After yesterdays 7 mile walk, my left foot started hurting. The pain is on the outer side, and a bit on the bottom of my left foot, the pain is pretty much constant, and Aleve has not really taken the pain away, it has dulled it a bit. The pain is located about half way down the outer side of my left foot, and goes down almost all the way to the back of the foot. Any suggestions about what might be causing this, since I didn't do anything to hurt it. I got shoes a few weeks ago at PRC, as I have done in the past. I hydrate well, and always carry something to drink along the way. Any suggestions about what might be going on, and what to do about it?

Thanks.

Turnad,
From the sound of it you may have a bone in your foot that has become stuck in a bad position. The cuboid bone on the lateral part of the foot articulates with the calcaneus (heel bone) and the 4th and 5th metatarsal among a few others. Normally during the gait cycle this bone should move up and down slightly. On occasion in can get stuck and cause a lot of pain between the base ofthe fifth metatarsal and the heel. It is important however to rule out tendonitis, avulsion fracture, or apophositis which would demonstrate point tenderness at the styloid of the fifth metatarsal.

Is the pain a sharp pain at a specific point or a dull ache? What part of your gait cycle is the pain most prevalent? Scale from 0 to 10 how bad is the pain? What is your height, weight and age? Do you use orthotics or inserts in your shoes?

Answers to these questions can help me steer you in the right direction.
Stay fit,
Dr. Jake