Author: Foot Doc
Date: 8/25/2007 6:43 am PDT
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DISCLAIMER:
THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS- ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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Numbness, always, and pain, only sometimes, is a sign of sensory nerve dysfunction. But of what etiology is not clear, and there is insufficient defining commentary in your post to even make a reasonable guess toward determining this. Often the pain and the numbness is of different cause, as the same disorders which can produce numbness can also produce nerve generated pain, but that is not necessarily so. That being said, just about the only sort of nerve dysfunction involving the feet which can be somewhat reliably diagnosed simply from its characteristic description is the very common Morton's Neuroma, as the symptoms and descriptions are often so relatively constant from patient to patient. But, again, there is insufficient in your commentary to be suggestive of that.
As with most medical problems, venues where only descriptions of symptoms by patients can be given are not intended, nor should they be relied on for real diagnoses on which effective treatment regimens might reasonably be based, and nerve problems, in particular, are even more unlikely to be properly diagnosed without the ability to examine, test and really question the patient.
I would recommend your seeing a podiatrist for a hands on examination, and that you avoid whatever activity seems to precipitate your symptoms until the cause can be determined and treatment instituted. It would be best if you would first prepare yourself for such an examination by gathering together all of the fact which you already know about your complaint and be prepared to offer them in a concise, chronological and accurate manner the details of which you will not have to equivocate, correct or withdraw other than as a result of the further probing for clarification by the doctor. Choose your podiatrist carefully, based on real medical criteria such as education and training, Board Certification status, the quality of his/her hospital affiliations and his/her standing with the local medical community. Many States make available histories of malpractice and Board actions against doctors licensed by them. The last thing to be considered is how "nice" and affable the doctor is, as that is not only poor criteria for determining medical competency, but, though it is not exclusively the case, the lesser competent and sometimes very busy practitioners rely on their innate or learned affability to cover for their lack of competence, as they are fully aware that many, if not most, patients cannot tell the difference until it is too late. |
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