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Bone Scan shows left foot brighter than right!

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by Unregistered, Dec 10, 2008.

  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    Hi :) Well I will answer all the suggested questions before telling you about the bone scan- so I am sorry if this is a little long..

    My left foot is stiff on top both directly in front of the ankle and on top of forefoot. It feels most stiff when deliberately pointing my foot or pressing down as in running. Is is ok with flexion. The back of my left ankle towards the inside also hurts a bit when I point my foot a lot (I do ballet- not on pointe shoes though).

    This has been going on since the first or second week of September.

    The pain is mild. Mostly stiffness. It gets better with activity though there is a definite weakness in this foot/ankle as compared to the right one because things like balancing on one foot or pirouettes (turning on one leg on pointed toe) are more difficult and now verging on dangerous because of mild instability.

    What started this, and what continues to aggravate it, I am pretty sure, is single legged jumps and going all the way up on demipointe- as far as I can. Both these activities require going way up high on the tippy toes with the top of the foot virtually perpindicular to the ground- so really stretched foot while the toes are really at right angles to the foot. For the single leg jumps, I just wasn't strong enough to do it but I did it anyway. (just ignorance) Then I started stretching my feet much more than usual to try to help things and that could have made it worse. But I never forced stretching- just pointing and flexing as hard as I could using my own muscles.

    I should also say that since this happened, I have been looking more closely at my feet and my left foot is much weaker than my right foot and I would guess that it always has been this way- for ex, very little control over my baby toe and even the other 3 toes as compared to my right foot.

    Skipping dance class relieves the pain but ofcourse I don't like doing that. I skip class, then go back, playing cat and mouse, but overall, it has gotton worse.The arch is now beginning to feel kindof stiff.

    My doctor (GP) doesn't know. I had an xray a couple of weeks ago and it did not show a stress fracture or anything else.

    I live in Canada.

    So I got the bone scan today! They did both feet at the same time. The technician wouldn't tell me what she thinks. I have to wait a week for the results to be gven to my GP. I can't wait the suspense is killing me!

    Because, and this is what is really bothering me:

    I could see the "pictures" on a screen above the scanner and my left foot was much brighter than my right foot!!. The screen showed the scan from the top and the bottom. The top scan showed more of my metatartsal bones. All the metatarsals of my left foot were much brighter than on my right- no big "hot spots" that I could see but all the bones were just much lighter!! why would that be????

    The scan showing the foot bottoms also differed. On my left foot there was a big glowing "hot spot" about an inch in diameter around the inner side of the ankle. (In the same location as where it hurts when I point really hard) But nothing like that on the right foot.

    I am a little freaked out! What could this mean? Could it just (hopefully) mean that the bones in my left foot are under more stress for whatever reason so they are laying down so much new bone that they are glowing like that? I mean, does accelerated growth that is not necessarily bad also show up on bone scans? Or is all accellerated growth bad?

    Thank you for answering. I am sorry this is so long a post.

    Cat
     
  2. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    DISCLAIMER:
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    ***********************************************************
    I can understand that you are anxious for a diagnosis, but based upon your brief and un-knowledgeable glance at at bone scan, what would possess you to even consider that any responsible professional would venture a definitive or even suggestive comment which might be construed by you as a diagnosis. What are termed "hot spots" on a scan are areas where the radionuclide, generally technetium had accumulated, and they tend to indicate areas where there may be increased bone metabolism or cell activity, which may be for any number of possible reasons. PULEEEEEEZE wait until your doctor gets the radiologist's report, and be aware that the diagnosis, even then, probably won't be in the form of a blinking neon sign texting out the precise nature of your problem. These tests and subsequent reports represent only a cog in the wheel of diagnosis, and as such, they must be taken into consideration and perspective with a whole host of other, often more mundanely received clues. You are merely creating unnecessary problems for yourself by seeking speculative informative from those who cannot possibly supply anything else. You will be far better off, waiting until you get an answer based on an actual reading of the test rather than your gleaning the possibly unfounded sense of relief or fear that you might alternatively obtain. My guess is that after all is said and done, that you and your doctors might well know substantively little more than they do now. Too many patients put too much faith in high-tech tests to bail out otherwise absent definitive diagnoses.
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2008
  3. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Thank you for replying :) You are right, I need to wait. I wish they would cover up that screen so we don't have to see it! I will let you know what my doctor says. I will try to put it out of my mind until then.


    thank you!
     
