"Podiatrist treatment of ligament damage"

I hurt my left foot in September trekking in the Highlands. There was no major trigger or incident, but it became incredibly tender under my left toes, and I couldn't put my weight down comfortably. Over the next three months, I tried to treat it with rest and ice, but it remained painful every time I set my weight on it, especially on stairs. I eventually got an appointment with the podiatrist three months later, after a GP and X-ray gave me no direction to what the issue was.

Ellen immediately diagnosed the injury as a plantar plate tear, clearly explaining to me the distinctive symptoms (including the separation and lifting of my third toe, which I'd noticed but misunderstood). She talked me through the injury, how it could occur, how it could present, how it could heal, and gave me an excellent and simple treatment plan. It turned out that walking barefoot in the house had been perhaps the worst aggravating factor for this injury. I bought a pair of running shoes for slippers and it has made so much difference: I could immediately discern where the pain points were coming. 

I was a complex client, in that I also had arthritic changes in my right foot, collapsed arches, and an issue with my calves, all adding up to a bunch of pain in my feet. Ellen took an hour with me to work through the different issues and how they linked, and equipped me with simple strategies to address them, including re-lacing my shoes: my feet felt immediately better walking out of the office! 

It's been about six weeks since my appointment as I write this review. My plate tear, which had been so sore before, is recovering rapidly: I can walk comfortably on it now for short periods and it only causes discomfort when tired now. It feels like I'm weeks away from being back to near-normal, having had months of discomfort. I'm looking forward to my first proper walk since September!