“Cool sensation running down tendon after extensor tendoniti”
January 1st I took a long walk in crocs and received extensor tendonitis in my right foot. It was quite bad but I kept walking on it/using it for two or three weeks (including 16 mile walks) until I was in such severe pain I couldn't use it anymore. I googled my symptoms and self diagnosed myself and rested the foot by hopping around my apartment for two months and using hot and cold packs. The pain went away for the most part but still hurt occasionally. I went to an orthopedic doctor here in Korea and I don't think he knew what extensor tendonitis was let alone what to do for it. When I told him what had happened and that I was still in pain he literally asked me, "What are you here for?" I told him I wanted to make sure my foot was healing okay and if I could get treatment. He didn't really know what to do after a visual examination showed nothing but redness and inflammation so I finally got him to at least take an x-ray to make sure nothing was broken, but since nothing was broken he couldn't understand what was wrong except maybe a contusion and I left with no help. It's now July and it's still not quite back to normal. Sometimes it doesn't feel 100%, sometimes there's still discomfort, and now I'm getting strange cold sensations down the tendon intermittently like there's a cold pack on it when there's not or someone has trickled ice water down my foot. I am hoping to hear from a normal american doctor back home with better medical expertise to see if this is normal for this kind of injury and if it's just going to take longer to heal or if there's more I need to be doing, as I've been back to using my foot as normal, minus the longer walks. Even as I write this, I am laying on my side with no pressure on my foot, it resting on my other foot at hip height and intermittently I feel small cold trickles down to where my big and second toes are. Any advice would be helpful as I'm not getting any good help here. Thank you.
Also, I was bitten by a tick on the same foot after a short hike on May 28th. The tick was deeply embedded for 3 days, which is the longest I have ever had a tick attached to me before. It was very small so I didn't realize it was in between my 2 middle toes until I brushed my foot against my quilted comforter and almost screamed in tears because it felt like I shattered the bones in my two center toes. The inflammation was so intense it was much worse than the tendonitis had been, sharp, shattering pain. I have a husband with 10+ years of chronic Lyme so I know a tick being attached to the blood system anything past several hours is bad, plus a woman over here just died of a local tick borne disease the other month. So I made sure, after years of living in a state where you could get dozens of ticks from one trip in the woods, to get the entire mouthpiece and pulled it out from the head with needle nose tweezers. I put the tick in a container and took it to the local hospital with me just to be safe, especially since that other woman just died of a tick bite and it was attached long enough to transmit. The two people that came to triage me at the hospital weren't helpful and didn't do anything but look at my foot for a minute. They didn't even look at the bite in between my toes, just the top of my foot and they wanted me to leave. I showed them the tick but they weren't interested in looking at it and I was sent away. The pain took a few more weeks to subside with the tick removed but I think that's pretty much gone now. Don't know if it would impact the foot but it was the same foot and close to the affected area so I'll add it to be safe. I have been bitten by thousands of ticks in all my time outdoors over the years in tick heavy woods up north and never in all of my life had I had pain and inflammation from a tick bite. It felt like my bones in those two toes were actually broken. So again, just adding it just in case it's significant. Thank you again.
Also, I was bitten by a tick on the same foot after a short hike on May 28th. The tick was deeply embedded for 3 days, which is the longest I have ever had a tick attached to me before. It was very small so I didn't realize it was in between my 2 middle toes until I brushed my foot against my quilted comforter and almost screamed in tears because it felt like I shattered the bones in my two center toes. The inflammation was so intense it was much worse than the tendonitis had been, sharp, shattering pain. I have a husband with 10+ years of chronic Lyme so I know a tick being attached to the blood system anything past several hours is bad, plus a woman over here just died of a local tick borne disease the other month. So I made sure, after years of living in a state where you could get dozens of ticks from one trip in the woods, to get the entire mouthpiece and pulled it out from the head with needle nose tweezers. I put the tick in a container and took it to the local hospital with me just to be safe, especially since that other woman just died of a tick bite and it was attached long enough to transmit. The two people that came to triage me at the hospital weren't helpful and didn't do anything but look at my foot for a minute. They didn't even look at the bite in between my toes, just the top of my foot and they wanted me to leave. I showed them the tick but they weren't interested in looking at it and I was sent away. The pain took a few more weeks to subside with the tick removed but I think that's pretty much gone now. Don't know if it would impact the foot but it was the same foot and close to the affected area so I'll add it to be safe. I have been bitten by thousands of ticks in all my time outdoors over the years in tick heavy woods up north and never in all of my life had I had pain and inflammation from a tick bite. It felt like my bones in those two toes were actually broken. So again, just adding it just in case it's significant. Thank you again.
