Hi all,
I've begun to feel extreme pain in the ball of my right foot only. It feels when I walk I'm stepping on a golf ball. The more I walk the worse the pain gets. I've tried all types of shoes and shoe inserts and nothing seems to relieve the pain. Not sure if it's PD related or not. Anyone experiencing a similar issue?
Your foot must have '"collapsed". Orthotics can really help. They are specific for different conditions. Are you wearing different shoes? Sometimes that can be the cause to.
My foot I don't think has collapsed....will look into orthotics. Thanks for replying
Look up Plantar Fasciitis & see what you think. If that is it, they have some stretches you can do that will help.
I have diabetic neuropathy and have very similiar pain. Are you Diabetic?
No fortunately that's something I do not have lol. Thank you for responding
Are you on Sinemet, if so, did you have this foot
pain prior to taking it. ?,
It seems to hurt more when I first get out of bed. Before taking sinemet. P
My parky husband has had arthritis for over 20 years & PD for 12 years for which he takes Sinemet. He has suffered with painful feet for at least the past 5 years (probably more) and describes the feeling as like 'walking on marbles'. I'm sure it's Parkinson's related but his orthopaedic consultant said it's due to arthritis and the only way to rectify it is to have an extremely painful operation from which the recovery is one year. Consequently he didn't go for that option. Instead he has his shoes specially made by the Orthotics Dept at our local hospital. This seems to have alleviated the problem somewhat but not entirely.
I had surgery last year for arthritis and my foot is worse now.
The operation sounds terrible so that's out of the question. I too have arthritis throughout my body. I will check with a podiatrist and find out about orthotics... thanks for the input
Sleeplessparki, yes, I have this problem in my left foot. It actually started several years before any PD symptoms became visible. My primary care physician told me that as we age, we loose the fat pads on the bottom of our feet. An orthopedist prescribed custom-made orthotic shoe inserts which helped a great deal for many years. They're expensive, but well worth it if you can swing it. They are not covered by Medicare (however, I believe custom-made orthotic shoes, as opposed to inserts only, are covered under Medicare. Go figure!)
The custom inserts took care of 100% of the pain for many years. However, about 4 or 5 years ago, the pain returned in a milder form even when wearing the inserts. So, I got creative. I reasoned that if the problem was due to loss of fats pads inside my feet, then maybe I could just add something that acted like a fat pad to the outside part of my foot. It worked. Now, I wear both the custom insert and the "external fat pad" on both feet every day and I have no more pain in the bottom of my feet. (I showed them to my orthopedist, and she approved. She said this solution actually causes more pain for some people, but eases the pain for others. You would just have to experiment.)
Here's how I make the "external fat pads" (its a hassle, but it's worth it to be rid of the pain). Get a pair of Dr. Scholl's air pillow insoles. (These are a piece of foam with white fabric glued on top, tiny airholes, and about 1/8 thick. Don't get the double kind - they are too thick.) Here's an Amazon link amazon.com/Dr-Scholls-Pillo.... However, I buy a generic brand much cheaper at the grocery store in the foot health section.
You will also need a roll of paper tape for sensitive skin, 1 in. wide. (I also get this at the grocery store in the first aid section.)
Draw a pattern on a piece of heavy paper or cardstock. Depending on the size of your foot, it should be approximately 3 1/2 in. long, 3/4 in. wide, and will have a slight arc in it that follows the curve that the line of metatarsal heads make on the underside of your foot (the ball). For a good drawing of the metatarsal heads, look toward the end of this article physio-pedia.com/Metatarsalgia. You will want the pad to be long enough to start and end just at the edge of each side of your foot.
When you get the pattern close to what you think it should be, trace the outline of it on one of your air-pillo insoles. (If you are going to wear a pad on each foot, turn the pattern over and trace it's mirror image for the second pad.) Cut out the pad with a pair of scissors.
Tear off 6 sections of paper tape approximately 3/4 in. long. Place the pad along the metatarsal head arch on the bottom of your foot, with the foam side next to the skin. Tape this to your foot with 3 pieces of tape at each end of the pad. Very carefully so as not to disturb the tape, put on a sock, a shoe, and walk around to test it out.
If this works for you, you can wash the pads gently by hand and reuse them several times before cutting new ones. Just be careful when removing the tape, which you should apply to the white, fabric side and not the foam side.
Needless to say, do this when your medications are on. Ha!
With all of that said, I have seen ball-of-the-foot pads available commercially. However, they are larger than these simple ones that I make and would add too much bulk to the already too tight toe box in my shoes.
Whew! My replies can get very long sometimes. I hope this helps you or someone.
I have the same pain in my right foot. Just had a cortisone needle which has helped a bit. But still painful.
I have episodes of burning feet that make my all my toes have ingrown nails and I am walking on a pad. Sometimes it wakes me up at night. If this sounds like your pain, try icing if the pain if really bad. A can of soda out of the refrigerator will do fine. Also, if your PD allows, try to do as much walking on softer ground. The kneading effects seem to ward off some of the attacks. I find thinner soled shoes also help.
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