PAINFUL FEET

[bessa]

I suffer from painful feet. I have a burning sensation on the ball of my foot, plus some numbness and a tightening sensations as if tendon or whatever are stretching this makes my feet feel very stiff in the toe area. This is very painful when ever I walk, thus I am in pain most of the time.

I have seen an orthopedic consultant and he said he could operate if I wished. This would involve breaking my 3 middle toes and letting them mend on their own without a plaster cast. It is not guaranteed and I could end up worse off than I am now. He put me off having the sugery but said he would do it if I really want it.  I am not keen as I am not convinced they really know whats wrong with my feet. Nothing shows up on x-rays and I have also had an MRI scan which did not show up any problem.  My feet look very healthy and I can walk ok even though they are very painful.

My worst problem (nobody can seem to give me an explanation)is that my feet hurt worse at night even if I have not done any walking during the day. I can go to bed completely painless but within half an hour the pain starts. I don't understand this at all because sometimes I will have been laying on the couch most of the evening with no problem, however get into bed and it starts.
I have to take 4 very strong painkillers to get irid of the pain (I should only be taking 2 at a time).  Sometimes it wakes me up.
Massage eases the pain but only for a very short tme 5/10 minutes.
In the morning as soon as I am awake they start to ache again and the silly thing then is If I get up and put my shoes on the pain eases.

I have tried various insoles and they have not helped

I have been think about trying acupuncture.

[boer]

When I get up in the morning my balls of my feet hurt so bad I cannot walk it takes awhile for it to go away I dont know what to do if you find out anything let me know.  I also have numbness in my right hand almost like a constant hurt I think I am falling apart..

[NaniKai]

I would never allow an orthopedic doctor to fracture three of my toes and then not cast my foot after the surgery!! There has to be correct/proper healing or you'll end up with arthritis from improper healing of the joints in the toes.
The previous poster mentioned plantar fasciitis and I'm inclined to agree. I've got that also and it sounds like you might suffer from it. It's very painful and can go all the way up to the ball of your foot because the ligaments and tendons in your foot are connected from the toes to the heels. They connect to the heel bone so you can also develop a heel spur.
You might consider going to a podiatrist and see if they would be willing to cast your feet for orthotics that are custom made by a lab for your feet. The ones out on the market today are okay but they aren't the same as the ones that are casted specifically for your feet. I would really seriously consult with the podiatrist, if he can't cast you at his office, he can send you directly to the lab that does this. They can cast you that same day, it's just making a plaster mold of your foot and then they'll have you return for the orthotics once they're made. One thing to keep in mind is that even after you have orthotics, there's a breaking in period when you wear them. You can't just put them in your shoes that first couple of weeks and wear them all day. Also, you might have to have adjustments to them after they're made, the adjustments are always minor but eventually they'll be the perfect fit.

[MKappelmann]

It sounds like plantar fasciitis. It gets painful when sleeping because the ligaments/tendons that are inflamed in your foot are shortened when your feet automatically point a little when lying down. They make special boot things for sleeping that help keep your foot flexed at night.