u/ChemistryForward1307

Hi everyone,

I'm posting because I'm getting increasingly frustrated and honestly quite desperate trying to figure out what is causing my foot pain. I'm hoping someone here may have experienced something similar or might recognize the pattern.

About 14 months ago I developed a hip problem, which was a major issue for a long time but has gradually improved. Some time later, I started developing pain in my foot/ankle.

Initially, the pain was mainly around the ankle, so I had an MRI because we suspected an ankle joint problem. The MRI did not show an explanation, and I also had a diagnostic cortisone injection into the upper ankle joint, which did not improve the pain.

Since then, the pain has progressively worsened and changed somewhat. At the moment, it is mainly:

• underneath/behind the medial ankle (inside ankle bone)
• along the inside of the foot
• throughout parts of the sole, especially the middle of the sole

The biggest problem is how severely it is affecting my life. I can essentially no longer walk or run normally because of the pain. I used to be active and now I feel like I can't do the things I normally enjoy anymore. Even activities that don't seem like they should put much stress on the foot can trigger pain. For example, I sometimes get pain after swimming and also after cycling.

I'm honestly quite desperate at this point, because I feel extremely limited by this and I'm also very scared about how this will develop.

I've had quite a lot of investigations already, but so far there hasn't been a clear explanation.

One potentially interesting finding is that nerve conduction testing showed that the tibial nerve/Tarsal tunnel on the right side conducts more slowly and/or has a lower amplitude compared with the other side. However, I'm not sure how significant this is because I don't really have classic neuropathic symptoms. I don't have much burning, tingling or numbness. Occasionally there is some burning sensation in the sole, but most of the time the pain feels more like a deep pulling/aching pain, particularly around the medial ankle.

So I'm wondering:

Could this still be plantar fasciitis even though the pain is also quite prominent underneath the medial ankle and in the middle of the sole?

And one thing I'm also struggling with psychologically: at this point, could the pain have simply become chronic/centralized even if the original physical problem has resolved? I've recently started reading The Way Out by Alan Gordon because I'm wondering whether a chronic pain mechanism could now be contributing.

I really appreciate any help or input you can give, and I'm very grateful to hear about your experiences.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm posting because I'm getting increasingly frustrated and honestly quite desperate trying to figure out what is causing my foot pain. I'm hoping someone here may have experienced something similar or might recognize the pattern.

About 14 months ago I developed a hip problem, which was a major issue for a long time but has gradually improved. Some time later, I started developing pain in my foot/ankle.

Initially, the pain was mainly around the ankle, so I had an MRI because we suspected an ankle joint problem. The MRI did not show an explanation, and I also had a diagnostic cortisone injection into the upper ankle joint, which did not improve the pain.

Since then, the pain has progressively worsened and changed somewhat. At the moment, it is mainly:

• underneath/behind the medial ankle (inside ankle bone)
• along the inside of the foot
• throughout parts of the sole, especially the middle of the sole

The biggest problem is how severely it is affecting my life. I can essentially no longer walk or run normally because of the pain. I used to be active and now I feel like I can't do the things I normally enjoy anymore. Even activities that don't seem like they should put much stress on the foot can trigger pain. For example, I sometimes get pain after swimming and also after cycling.

I'm honestly quite desperate at this point, because I feel extremely limited by this and I'm also very scared about how this will develop.

I've had quite a lot of investigations already, but so far there hasn't been a clear explanation.

One potentially interesting finding is that nerve conduction testing showed that the tibial nerve/Tarsal tunnel on the right side conducts more slowly and/or has a lower amplitude compared with the other side. However, I'm not sure how significant this is because I don't really have classic neuropathic symptoms. I don't have much burning, tingling or numbness. Occasionally there is some burning sensation in the sole, but most of the time the pain feels more like a deep pulling/aching pain, particularly around the medial ankle.

So I'm wondering:

Could this still be plantar fasciitis even though the pain is also quite prominent underneath the medial ankle and in the middle of the sole?

And one thing I'm also struggling with psychologically: at this point, could the pain have simply become chronic/centralized even if the original physical problem has resolved? I've recently started reading The Way Out by Alan Gordon because I'm wondering whether a chronic pain mechanism could now be contributing.

I really appreciate any help or input you can give, and I'm very grateful to hear about your experiences.

Thanks!

I've been struggling with severe pain for about a year now, and I'm starting to wonder whether it could somehow be related to RED-S or my history of an eating disorder.

It all started after I had been running around 60-70 km per week. I first developed hip pain, which gradually spread into my adductors. Those symptoms lasted for almost a year and never really resolved.

When I finally started trying to return to running very gradually, I developed pain in my foot. That was about five months ago, and despite stopping running again, the pain hasn't improved at all. Some days it's so severe that I can barely walk.

I still do the workouts that I'm able to tolerate without making the pain worse because staying active has been recommended and it's one of the few things I can still do.

MRIs have shown things like a labral tear and an osteochondral lesion, but my doctors don't think these findings actually explain my symptoms. The osteochondral lesion has even been ruled out as the cause of my pain. I've seen multiple specialists, done physiotherapy, and had several opinions, but no one can really tell me what's causing the pain or why it isn't improving.

One thing that worries me is that I've completely lost my period. I'm at a healthy weight now and have been for quite a while, but I do have a history of restrictive eating, and I've also been under a lot of stress recently.

