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Big Toe Pain When Stretching Leg and Foot

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by Unregistered, Sep 28, 2008.

  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    I have suffered from severe plantar fasciitis for 12 years, I also have achilles tendonitis. I love to stretch the top of my foot, especially after wearing a plantar fasciitis night splint, by sitting on my foot with my toe pointed (so basically I am sitting on my heel with the top of my foot and my toes on the ground). Suddenly a few days ago I felt that severe ripping/burning feeling in my big toe!!! I thought maybe I can help describe it. It starts at the left side of my right big toenail and goes to about the toe knuckle, and literally feels like the skin is RIPPING and burning off my toe!!!! SO painful! As soon as I stop the stretch it goes away, but it is there a little tiny bit all the time. It also happens when I point my toes like a ballerina, or push my toes down to stretch the muscles on the top of my foot.

    From what I read, it can be caused my a problem with your L5 disc in your back and can be related to sciatic pain, which I have as well. But I have never experienced such an intense, sharp ripping feeling anywhere before. All I need is one more foot problem! YUCK!! THIS SUCKS!!!! Not sure if I should go to a podiatrist or orthapedist.
     
  2. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Hello fellow foot feelers,

    I have a severe burning sensation in the medial section of my great toe when I stretch or point my toes on my right foot. Anyone who has experienced this horrific pain knows exactly what I'm talking about--nothing else is quite like it. I first noticed it one night when I was studying--I stretched both feet out and about died from the pain. I was certain someone was torching my foot. I've since had cortisone injections, an negative MRI to check for a neuroma, and seen a PT for weeks who taped my feet and legs to no avail. The only thing that remotely helps is taking 440 mg of naproxen sodium for two days in a row, then 220 mg every day afterward. Naproxen sodium is generic for the NSAID Aleve. But one can't stay on that forever, so I'm off to see a podiatrist or an orthopedist. I have great insurance and have now set out on a quest to get to the bottom of this awful pain. I will keep in touch with this post and let you all know what I learn. I, too, am tired of rolling over in bed and bushing that certain spot that sends the most intense pain through my toe. I've even considered having my toe cut off. I am pre-diabetic but have no other symptoms of neuropathy. Like I said, I'll keep in touch as this post wouldn't be this long if so many of us didn't identify with our new friend from Scotland. His description sounds exactly like how I've described my toe. Oh, I am not aware of any time that I have injured my toe. This just happened, like a snow storm.

    DLE
     
  3. christo644

    christo644 Guest

    Apologies for being a "me-tooer", but me too!

    About six months ago I started experiencing pain across the top of my right big toe when I extended the foot and leg. I typically noticed this when putting my pants on in the morning while pointing my toes to get my foot through the pant's leg.

    Roughly a month afterwards the same sort of pain started in the left big toe.

    Now the left big toe is more severe than the right.

    Areas across top of both of these toes feels numb.

    I had a physical exam last month, and I mentioned this to the doctor, but he wasn't able to offer a diagnosis.
     
  4. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Just thought I'd weigh in with my somewhat different experience.

    I had very similar symptoms -- pain and numbness in my big toe and across the top of my foot, especially when pointing my toe forward.

    I went to the doctor and had an x-ray, and the problem was immediately diagnosed: some form of bone tumor on the inside edge of the last phalanx of my big toe. The doctor said he's 99% sure it's benign looking at it, but I'll go in next week for an MRI to be sure.

    He suspects it's irritating a nerve.

    Fingers crossed that this is benign.
     
  5. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    i started to experience the same pain in december 2010....mentioned it to my GP as a side note when i went for a general exam...he too mentioned it can be some type of neuropathy from a previous back injury L4 and L5 vertebrae....i feel the pain mostly when i put on a sock or a pair of jeans...only when i stretch my foot forward.....otherwise it does not bother me and i am on my feet all day.....has anyone followed up with any of this ....it is extremely painful and i was wondering where to start
     
  6. Footdrcb

    Footdrcb New Member

    what is your age??? Have you had a spinal x ray ??

    FDCB
     
  7. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

     
  8. evanspop

    evanspop New Member

    I apologize for the length of this post but after reading I hope you will understand how I reached my conclusion and that maybe it will help someone else as well.

