I'm totally laid up. That increasing foot pain I've had for years, the pain that cut last years High Sierra hike short; prelim diagnosis is tarsal tunnel syndrome. Here's what it is: There is a main nerve that runs down the back of the leg and turns medially into the foot. Where it turns into the foot is a covering of connective tissue and ligaments, this is where the trouble happens. Anything constricting or compressing the nerve can cause pain and I have it bilaterally (er, both feet). So far all this is happening through the VA, but since it's non service related I go to the back of the line for everything and things are going painfully slow. The preliminary diagnosis is made on description of symptoms, but better diagnostic tools are MRI and EMG, which I can get in about six or nine months for extremely cheap through the VA. I can expedite by going to a civilian doc and pay for the tests 100% out of my pocket, though neither test I can afford right now. Considering how debilitating it's becoming it looks like I really can't put this off for long. There is surgery available, usually releasing the constriction followed by several weeks of rest. Anyway, it looks like my hiking days are over until this is resolved. I knew something was wrong with my feet, but for years just increasing the ibuprofen would work. I was in agonizing pain through the hike this year and I knew things were bad when I'd take a whole handful of Advil with very little or no relief.