  4. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Hi, well I thought I would finish this by telling you that you were right!

    Bone scan & xray show no stress fractures though bone scan shows "activity" (can't remember the correct word) consitant with arthritis (they used another word) of the 2nd and 3rd TMT (tarsal-metatarsal) joints. Though I never have felt anything there and GP is agreed that many people would show signs of arthritis on a bone scan without having symptoms and that it doesn't have anything to do with what is going on with my foot right now.

    I then went to a physiotherapist who seemd to sort of specialize in dance. She wants me to do plies on a wobble board to strengthen my tibialis posterior. But she does not know why the front of my ankle is stiff- she said maybe it is just stiff. (?) This stiffness is now the worst part- I just wish I knew what it was and why it is happening. The forefoot pain is almost gone because I have cut back so much on classes and we seem agreed that it is just weak intrinisc foot muscles.

    As for one foot being brighter that the other on the bone scan screen, my GP said maybe they just had the "dail" or whatever turned up on the foot of interest. Haha, I am actually laughing right now over the ridiculousness of it!

    So yes, Dr Foot, a can of worms indeed with no simple answers..... I don't really mind except that I am scared of worsening it unknowingly.
     
  5. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    Thanks for getting back to me. I hope that others will take note of the fact that only rarely do bone scans, MRI's, and other high-tech tests make diagnoses which are not already suspected as the result of standard examinations. They generally serve to confirm or clarify an already suspect diagnosis. But accurate diagnosis is most always the prerequisite for an effective treatment plan.
     
  6. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I just got home a couple of hours ago from my bone scan test, and I had a very similar experience.

    I injured myself thinking i had reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped off a little too early, rolling my foot inwards and falling on top of it. I heard what i thought was the bone breaking in half, and instantly a large blue lump formed out of the top of my foot, bruised and stayed swollen and bruised for 31 days.

    My xrays at the ER came out "normal" despite some bone fragments the ER doc attributed to an old injury i dont recall having. (due to "rounded edges"). My doctor seems to think its a 2nd or 3rd level sprain, and he sees nothing on his xrays, (not even mentioning bone fragments) also coming out "normal" . My chiropractor is convinced i broke or fractured part of my ankle, as well as completely severing my foot ligement. (she actually stated i have NO ligement across the top of my foot now? Doctor appeared to disagree..)

    It has been 45 days since my injury. I went for physio, after 3 sessions was told I was fine. I am 26 years old, and walking with a cane. Every day it seems as though the pain is localized to one area. Either inside arch area, inside ankle area, or down the side of my foot, parallel with my baby toe. (Last week it felt like someone tore off my baby toe, from tip to ankle...)

    I was told my GP would have the result in a day or two. And i have a feeling this will be another "normal" test. I await the call for my MRI, but am starting to wonder: Should I just accept that this is a simple sprain? What could be underlying? If there was a break or fracture gone undetected this long, what does that mean for me? Or if the ligements are completely severed or gone?
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2011
  7. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I would ask to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon if you are unhappy. I injured myself by tripping back on 07.25.11. Occmed dr. said oh its just a sprain, I was in agony for weeks and the more I was on it doing physical therapy and such the more it swelled and hurt. After a month of pain finally got approval for an MRi found two partial tears to ligaments. Continued P.T one day walking in my boot the ortho (work related) felt a sharp pop in my ankle and we now had swelling and pain in new places on my ankle. I went to the work ortho dr he took an xray told me I need to toughen up and deal with it......not my choice of diagnoses. That week I scheduled a second opinion with the dr of my choice went and saw him he looked at the same MRI everyone else did diagnosed os trigonum syndrom, osteochondritis and cysts....hmmmm toughen up and deal with it was far off! If you do not feel your doctor is seeing something see a specialist that is what they are there for! Good luck!
    Ankle PAin
     
  8. Amari

    Amari New Member

    U have to go to physical therapist he is the only person who can help u becuase physical therapy is not a limited field now years ago it was very limited like back pains or etc u have visit them physical therapist can help u out..............
     
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