Tendon/Ligament sore/pain followed by feet swelling

[hkazmi]

To keep it short I am going to provide timeline in bullets
-Two weeks ago my Tendons/Ligament in shin started hurting (both feet)
-A day or two later, my feet would swell and I would wake up with pain
-Swelling stayed for a week, now all the swelling went away in feet
-Right after swelling on feet disappeared, I developed a red sore/swelling just above ankle on the shin of left leg, this is now slowly going away too
-Other joints are now continuing to hurt (knee, fingers, ankle, a bit of shoulder too last night)
-Last night, I was sleeping in on my side (kinda like fetal position with my knees bent) I woke up with severe knee pain that disappeared almost instantly when I straightened my legs.

Went to doctors (more than once) and he did all sorts of tests, Uric acid (urate) was 457 umol/l, however not sure if these are gout symptoms, mainly because the pain seems to be in ligaments/tendon soft tissue.
-Rheumatoid factor came back negative
-Autoimmune came back negative
-He even insisted on doing STD tests even though I assured him it couldn't be, all came back negative as expected.
-ESR and CRP, both indicated there is inflammation.
-Xray of the feet show nothing, further joints all over the body are effected
-I have had no fever through out the ordeal

My Doctor and I are at a loss as to what could be causing this. Any suggestion would be helpful. Even with anti-inflammatory medicine, I find it hard to be mobile. Without it, I can't even get off the bed.

[TrudieC]

Ask them to rule out fibromyalgia as well.

[carolanivey]

It's hard to say what caused the original condition or injury. (New or improperly fitted shoes, an activity you weren't used to, etc.)  However, it is not uncommon for pain in one joint to lead to pain in other joints and adjacent soft tissues.

When you have pain in your foot, for example, the nearby muscles and tendons tense up in an unconscious effort to "protect" the affected joint (or joints - the foot has dozens). It's no mystery, then, why that area of your shin. I had pain in the same area when the joints in my hindfoot (under the ankle) went bad. The pain seemed to "travel" up my leg.

Foot pain changes your gait, which in turn leads to knee, hip, and even back pain. It's the gift that keeps on giving. :)

Try sleeping with a longer pillow between your knees and feet so that everything from your low back to your hips, knees and ankles stay in alignment. I think you'll find it more comfortable. I'm a side-sleeper, too. :)

It may take some time for the rest of your lower body joints to follow the improvement in your feet. I know it's hard to be patient, though! (That must be why they call us "patients"!)