Painful feet

Andipandi

Hi there, just wanted to pick your brains re my new symptoms.. I have had RA for 4 years and take Hydroxychlorquinine but have to have steroid injections when I get flare ups. The flare ups generally affect my shoulders ( arms due to deferred pain) and knees.. However, the last 10 days I have had a continual flare up the longest ever as they normally last about 3 days but it's my feet and toes that are mainly affected specifically the balls of my feet and under toes, the pain is not like my normal arthritic pain and frankly is excruciating at times and am unable to walk other than very short distances or if I do and break through the pain barrier I pay for it afterwards.. I have hammer toes which have only bothered me when wearing narrow or high heel shoes which I rarely do but it seems to me that my hammer toes may be causing my present issues due to the difference in pain level.. Any thoughts / advice on this much appreciated.. Many thanks Andrea

PeterJ

Hello @Andipandi and welcome to the community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that you will find that as well.

I understand that you have RA and that recently you have been experiencing pain in your feet. Have you consulted your GP or specialist to see if they can help? In the meantime our website has a lot of useful information and I would suggest having a look to see if there is anything that can help. To help get you started I've put a couple of links in below which may be of interest.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/foot-and-ankle-pain/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/hammer-toes/

Please do keep posting and let us know how you are getting on, and I am sure that others will connect with you to share their thoughts and support as well.

With very best wishes

Peter (moderator)

helpline_team

Hi Andipandi,

Thank you for posting on our helpline forum, I am sorry to hear that you are having continual flare ups and especially as they are lasting for several days, it may be worth mentioning this to your Rheumatologist nurse as you may need to have your medication reviewed.

Things that can help to manage a flare are:

1.    Keep taking your medication at the doses you’ve been prescribed.

2.    Do gentle exercises.

3.    Put heated items on the joint – these can include a hot water bottle or electric heat pad. See below for more information.

4.    Put cold items on the joint – these can include a bowl of cold water with ice cubes, a pack of frozen peas wrapped in a towel, or a damp towel that has been kept in the fridge. See below for more information.

5.    Let people around you know, so they can help and support you.

I also agree with PeterJ it is important that you speak to your doctor about the pain you are experiencing with your feet as there are quite a few arthritis conditions that can affect our feet, so it is important to get a confirmed diagnosis so that you are able to manage it. In the meantime, have a look at the self-care tips that PeterJ has attached in (Foot pain).

Please do contact us again if you need further help once you have spoken to your GP.

Best wishes

Chris

Helpline Advisor