Word: foot
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Victoria is pretty, very thin, 13 and loves to dance. She has been en pointe for a year. Hers is the collected smile, extended neck and slightly out-toeing gait of a serious ballerina. I can guess why she's in my office: her foot hurts. She walks without pain, goes to school, even gets through gym class pretty comfortably-but she can't dance. A big dance recital is coming up-dancers from the famous ballet company in the city will be there to watch her-and she wants to be "back to normal" by then...
...When I touch her long, skinny foot, it hurts at one particular spot. This is where it hurts when she tries to dance. The X-ray at first glance is normal, but if you look very carefully there's a little disruption of the lace-like pattern of the bone's spongy internal architecture at exactly the spot where it hurts. (This X-ray, by the way, was read as "normal" by the radiologist. Only an MRI or bone scan will reliably show the fracture to someone who has not had the opportunity to examine the patient and focus...
...long does a foot take to stop hurting? Particularly in a time-stressed little girl from a high-power suburban school, drawn to the difficult world of classical dance? There are many reasons, both physical and mental, for this thing to hurt for a long time...
...Victoria into a big, bulky but very secure foot and ankle brace. At three weeks she was a little less tender but definitely not better-so back in she goes and I'm now the bad guy-no recital. Her mother is sharp, though; I don't have to threaten with crutches and operations to get her on board with me on this. And Victoria comforts me when I say I'm sorry about keeping her out of dance for another three weeks: "It's ok-It's nice to be home in the afternoon. I read and play games...
...Broken feet often hurt regular people for months after the bones are healed. Our saying is "Foot pain is low back pain of the extremities," meaning many patients with foot pain, like chronic back patients, never get better, no matter what you do. So we treat it with respect. I have seen a stress fracture of the foot keep a middle-aged woman hobbling in pain for over a year. Every doc in my field has experience with schoolgirls whose mysterious foot and leg pains are relieved only by a doctor's note that gets them...