Chronic Pain - balls of the feet

[Erika]

Injury advise please!  Ball of feet pain - very intense - both feet - has been consistent for 9 months now.  Bunions are also a lot more pronounced & causing pain in tight shoes.  I have see podiatrists & surgeons and am using orthotics, but haven't found much pain relief at all.  Apparently this type of pain is common in dancers - especially ballet dancers as we are constantly moving through demi-pointe. 

 

I've been advised to offload the sesamoid bones & get cortisone shots when the pain flares up.  Diagnosis &/or solutions are not easy or forthcoming.  I've spent a lot of time, energy, and money already.  This has completely handicapped my dancing activities.  I am reaching out to see if others have experienced similar symptoms & found effective treatment / pain management.  Any recommendation of different specialists to see  would also be most welcome.  Thank you all.

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Erika and welcome to the Forum.

 

We would always recommend that you go with professional advice but other members may be able to tell you of similar issues.

 

 

[Dancers Dad]

Hi. My daughter's in her second year at ballet school and has had some plantar fasciitis, shin splints, possible sesamoiditis. Some of her friends have been out for months with pf in particular, so it can't be ignored.

 

Our breakthrough was seeing a physio in Birmingham called Phil Birch, who worked with BRB for years. His hands-on physio was incredibly painful! Very hard to watch as a father. But the results were impressive. He identified the cause of the pain and the chain of reaction up the body to the source. She was better aligned by the end of the session. He gave her various exercises to do to keep building her strength and tolerance and she's very meticulous about keeping those up.

 

She still has soreness there occasionally but it seems - atm - under control. It's been a huge relief.

 

Caveats: firstly, this is only our experience and it would be wise to seek other views; secondly, it's expensive. But I can give you a number if you're interested.