I'm really worried about my toe now. All external sources I've contacted say it is a nerve issue with possible permanent paralysis. The physio adamantly claims it's a muscle and gets mad if I try to argue otherwise. He finally said I can ask the doctor, so we'll see what he says.
I have advise from a patient who read about your situation.. I am quoting the message as follows.
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1) Seek Medical attention from Other Doctors or Medical Professionals; ones who are not biased or there to give you phoney, crappy stories to appease your worries when obvious medical issues are there and should not be ignored. And ones who are competent.
Sometimes it resolves on its own, other times you need early intervention to help it or else it may become permanent.
I'm not sure what the prognosis would be; nor am I qualified to make any assumptions. I am not a Doctor,...the only reasonable explanation and one I heard over and over again is similar to Dr. BirkHoltz which is a nerve injury.
I remember the responses I got from Dr. Sarin, his staff, and Dr. Sringari; and I would say definitely get advice, tests, and possible treatment elsewhere!!!
Take everyone's words (including mine if you wish) with a grain of salt. Don't base your judgements out of simple convenience or laziness....Go out and seek medical advice and attention from a number of different source and then base your overall judgement based on what the overall majority conclusion is, based on evidence and research.
Also, when you are reading on the internet for diagnosing medical problems...remember, most things that are on the internet cannot relate to our specific issues on cosmetic Limb Lengthenning.
A site or literature that talks about Neuropathy / polyneuropathy cannot be expanded to everyone's situation, because everyone's situation is unique. And medical field is rapidly changing every year that old data is replace with newer data; Doctors have to be re-certified / trained every few years to keep up with new medical advances.
See qualified Doctors who will give you proper medical help.
Not doctors who do work that is out of their field of specialization (A Knee Replacement Ortho (Sringari) or General Otho (Sarin) is Not the same as a Spinal Ortho or a LL Ortho)....Just like a Regular dentist is not as specialized compared to a Periodontist (in terms in gum and jaw) or Dental Surgeon.
The people I've met working under Dr. Sarin's care (and now under Dr. Sringari) are medically not comparable to Western standards.
Students hired straight out of finishing a Bachelors in Physiotherapy from INdia. The text books they were learning in, most are still black and white and printed in the 1970s, 1980s....
Also, Physiotherapist IS Not the same as a Neurologist or an LL Orthopaedic Surgeon who specializes in LL.
2) Get Tests done - Ex. NCS and EMG (On the EMG, make sure they put the Needles inside the Extensor Hallucis Longus for both legs to compare)
Also, a Neurologist might prescribe special Neurotonics to stimulate the Axons on the nerves to grow and "Reach out" to the distal (dead end) of the adjacent nerve so that they could reconnect (very important AND must be done on a timely manner, if the 2 Axons don't meet up again, either surgery must be done quickly to re-attach it (See a Neurosurgeon) or you risk permanent paralysis).
3) Finally, I read that he was planning to do a nerve release on frame removal. I asked several Doc that were not Sarin or Sringari (qualified LL Orthos and Neurosugeons) and they all told me the same: It's too late to do a nerve release now because the area is not compressed anymore from the initial trauma, swelling, and possible compartment sydrome.
Doing a nerve release now will not help a nerve that has been already injured / dead. It is only useful at the beginning to relieve pressue and save the nerve.
What's more, an inexperienced Doctor doing a nerve release may involuntary injure the nerve even more, or worse, cut/rupture which is permanent paralysis (if the nerve was initially spared at the beginning and was undergoing healing).
Also, Do NOT do a Tendon Transfer or Tenodesis
If your nerve is recovering, then doing a tendon transfer will destroy your Extensor Halluciis forever.
What that is, is the surgeon cuts the tendon attached to the Extensor Hallucis Longus of your big toe and re-attaches it to your Extensor Digitorium (the tendon that controls your smaller toes). What that means is that your Extensor Hallucis Longus dies from eventual Atrophy and your leg looks deformed because a muscle is "dead."
For Example: On your fingers, there are 5 tendons that controls each figure individially. If I cut your tendon on your index finger and reattach it to your middle figure, it means in the future, when you move your middle finger, your index would move too....so both are moving together and not separate anymore....same thing with this, cut the extensor hallucis, and attach to Digitourim, so when you mean, you will be using a different muscle to compensate and move your leg.
The above tendon transfer is what Other MEdical Doctors advised me, is a LAST resort after many YEARS if other treatments or surgeries (Ex. Nerve Graft) or body's natural healing does not work)
4) Take responsibility on your own health.
Get advice from people who are MEDICALLY QUALIFIED.
Learn about what happened, and what could be done to relieve / fix it.
Learn about the habits that could made it worse (Pressure on Sciatic Nerve) and also get the prescription to stimulate nerve growth asap
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