    On 1-1-2011 I woke up abruptly not knowing why. I stretched my legs and WOW! I thought someone had just tried to rip off the big toe on my left foot. I had not had any trauma to my toe, ankle, foot or any other part of my body.
    After a couple of days I decided it was not just a temporary thing. I looked up toe pain while stretching and found this site. After reading all the posts I came to the conclusion that I probably had the same diagnosis as all the others. Problem was that no one had solved the issue of extreme pain in the big toe while stretching.
    I am a male (54) and have always been active in sports primarily basketball and volleyball. January 09 I tore my labrum which required surgery and afterward had problems with my hands.
    After a month I went to a foot specialist (recommended here) and he took some X-rays. There was no visible damage and said he thought it was just inflammation in the joint from either trauma to the tendon or overstretching. He gave me Rx for Naproxen to relieve pain and swelling and scheduled an appointment a week later. He also told me that I needed expensive orthotics which insurance would not cover and for me to think about them.
    I could not take Naproxen due an allergic reaction to Aspirin. I returned in one week and he gave me a Cortisone injection and said that should take care of it but to come back if I continued to have problems.
    After a month of it getting worse (toe getting numb and pain when walking barefoot around the house) I visited my family doctor. He said I probably had Tarsal Tunnel (T/T) Syndrome (think Carpal tunnel only in the toes) and referred me to a neurologist for a nerve study.
    I researched T/T on the web and found that over-pronation could cause T/T.
    The last couple days at work my right ankle had been bothering me.

    This section explains what was thinking at this point.
    After my shoulder surgery my right hand was swollen all the time and would turn purple all the time. The more Physical therapy I did the worse it got. They did tests and said I had Carpal Tunnel (C/T). Two different specialists said I had to wait for the swelling to go away before they could fix the C/T. After two months a third specialist said it was possibly Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD is bad stuff) and that C/T release surgery should help. NOT
    On slaptear I found a person who had experienced the same thing. He found that after he changed the way he was doing his therapy his hands started to improve. Nine days after my C/T release surgery I changed my work out and within two days my hand was improving.

    With what I had found on Tarsal Tunnel, Over-pronation and my previous experience with my Slap repair and CT I went to Academy and purchased a pair of orthotic insoles to wear at work. After 7 days my toe has improved so much I bought another pair of insoles. It has been 12 days and I am almost pain free.
     
  9. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I seem to have same problem as others with right side foot on left of big toe, I do have a bit of back pain and I do seem to get charlie horses in my arches quite frequently, I guess I better get it looked at, sure it will be a waste of time but if i get answers I'll re post.
     
  10. Paul

    Paul Guest

    Hi All on this forum. Im a male 26 years old.
    About 7 months ago i developed suddenly the excruciating pain on top of my right big toe while flexing my toes with a straight leg, the same pain as everyone has described on here. The worst pain i felt was when trying to put pants on in the mornings, just terrible.
    I immediately went searching on the web for answers and like everyone on here got no answers. I also went to the doctors and well, 'take some pain killers', he didnt really know what the cause was. So i put up with it for 2 months and it didnt let up, still the extreme pain as when it first appeared.
    My father had been going to see a massage therapist and suggested i pay a visit. I was a bit skeptical on how a massage therapist would be able to relieve such pain.
    On the first visit after explaining the pain she said "No worries we will get it fixed for you no probs".
    The source of the problem was explained to me as the 'Extensor Digitorum Longus and Extensor Hallucis Longus' muscles that are located beneath the tibialis anterior muscle, which is about a hands width below your knee, about 45 degrees around clockwise from centre of your shin.
    In simple terms it was explained that id overloaded those muscles as im a runner and had recently upped my miles and did a bit of bare foot training, which had caused them to lock and had caused trigger points which sent referred pain to my big toe when i used these muscles to flex my foot. This also had caused the compression of the deep perennial nerve which was producing numbness on the outside of my big toe.
    So the therapist heated the area and muscles, and used a hot 'finger like' stone to massage and release the trigger points in the Extensor Longus muscles. The stone was used as these muscles are located deep under the tibialis muscle and fingers are not quite strong enough to do the job successfully. She also massaged and stretched the site of the pain at the toe to help blood flow back into the area to help unlock the nerve that was being compressed.
    The massaging and stretching and trigger pointing hurt like nothing else.
    After a few days of the massage session i had a large percentage of movement back, the pain had subsided a little.
    I had a one more massage session on the leg and foot, and after 3 weeks i had near full movement back into the foot and the pain had subsided considerably. The pain gradually disappeared and movement improved back to normal range. It took around 4 months before the pain completely went away but now after 7 months i wouldn't even know that id had the injury.
    Every now and then as the therapist suggested, i will give the area a good massage myself just to keep things free and moving to prevent a relapse.
    I hope this may be the answer for many who are looking as i was when i first got this injury.
    Good luck with you recovery.

