Orthopedic (Foot) Issues

Does heat help?? My brother has pins/metal in his foot and leg and he likes hot tubs! It releases the tension in his tendons. Maybe you need to get a hot tub!!! Good for him and you......

Please have him evaluated by at least 3 ortho's(try teaching hospitals/university hospitals) who specialize in trauma/feet and legs. Have him keep track before these appointments when the pain seems to be at it's worst and when it is better. There may be a way to remove some of the implants that are holding everything together, there may be a nerve impingement, there may be a build up of scar tissue putting undue pressure. As far as narcotics/pain relief goes he needs to start now and slowly pull back what he is dosing. Use everything you can think of Non steroidals like Aleve, Motrin or tylenol(not as effective if swelling is the problem), a massager that also has a heat setting, warm water soaks, epsom salt soaks, naturopaths, chiropractors, biofeedback specialists. Leave no stone unturned. Be careful as narcotics stoppage can cause withdrawl and needs to be done under a doctors supervision. I wish you luck as many people end up drug seeking for the rest of their lives rather than finding the right answer. Keep up the journey to healing it's worth it, no matter how hard the struggle.

Has anyone ever recommended that he limit his calcium because of the deposits? That's fairly common but exactly the opposite of what should be done. Calcium deposits happen, not because there is too much calcium in the system, but not enough. That area of the body is leeching it because it's not getting enough and it can't absorb properly. An absorbable, I REPEAT absorbable, calcium supplement should stop any further deposits.

Chiropractic care will help also. When we are not properly aligned then we tend to twist and lean and put additional stress on our back, legs and feet. My husband played football in HS and college and had numerous injuries and we tend carefully to his spinal column to help his feet. I recommend one with an upper cervical specialty. If you don't have a chiropractor go to ucspine.com and find one in your area.

We also shop at a store called the Walking company. Their website is www.thewalkingcompany.com. They have a store in Augusta and several in Atlanta but you can look at their website and see what they do. They have equipment to look at your feet, see your problem areas and fit you with the right brand and right shoes to make it comfortable for standing and walking. Since I've found their store, we've only bought shoes from them. They tend to you like stores used to and make sure you're happy with what you purchased. They don't have "guarantees" but they have made good when we were not happy with what we had bought.

Our family uses a natural pain cream that does wonders with my husband. I also use it when I know I will be standing all day and it keeps me from getting sore. There are also non addictive pain killers that are natural. They probably won't be as strong as the ones he's taking because the strong ones are probably not good for you (or illegal, lol). I gave my mother Arnica after her hip replacement surgery instead of the morphine and she did fine at 82. I would try the other processes first before you started experimenting with these things. When you get into pain relief you are reaching more into things that can still contraindicate and you have to be careful. I MUCH prefer anything natural to pharmaceuticals but he needs to be fully weaned off anything synthetic for anything else to do what it's supposed to do effectively. That may be a hard process for him. He may or may not be willing at this point to do that if his pain is that bad. If you want to go this route you should consult with an ND and do it right the first time.

Hope this helps. Feel free to get back to me if you need me to clarify anything. I hate that he's in that much pain!

M.

I had foot surgery, and one of the things they tried in therapy was ultrasound. Sounds strange, but it is supposed to break up scar tissue and help your body heal or hold things together more normally.

Alternatively, he could look at other orthopedists and see if they have ideas other than medication or pain management. There may be a newer surgery or other materials that could replace the metal. I have plastic screws in my feet because they are thought to be less painful than metal ones. Another ortho guy might have some new ideas.

I second the ultrasound idea! I've found it to be effective. Additionally, some physical therapists are excellent at helping to dislodge scar tissue (at least, at the practice I used I found it effective to see a couple of different people -- one did a good job with scar tissue; another was better at helping me figure out exercises that would accomplish my day-to-day needs & objectives).

Have you or he thought of acupuncture? My husband (&, for that matter, my veterinarian) find it wonderfully helpful, though it takes a couple of visits.

Good luck to both of you --

There is a systemic enzyme called neprinol that is very helpful for calcium deposit, fibrous tissues, etc. . you can google it. Must be taken on an empty. Lots of good info on the web. And be careful... The calcium isn't leeching from the bone, it is storing in soft tissue from unusable calcium in the metabolic body.... I am a practitioner who works with this all the time. More unusable calcium will just make it worse. If anything he would need the transporters. magnesium for sure (not cal-mag) Vitamin D, calcitonin or K. Good luck.

As a massage therapist who specializes in orthopedic massage and pain management, I would highly recommend massage therapy to relieve pain. Though effective massage techniques, I have been able to restore the direction of scar tissue as well as alleviate pain in many people. I also teach massage therapy so I want you to just make sure that you pick a massage therapist with advanced training not one just coming out of school. They need to be specialized and really know their anatomy and physiology.

Has he had physical therapy yet? If not, give that a try. Otherwise I would definitely try chiropractor or accupuncture.
He won't be able to get ultrasound as the other posters suggested because of the metal hardware (ultrasound will end up heating the hardware and not the tissue which is not the result you want).

It's just a fact of being a person on pain meds -- at some point, your body becomes dependent. I applaud him for wanting to get off them! I would talk to a podiatrist to see if a second surgery would be the answer. Maybe if they can "clean up" in there and, yes, keep him on pain meds for a little while longer and get him through the recovery and rehab process, he won't need the pain meds for getting through day to day. It may be a process but that may be the way to get to the end result you guys are wanting to achieve. The best of luck to you and your husband!

Ok we all know pain management only will mask the pain it doesn't treat the the problem. Yes, I know this years of back problems finally found a doctor who was educated enough to use new ideas to help me and not just give me pain pills.

So with that said it's hit or miss with doctors it's a matter of finding one that can help you and use new methods. It's also going out and trying somethings on your own. Keeping in mind many things work that are different for many people with the same condition. Why? no one will ever know the answer to that.

I can tell you about a pain med that's not a narcotic which may help called zipsor had a problem and was prescribed that it helped. While maybe changing meds to non narcotic and finding something new this might help take the edge off the pain.

I think you should see a foot doctor and see if he/she can help the situation. Even if it calls for surgery again. Maybe message therapy would help it can't hurt. Also a foot soak some time consuming things can really make a difference it's just doing them that's a burden and sticking with them. Maybe an investment for time being in those things as well as a foot soak maybe in one of those message foot soaker's. Sometimes it's takes more then one thing to help while finding a permanent answer.

I wish you the best!

I would see about getting the plates and screws out and maybe while they are in there they can release some of the scar tissue. He needs to talk to a surgeon.