17 July 2014 New Accessory

for my accessory navicular 🙁

So here’s the foot story: back in March I injured my left foot while playing soccer. I don’t remember any specific trauma, just that it hurt afterward and was very sore and swollen the next day. I took it easy for the next few days, figuring I’d pulled or stretched something, and that it would eventually calm down.

It calmed down some, but two months later there was still pain, so I finally went to a doctor. Turns out I have accessory navicular syndrome. The navicular is a normal bone that humans have near the instep. I, however, in addition to the navicular, have an accessory navicular in both feet. The accessories never properly fused to the naviculars during foot development, and so probably some twisting, pivoting motion of the foot–as athletes commonly do in sports like soccer–wrenched the accessory away from the main navicular.

I’ve been wearing an ankle brace and orthotic insert in my shoe for the past two months in the hopes that that would help the connective tissues between accessory and navicular heal, but really I can’t tell much of a difference. There’s always some pain. Walking or any weight-bearing exercise makes it worse.

Sigh. So now we try 6 weeks of immobilization in the air cast, and evaluate after that. We’re hoping to avoid surgery. Crutches are also an option, as is a kneeling walker (AC is pushing for that). Regardless, I’m not going to be as mobile as I like to be for the next few weeks. Fingers and toes crossed! Well, as much as I can in the air cast.