Baxter's/nerve entrapment/plantar fascitis

Triathlon Forum
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Hi --was

I know there are a zillion threads on pf, but I couldn’t find any that talks about anyone’s experiences with Baxter’s or nerve entrapment. So here goes…

I’ve had PF before. Have the boot, which always helped. About a year ago I started getting a burning pain roughly where my heel meets my arch on the inside of my right foot. The pain waxed and waned in intensity and frequency for a while, but definitely got worse during IM training this summer. It is not related to activity – in other words, I can be sitting on the couch and end up doubled over from the intense burning. Stretching does not help. Ice does not help. It is NOT worse in the morning. It seems to be aggravated by wearing sneakers and/or being on my feet in sneakers for long periods of time. It does not feel like PF felt.

An MRI showed a cornucopia of foot issues… bursitis, achilles tendonitis, synovitis, a bone spur, and PF (ah, Ironman training). I’m going to a foot specialist Thursday, but in researching on Dr. Google I came across an extended leg dorsiflection eversion test, which duplicated the pain and burning, and an article about Baxter’s that pretty much describes the origin of my pain precisely.

My regular ortho doc said that surgery would involve a five inch incision to try and find the source of any nerve entrapment and 3-4 months recovery time, but what I’ve read says something much different. (He also said I’d have numbness, but in reading about Baxter’s no numbness is associated with it…) Hence the trip to the foot specialist :slight_smile:

Anyone have any experience or insight into diagnosing it and/or treating it if that’s what it turns out to be?

Thanks.

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in reading about Baxter’s no numbness is associated with it

Anyone have any experience or insight into diagnosing it and/or treating it if that’s what it turns out to be?

I haven’t had this particular issue, but Dr. Baxter (he first described the condition in 1984 leading his papers to set the record and the name of this particular nerve and like conditions) was my 4th ortho surgeon I went to and the first to accurately diagnose a vertical tear in a tendon that did not show up on the MRI. He performed surgery and I was back to running in 60 days. I know other marathoners who have had successful PF surgery with him.

He is located in Houston and has performed over 20,000 surgeries in his career. He was a marathoner and has treated many world class marathoners and other high profile athletes.

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Thank you for the information… if it comes to it, I will contact him :slight_smile: