1.postimage.org/j3adgd1zx/top0.jpg

http://s1.postimage.org/c02mzcy02/top.jpg

http://s1.postimage.org/fjoume3pm/right.jpg

http://s1.postimage.org/mmwybozmw/side.jpg

Hi there, well your feet aren't unfortunately a great example of human anatomy. So you sustain an impact injury to the top of the longitudinal arch. First of all there may well be some joint line issues that will just take some time to heal. X-rays only show the bone and not the end plates, articular cartilage or connective tissue structures. This may be assisted with some foot bone mobilizations if you do go and see a physio. I would however say that looking at your feet you have collapsed arches which should be supported with an orthotic (inner sole). This is even in your football boots. I can see some clawing in the toes and a few of them are starting to exhibit the signs of collapse in the main arches of the foot so this should also be addressed as a preventative measure, either by a PT or a Podiatrist. A PT may also have some modalities that could assist in pain reduction.

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Originally Posted by physiobob

Hi there, well your feet aren't unfortunately a great example of human anatomy. So you sustain an impact injury to the top of the longitudinal arch. First of all there may well be some joint line issues that will just take some time to heal. X-rays only show the bone and not the end plates, articular cartilage or connective tissue structures. This may be assisted with some foot bone mobilizations if you do go and see a physio. I would however say that looking at your feet you have collapsed arches which should be supported with an orthotic (inner sole). This is even in your football boots. I can see some clawing in the toes and a few of them are starting to exhibit the signs of collapse in the main arches of the foot so this should also be addressed as a preventative measure, either by a PT or a Podiatrist. A PT may also have some modalities that could assist in pain reduction.

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Thanks for your reply physiobob,

It was my understanding that if you had a collapsed arch (flat foot) that when you made a foot print it appeared flat? I've tried this before and my foot print leaves a very thin line (most times a gap) in the centre of the print. Maybe my foot appears flat due to me sitting and taking the pictures with my feet out in front of me on a carpeted surface? Is there anything else I could do to test if indeed my feet do have collapsed arches? Would you say playing sports will delay the healing process and I should just keep waiting for the pain to totally go away.

Thanks Again.

There are anatomically flat feet which are uncommon really and there are functionally flat feet which are the result of hypermobility and/or collapse of the arches in the feet. You need a physical assessment to determine which. In most cases there is some arch and supporting that may assist your recovery.