I'm trying to pre-empt any serious problem that may arise. I'm paranoid - I've had serious problems with ingrown toenails when frequently playing sports. So I'm already dealing with the nails on my big toes trying to keep infection away.
My new problem is that as I rest at night or when I wake up my 2, 3, and 4 toe want to stay curled. (Both of my very short pinkie toes have been broken at least twice and don't have much flexibility or I think they would try to curl as well... and I've gotten stress fractures in both of my feet from playing too much DDR before...)
I doesn't quite sound like plantar fasc... though the onset of pain is the same - it sounds like the earlier stages of claw or hammer toes. As I try to massage my toes or allieviate the pain in any way, almost every joint in those 6 toes pops. (So I'm also worrying about increasing my chances of arthritis by working out the pain)
The pain is such that the most comfortable thing to do is to extend and spread my toes apart as far as possible flexing my big toe toward my shin and my other toes outward and down toward the ball of my foot.
I wear anti-slip food industry shoes to work with enough room for my toes and an insole. I just don't know what the problem is.
To renumerate my problems - I've never been to a podiatrist concerning: my ingrown toenails, numerous broken toes, stress fractured feet before - but new problems to add: toes begining to look visibly more curled when at rest, discomfort when relaxing or waking up, and toe joints popping frequently
Any thoughts? Should I break down and see a doctor?
Thank you for bearing with the length of this post,
Lauren