I have constant pain and weakness in my foot and part of my ankle is sunken in. help! i have been under the care of a podiatrist for 2 years. i have had 20+ sprains and strains since i was 10. i am 26 now. i had a hairline fracture 2 years ago and receive

I : I think it's time for a second opinion. You're incredibly young to have all this going on in your foot & ankle, and i would also get an MRI to see exactly where the tears and damage is. I would strongly discourage you from any "exploratory surgery" in an effort to "fix" what's wrong. I would get an accurate diagnosis first. I'm also concerned about those cortisone injections you were getting for a stress fracture. I've never heard of giving cortisone for a stress fracture. In fact, quite the contrary, steroids tend to delay healing of fractures, and they come with the risk of tendon rupture, which you apparently had. Please get a second opinion before proceeding any further. Preferably with either a foot & ankle orthopedist or a podiatrist certified in foot & ankle surgery by the american board of podiatric surgery. Good luck!

Get re-evaluated: Pain could be as a result of many different things. One would need to do a thorough history and physical exam and possibly some laboratory and radiology exams to determine the exact cause. You may have instability of the ankle if you have a tendency to repeatedly re-injury your ankle. Have it re-evaluated and voice your concerns.

Ankle sprains: Patient to have frequent ankle sprains can have prolonged pain and a feeling of weakness in their ankle. There are other treatments that you may want to consider including ankle stabilization surgery if the pain and weakness is causing you posit you daily activities.

Pain/weak ankle: Pain may be due to may causes but the weakness should be looked at further. Perhaps you have a problem in the back causing nerve compression and weakness. A thorough exam of the muscle strength and possible nerve testing should be performed. Also, may consider an MRI to make sure there is no damage to the articular cartilage from the sprains. Ask your posiatrist about this.

Overdue to see an: Orthopedic surgeon who specializes in ankle/foot.

Pain: I agree - time to get another opinion as well as further studies as well as looking further to find the cause of these problems. Good luck.