    ps. If anyone decides to give the same treatment a go as i had, re post and update us on how you go.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2011
  11. Paul

    Paul Guest

    Sorry, just to clarify i saw a REMEDIAL massage therapist, with which the treatment worked for me. Id suggest giving it a go, for the sake of 2 x 1 hour long treatments at $50 each, instead of countless useless doctor appointments and expensive costs which bring no relief, the results were well worth it for me, i ended up being 'cured'.
     
  12. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    ALL of you 'sufferers':
    I came across this thread searching about my pain, which has just flared up (it's happened before) and it is identical to all of yours.

    TRY THIS:
    ON the side of body that the pain occurs, about the place where your pants go around your waste - use your thumb to feel around your hip / upper buttock... Press FIRMLY

    You may find that there is a tenderness not present on the side with no pain!

    NOW:
    Get something that will give you leverage (eg a wooden rolling pin, or a drumstick - I happen to be a drummer and had one lying around...) and lie somewhere comfy like a bed on the side with no pain, and using the item for leverage, MASSAGE HARD in a circular motion all around your pain for 5-10 mins. It will hurt, but it will feel good.

    RELIEF!!!

    WHY?

    -A sciatic nerve runs from your hip into your big toe. Chances are it is inflamed.

    I have had sciatica as a 15 yo teen (I'm now 31), and depending on my stomach muscles, or my physical (in)activity, this top of the foot / toe thing can flare up.

    I last happened to me when I was snowboarding in 2010.
     
  13. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Shooting, sharp pain on the inside of my big toe when stretching out my feet by standing on a tennis ball.

    I have been using this stretching technique for over a month now, having been advised to do so by a massage therapist for shin pain when running.

    Is the burning, sharp pain I am experiencing when standing on this tennis ball nerve impingement perhaps?

    Thanks for any and all advice...
     
  14. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I'm a "me too-er" - I have the same symptoms - It's been a hot summer and I can't go swimming because of how the foot and big toe get stretched and bent down while in the water. My big toe hurts too much - that tightening burning ripping feeling on top of the toe that everyone else it talking about. It hurts to sit on my knees or lie on my stomach as well because the toe is stretched out when I'm in those positions. No problem bending the toe up or with walking.
    There are some very interesting comments in here that I'm grateful for. I'm most grateful to learn that I AM NOT ALONE. :)
    I'm going to try some the massaging and stretching that's been suggested here. Failing that, I'll see my GP and ask for a referral to a specialist. I won't wait until it's so bad I need pain medication.

    Thanks
    K
     
  15. Me Toe

    Me Toe Guest

    Me Toe, otherwise healthy, sudden burning pain in top/outer of big toe that extends to top of foot when pointing toe such as putting on shoe, sock or pants but walking running are fine. Changed shoes - no effect. Its been about 2-3 months and thinking of making a MD appt but starting to think twice after reading all the posts that have no clear treatment or resolution of similar sounding symptoms. I am perplexed with several hypotheses that I have begun to reduce to my favorite being that I noticed that I sit all day in front of a computer and I tend to tuck by feet under me such that my toe is hyperflexed (up and back and into the joint since I am applying weight to it) I also favor my right foot (the hurting one) which often winds-up the one underneath with all the weight of the other on top of it. This sitting position itself doesn;t hurt but I notice a brief mild numbness now (i.e. in the same region that hurts when I flex the other way) after hours of doing this sitting position. I am interested to find out if anybody else with these symptoms think this sounds like it could be the cause of their condition too?
     
  16. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Hello my fellow strange-toe-pain sufferers. This has been an interesting forum for me to read. I'll summarize what I've learned (from my experiences and the forum):

    1) what we have is rare.

    2) the searing toe pain with pointing the foot, especially with a straight leg and/or when dressing, is very similar for all of us, though our histories and life styles and other conditions vary widely.

    3) the pain is located where the peroneal nerve ends. (the peroneal is one branch of many that leaves the spine at vertebra L4.)

    4) the pain is neurological.

    while the above are fairly straight forward facts, below is more conjecture.

    5) the cause of the nerve irritation may not be the same for each of us.

    6) it may be associated with the extensor hallucis and/or digitorum longus muscles/tendons and may be partially alleviated by activating these muscles/tendons or by massaging them.