Female | 34 years old
Complaint duration: 7 months
Medications: None
Conditions: None
5 Answers
That was a very long report. It sounds like you overused your foot by
walking too much. You then rested it and your symptoms went away. Pay
attention to the relationship between the two. I don't think the tick had
anything to do with it.
Hope it helps!!
Dr. Bose
walking too much. You then rested it and your symptoms went away. Pay
attention to the relationship between the two. I don't think the tick had
anything to do with it.
Hope it helps!!
Dr. Bose
Hard to say what is going on but you may well have a plantar neuroma between the 1st and 2nd toes. If you still have tendonitis I would recommend a trial of naproxen or Motrin for the inflammation. When you do get back to the states an evaluation by a foot and ankle Orthopaedic
specialist would be an excellent idea. It is also possible but not likely you have a compressed L% nerve in your spine.
specialist would be an excellent idea. It is also possible but not likely you have a compressed L% nerve in your spine.
Hi,
If in fact, you developed extensor tendinitis in the foot I can tell you from treating these can take a long time to get better. Usually, I'll incorporate some kind of immobilization (boot) with topical and oral anti-inflammatories. In really bad cases I'll even consider a short course
of an oral steroid. The feelings of cold or a wet sensation are usually symptoms that are associated with nerve issues, however. If where you are feeling that sensation in the webspace between the big and second toe then it could be your deep peroneal nerve that is giving you grief. That runs up the top of the foot and up your leg too, so maybe some of what you were experiencing initially was related to that? Nerve issues can be tough to deal with too, as options are limited. If the nerve is/was being compressed somewhere (usually the top of the foot for that nerve) then you have to figure out a way to relieve that pressure. If it's a generalized neuropathy however then medication management may be the answer.
If in fact, you developed extensor tendinitis in the foot I can tell you from treating these can take a long time to get better. Usually, I'll incorporate some kind of immobilization (boot) with topical and oral anti-inflammatories. In really bad cases I'll even consider a short course
of an oral steroid. The feelings of cold or a wet sensation are usually symptoms that are associated with nerve issues, however. If where you are feeling that sensation in the webspace between the big and second toe then it could be your deep peroneal nerve that is giving you grief. That runs up the top of the foot and up your leg too, so maybe some of what you were experiencing initially was related to that? Nerve issues can be tough to deal with too, as options are limited. If the nerve is/was being compressed somewhere (usually the top of the foot for that nerve) then you have to figure out a way to relieve that pressure. If it's a generalized neuropathy however then medication management may be the answer.
Good day and thanks for the extensive history of your foot issues. Allow me to give you my thoughts, tips and suggestions.
I hope you have had all the blood tests needed to evaluate the likelihood of having a tick-borne disease within your body.
Please do not go for long walks in crocs or in shoes that are not supportive.
You simply may have some residual inflammation or the results of inflammation (scar tissue entrapping some small nerves that at giving you the sensory feelings of cool sensations or tingling around your foot).
Regarding the foot: How is the pain? How is the range of motion? How is the strength?
If you can stair climb, hop and run without much pain, then your tendinitis is gone. If you have not had tissue massage and strengthening exercises with a physical therapist, I would recommend that.
If you do not have access to a therapist, I would recommend heating the foot up (bath or shower) and then massaging the area with your hands and fingers. Then practice balance activities, single-leg hopping and stair climbing activities. You should eventually compare the injured foot with the one that has not been injured.
I hope this helps.
I hope you have had all the blood tests needed to evaluate the likelihood of having a tick-borne disease within your body.
Please do not go for long walks in crocs or in shoes that are not supportive.
You simply may have some residual inflammation or the results of inflammation (scar tissue entrapping some small nerves that at giving you the sensory feelings of cool sensations or tingling around your foot).
Regarding the foot: How is the pain? How is the range of motion? How is the strength?
If you can stair climb, hop and run without much pain, then your tendinitis is gone. If you have not had tissue massage and strengthening exercises with a physical therapist, I would recommend that.
If you do not have access to a therapist, I would recommend heating the foot up (bath or shower) and then massaging the area with your hands and fingers. Then practice balance activities, single-leg hopping and stair climbing activities. You should eventually compare the injured foot with the one that has not been injured.
I hope this helps.
You should get an evaluation from a different orthopedist 1 foot in ankle specialist. You may need an MRI. See your internist about a possible tick borne illness.
