Getting started

It has been difficult to find someone who has dealt with exactly the same issue I am dealing with; a Calcaneonavicular tarsal coalition. So, I am going to write some things about my experience so that others may hopefully benefit. If you are reading this, you probably have a similar problem, so I wont bore you with the basics of what a tarsal coalition is. I am a 30 year old male, with a calcaneonavicular fibrous coalition.

My coalition is bilateral and has been giving me problems for about a year and a half. With both feet in constant pain, life gets a little difficult. Prior to my diagnosis, many doctors thought it may be stress fractures or some sort of tendinitis. My symptoms include constant pain if my feet are on the ground, gradually increasing with the amount of pressure or length of time I am standing, walking, etc. If I get my feet off the ground, the pain dramatically reduces immediately, and eventually returns to no pain, depending on how long I was using my feet.

I am (was) very active and have been for my entire life and began having this issue after some intense training I was doing in 2013. I developed plantar fasciitis, but after about 6 months of treatment, I no longer had PF symptoms, specifically, but I did have regular foot pain from standing. After a long break I returned to normal activities and managed my pain levels, but eventually my pain was too much and I had to get it checked out again.

Fall of 2014 I had multiple sets of X-rays, physical therapy, dry needling, etc... but nothing worked. I eventually had a bone scan (seen below) that showed something going on in my feet, and specifically the bones of my feet.