When I read about RED-S, most people seem to talk about repeated stress fractures or low bone density. My bones appear to be healthy, and stress fractures have been ruled out. What I have instead is severe, persistent pain that just doesn't seem to heal, despite doing everything I'm supposed to do.

Has anyone here experienced something similar? Not necessarily stress fractures, but chronic hip, groin, adductor, foot, tendon, or other musculoskeletal pain that persisted for months without a clear explanation and later turned out to be related to RED-S, low energy availability, hypothalamic amenorrhea, or an eating disorder?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences because I feel very alone in this.

Thank you so much!

I've been struggling with severe pain for about a year now, and I'm starting to wonder whether it could somehow be related to RED-S or my history of an eating disorder.

It all started after I had been running around 60-70 km per week. I first developed hip pain, which gradually spread into my adductors. Those symptoms lasted for almost a year and never really resolved.

When I finally started trying to return to running very gradually, I developed pain in my foot. That was about five months ago, and despite stopping running again, the pain hasn't improved at all. Some days it's so severe that I can barely walk.

I still do the workouts that I'm able to tolerate without making the pain worse because staying active has been recommended and it's one of the few things I can still do.

MRIs have shown things like a labral tear and an osteochondral lesion, but my doctors don't think these findings actually explain my symptoms. The osteochondral lesion has even been ruled out as the cause of my pain. I've seen multiple specialists, done physiotherapy, and had several opinions, but no one can really tell me what's causing the pain or why it isn't improving.

One thing that worries me is that I've completely lost my period. I'm at a healthy weight now and have been for quite a while, but I do have a history of restrictive eating, and I've also been under a lot of stress recently.

When I read about RED-S, most people seem to talk about repeated stress fractures or low bone density. My bones appear to be healthy, and stress fractures have been ruled out. What I have instead is severe, persistent pain that just doesn't seem to heal, despite doing everything I'm supposed to do.

Has anyone here experienced something similar? Not necessarily stress fractures, but chronic hip, groin, adductor, foot, tendon, or other musculoskeletal pain that persisted for months without a clear explanation and later turned out to be related to RED-S, low energy availability, hypothalamic amenorrhea, or an eating disorder?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences because I feel very alone in this.

Thank you so much!

I've been struggling with severe pain for about a year now, and I'm starting to wonder whether it could somehow be related to RED-S or my history of an eating disorder.

It all started after I had been running around 60-70 km per week. I first developed hip pain, which gradually spread into my adductors. Those symptoms lasted for almost a year and never really resolved.

When I finally started trying to return to running very gradually, I developed pain in my foot. That was about five months ago, and despite stopping running again, the pain hasn't improved at all. Some days it's so severe that I can barely walk.

I still do the workouts that I'm able to tolerate without making the pain worse because staying active has been recommended and it's one of the few things I can still do.

MRIs have shown things like a labral tear and an osteochondral lesion, but my doctors don't think these findings actually explain my symptoms. The osteochondral lesion has even been ruled out as the cause of my pain. I've seen multiple specialists, done physiotherapy, and had several opinions, but no one can really tell me what's causing the pain or why it isn't improving.

One thing that worries me is that I've completely lost my period. I'm at a healthy weight now and have been for quite a while, but I do have a history of restrictive eating, and I've also been under a lot of stress recently.

When I read about RED-S, most people seem to talk about repeated stress fractures or low bone density. My bones appear to be healthy, and stress fractures have been ruled out. What I have instead is severe, persistent pain that just doesn't seem to heal, despite doing everything I'm supposed to do.

Has anyone here experienced something similar? Not necessarily stress fractures, but chronic hip, groin, adductor, foot, tendon, or other musculoskeletal pain that persisted for months without a clear explanation and later turned out to be related to RED-S, low energy availability, hypothalamic amenorrhea, or an eating disorder?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences because I feel very alone in this.

Thank you so much!

I've been struggling with severe pain for about a year now, and I'm starting to wonder whether it could somehow be related to RED-S or my history of an eating disorder.

It all started after I had been running around 60-70 km per week. I first developed hip pain, which gradually spread into my adductors. Those symptoms lasted for almost a year and never really resolved.

When I finally started trying to return to running very gradually, I developed pain in my foot. That was about five months ago, and despite stopping running again, the pain hasn't improved at all. Some days it's so severe that I can barely walk.

I still do the workouts that I'm able to tolerate without making the pain worse because staying active has been recommended and it's one of the few things I can still do.

MRIs have shown things like a labral tear and an osteochondral lesion, but my doctors don't think these findings actually explain my symptoms. The osteochondral lesion has even been ruled out as the cause of my pain. I've seen multiple specialists, done physiotherapy, and had several opinions, but no one can really tell me what's causing the pain or why it isn't improving.

One thing that worries me is that I've completely lost my period. I'm at a healthy weight now and have been for quite a while, but I do have a history of restrictive eating, and I've also been under a lot of stress recently.

When I read about RED-S, most people seem to talk about repeated stress fractures or low bone density. My bones appear to be healthy, and stress fractures have been ruled out. What I have instead is severe, persistent pain that just doesn't seem to heal, despite doing everything I'm supposed to do.

Has anyone here experienced something similar? Not necessarily stress fractures, but chronic hip, groin, adductor, foot, tendon, or other musculoskeletal pain that persisted for months without a clear explanation and later turned out to be related to RED-S, low energy availability, hypothalamic amenorrhea, or an eating disorder?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences because I feel very alone in this.

Thank you so much!