We are now about 8 weeks from a Tarsal Tunnel release on the ankle with a deep impression of the Tibial Nerve, the Medial Plantar Nerve, the Lateral Plantar Nerve, and the Calcaneal Nerve. And also, one of my colleagues did a Plantar Fasciotomy at the same time to the distal part of the incision. Can you Tell us what kind of symptoms you were having in that foot prior to surgery?
“I was having extreme pain in my heel. I was losing feeling in my foot that I did not realize until after my surgery how much feeling I had lost. The pain in my heel would get to where there was times when I would be on crutches to try to walk around after a day of walking around at my regular day job which I do over 10,000 steps in a day. It was debilitating to the point where it was affecting my job.”
"What kind of work do you do? Are you on your feet most of the day or are you sedentary?
“I am on my feet most days, all day long I am a Direct Care Assistant/CNA and I deal with a lot of patients on a daily basis and do a lot of walking.”
What have your symptoms been like for the last couple of weeks now during recovery?
“During recovery, it was been absolutely wonderful. It started out pretty painful at first and then as it has progressed, keeping the ice on it and keeping the inflammation down, I’ve been able to walk a lot more and I’m not getting stopped as much to actually sit down and rest because my foot does not hurt so bad.”
So you’re saying that your foot does not hurt? Now how does your heel feel now that these procedures have been done, and how much sensation do you feel in your foot when I do that?
“A lot more sensation as if my foots back to when I was 18 years old again. I had lost so much feeling that I didn’t realize and the heel pain is mostly gone now. I have a little bit when I’m walking but then I just stretch it out and massage it and its pretty good to go then.”
How much improvement would you say you’ve had compared to when you started this? 100% meaning no symptoms whatsoever, 0% meaning you didn’t get any relief . . . what would you say your improvement has been?
“Absolutely 90-95% improvement.”
Very good, thank you so much!
