Hi Bill, I am sorry to hear your woes.

I asked my wife, who is a homoeopath of long standing, and my immediate first and only port of call in health matters.

She immediately started to ask questions: "what aggravates, and what alleviates, is it better for heat or cold, when did it start, what kind of pain sensation exactly is it, etc etc etc.

She would need to know all this and an hour more of the third degree before she could begin the repertory and decide on a course of action.

She did suggest though, that if it is not caused by sporting or repetitive high impact abuse, it may be that you have a toe deformity, or an arch problem that is causing tendon or bone inflammation because pressure is not being applied properly to the ball of the foot.

She suggests that the standard cortisone/steroid type treatments will only alleviate problems while being used and will do little to correct the cause, and in effect may worsen the problem by masking the pain and enabling you to continue compounding the injury.

She also says not to take the doc's word for it, that you should see an orthopaedic guy and maybe be fitted with the correct footwear for your specific problem.

Of course, it may also be a form of degenerative arthritis, in which case you are probably screwed.

I know it all comes down to expense expense expense with these medical things. Maybe a pair of Birkenstock shoes would be a good starting point that may help to sidestep the medics.

Et