I injured my right foot 11 months ago during a soccer game. I have been to 3doctors and none of them have been able to tell me what is the cause of my foot pain. Every step I've taken for the last 11 months has hurt. Because I favored my right foot, my left foot has now begun to hurt as well. It's mostly heel pain (it's not plantar fasciitis), and standing on my feet is very painful. I have tried the bike and the rowing machine, but both leave me in pain after even a few minutes.

I have to lose weight and get back in shape, but don't know what cardio workouts I can do. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't have access to a pool until the summertime.

Thanks,
Biegs

I am so sorry to hear about this. It's hard when you've got the motivation to exercise but something like this interferes.

BTW, do you know if it's a bone spur? Did your doctor suggest anti-inflammatory drugs or orthotics?

About cardio, that's so tough. I wonder if recumbent biking would work for you. If you have access to water, you could do laps or do them with weights and a kickboard...? Maybe there's water aerobics available to you somewhere?

One thing that you might consider--and this will sound VERY strange--is maybe using crutches and then going for cardio. When I tore a calf muscle and was on crutches, I used to do fast-laps with crutches around the gym. It was a challenging workout.

It's not a bone spur. I'm actually getting orthodics from my doctor this week. I have had anti-inflammatory shots and meds, physical therapy, shockwave therapy to my foot and have used a cane. Nothing has helped and I'm desperate. Sounds like the crutches thing worked for you, but I'd probably end up hurting myself;-) I don't have access to a pool until the summer.

Wow. Well, it sure does sound like your doctor is on top of things. I am so sorry that none of the treatments have helped you.

Crutches: once you get used to them, they're fine (especially if you avoid steps). The only thing that I hated about them was how my armpits hurt if I didn't support myself enough with my forearms. My friends actually concocted little armpit pillows for me and that was so cute. I'd seriously think about doing that crutches thing. It was really a lifesaver for me. A few months of sitting around doing no cardio would have made me CRAZY. I was in reasonable shape when I was injured and the crutches workout still left me out of breath. Good luck!

I have a suggestion that you may want to ask about when you visit your next doctor. I too have had heel pain for as long as i can remember (at least 5 years) it especially hurt when I was running. I know it sounds crazy that it went on that long but I thought it was because I was running wrong, wearing the wrong shoes, standing wrong, had tight hamstrings, had plantar faciitis, etc etc..i just thought it was me and i was doing something wrong and that is why i had the pain.

well i recently found out i have a cyst in my heel bone which has been the source of my pain. It is the size of a walnut so it has nearly taken over my whole heel which is a scary thought in itsself. i am in so much pain and its gotten much worse over the past 3 months(why i dont know) I'm waiting on the insurance to approve my surgery to finally get this resolved.

I am by no means suggesting that you have this, I am only brining this up because this is a very rare thing to have (i've done ALOT of research on this and i have consulted with two doctors) and perhaps your doctor(s) might have missed this in your x-rays. Your soccer injury might have made it worse by fracturing the bone. Again only a suggestion.

I'm going to be on crutches 3 weeks and then be in a walking boot for 12 weeks after the surgery. I am also very concerned about the fact I will not be able to do cardio for such a long stretch of time (they tell me i will heal fine) that is how i found this message board (by doing a google search on cardio and foot injury). Again just a what I am telling you is just my experience that I thought might be worth sharing.

I so know your pain with every step you take. Oh and I also got the orthotics and they did nothing for me but cost $300 (not covered by insurance).
I hope you find the source of your pain because I know it is so frustrating.

Can you cycle? Is it a hairline stress fracture on the end of a tarsal that cannot be picked up by xray?

Cardio is a bit hard seeing as you dont have access to a pool.

Jenkerr1,

Wow--I'm so sorry for what you have been going through. I will check into this cyst idea. Is it seen through x-rays?

I got orthodics yesterday...we'll see...

Good luck and if you find any info about cardio exercise, please let me know. I've been in those boots before; they're not too bad overall. Hopefully, you'll recover well. Good luck!

NBS 4life,

I tried cycling and rowing, but they both kill my feet. I tried pilates the other day, but that really hurt after the fact. My doc said it's probably not a good idea to do that right now...

Yes the cyst can be seen through the x-ray, mine was so large it was very obvious (to the dr. a least, not to me at first until it was pointed out). A normal bone has lines through it in an x-ray (i'm sure there is a medical term for it, but i dont know what it is!) but a cyst has kind of an outline and the center is more transparent, i guess is the best way to describe it? Mine is actually heart shaped, well kind of a sideways heart!

If you want to see a picture of what one looks like google the term "unicameral bone cyst ankle bone" and it will show you some of the pictures just so you can get an idea. another website i visited was Bonetumor.org - The Web's Most Comprehensive Bone Tumor Resource if you go under the questions you can read the question i posted to the doctor under the same username as i use here. There is also information on unicameral bone cyst on that site, which is what the doctors think i have. There is another type on there called an aneursymal bone cyst, the site shows a difference in symptoms between the two.

I actually had an MRI done on my heel bone and the cyst actually looked like just a big hole in my heel. It was really wierd to see it but also scary to think i had been walking on that for so long not knowing. My surgery is scheduled for next Thursday and I'm so glad, i'm just so tired of dealing with this pain.

I am really not tryinig to scare you about this I just thought this might be something you could check out and hopefully rule out as the source of your pain. I really do hope the orthotics help you. If they don't please take it from me and be your own advocate to find the source of your pain!!!

Did you ask the doctor if it was a Lisfranc injury? You really ought to if you havn't, it mostly happens playing soccer, and if it's really messed up it could cause bad problems later

of course doctors wont be able to diagnose you. Go see a physio at least!

I'm not sure if you have figured out what was/is wrong with your foot yet or not but I wanted to suggest having a MRI done. My doctors (went to 3 different ones before I found one that helped) diagnosed me wrong. After 19 months of pain, I had a doctor request an MRI. It showed a torn tendon. I was the tendon that holds your arch up. It also showed that my arch had broken down. I had to have major surgery to fix it. Itprobably would not have been so bad if I had a MRI dne earlier.