    I wish there was more solid useful information on the treatment side but at least it seems none of us have died from it. In fact, though it may be crazy painful at times, I haven't found it debilitating.

    If it doesn't go away soon, to learn more about the location and possible cause of the nerve damage, I will go to a neurologist, who can test such things these days.

    BAB
     
  17. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    OK..Same problem here. Maybe I can help, not sure....

    My problem is very similar, I extend my right leg and point my toes and I get a searing, burning pain in my big toe, mainly to the outside and top of it. After I relax my leg/foot, the pain disappears. If a touch the top of my foot about 2" back from the big toe, I can actually find a spot where I can make the burning pain come and go. In more detail, follow the big toe back toward the ankle, right along the top of that bone that goes to the big toe. About 2 inches back, move off the bone towards my arch about 1/4" or so, and that is the spot. I can actually feel some sort of blood vessel or something rolling around under my finger there. It's like there is a nerve and blood vessel/something there that may be intertwined and by pushing on them and moving them, I must get pressure on the nerve and cause the shooting pain.

    My left leg has a similar problem, but no pain. The outside and top of my big toe are just constantly numb. Not a big deal, just a bit disconcerting.

    What I can add is I know almost certainly what has caused this for me. Ice Skates!! I started playing ice hockey, as as I got better I started to play more often, but also laced my skates more tightly as I needed to skate harder. So last week, I noticed I laced extra hard, and bang!, the big toe burning pain. The pain has been there a while when I pointed my leg/toe, but this is the first time I noticed it lacing my skates. So obliviously, my skates are being laced so tight, they are damaging/irritating that area about 2" behind my big toe. Now that area is extra sensitive...sucks.

    Taking Advil seems to help, but now I am trying that Traumeel creme. I also plan to back off on my lacing and also am makes a donut out of a gel pad to protect that one certain spot from pressure. Sure hope it works.

    So maybe evaluate the type of shoes you have and are you lacing too tight!!!

    Mark
     
  18. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I have more details with my particular case.

    Keeping in mind that the same symptoms, pain at the nerve end (toe), could be caused by nerve damage at different locations (all the way back to the back even). My location is close to Mark's. I have repeatable Tinel's sign right where foot and leg meet (the approximate right angle where the top of the foot meets the front of the shin - in the crotch of the ankle there). Where that corner is made, the extensor hallucis longus tendon and the peroneal nerve run together side by side, held in and forced to make the corner by a sheath. This seems a likely place for nerve constriction even though it is at the surface.

    I have improved considerably from its worst, by using salon pass patches at the point of inflammation described above, at night, and by avoiding tucking my feet under my chair when sitting and working at the computer (bad habit I've long had). Though it is far from all cured. I also had acupuncture and dry needling treatments for the same areas and tendons. Due to a not very successful toe surgery on my other big toe 1.5 years ago, I wear very loose sloppy shoes. So those are not an issue in my case as it is for Mark's. I can't imagine strapping on tight ice skates. That would really hurt! I still plan to see a neurologist just to confirm the diagnosis and to see what else I can learn.

    BAB
     
  19. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I went to a neurologist. Explained my problem, searing pain at it the end of my peroneal nerve caused by impingement at the ankle as described above. He said 'that is a good description' and that it isn't uncommon. He didn't have a treatment besides not wearing tight shoes and said it will likely resolve itself, which it mostly had by then anyway. It has come back again however. I haven't much clue why it has come and gone and come again. I never wear tight shoes.

    BAB
     
  20. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Well, an update on my condition.

    I post a week back, but since I referenced a web site in my text, it went to the moderator for a spam check. I guess they never got to reviewing it.

    Anyway, I believe what I have (we have) is Joplin's neuroma. Nothing exciting here other that it gives it a name. I guess a neuroma is a neuroma. Joplin's just describes the location of it, as opposed to Morton's nueroma. But it gives you something to research.

    My problem has got slightly better. I still have that spot where if I press, I get the searing pain in the big toe. I were a doughnut gel pad over the area when I skate, and that seems to help. I have no pain skating, so that is good. I've been massaging it and trying to "stretch" it. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing to do.

    I've tried icing and also Blue-Emu. The Blue-Emu is nice, but I doubt it does anything. I also screwed my knee a while back and was putting Blue-Emu on it. It has got better since then, but I think it was just a coincidence.

    Anyway, just an update.

    Mark
     
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