Treatment for arthritis of the Subtalar joint in the ankle

@windyt I'm so sorry to hear all you,be gone through Your Dr is he a Orthopedic or a Podiatrist? When I fractured my arch I went to Podiatrist after looking at ,x-ray and touched area he put me in a cast ,told me to stay of it so had a loan if power chair after a couple of weeks he took cast of but put a boat on it again loaner With your problems hope everything will turn out Please keep us posted

I too have questions regarding this condition. I fractured my fibula in 2017 with ORIF repair (which would have been a simple recovery) but then fell with my knee scooter 3 months later and re-injured the ankle joint, however the docs at Mayo did not do anything other than tell me to take ice and take anti-inflammatories and to come back in 6 months if it was not better. 6 months later I was still unable to fully weightbear and received a diagnosis of moderate subtalar arthritis from the ortho surgeon at Mayo who fixed my fracture and was told that I will probably need future surgery, but was not given any plan for present treatment of my condition. At the time of that visit, he did not even touch my ankle for examination or look at it - he only looked at the x-rays on the screen.

7 months of PT have somewhat improved my ankle mobility and partial weightbearing but has not allowed me to fully weightbear or walk normally without pain. 4 months after the last Mayo visit, my ankle is still painful with every step, and I cannot walk without using crutches or a walker to take some weight off of the ankle. I also have numbness in my toes, and part of my foot, ankle, and calf, along with pain in the big toe with toeing off. I had to go to a second doctor to get actual evaluation of my ankle condition and am now awaiting a nerve conduction study for further information.

I am wondering what to do next to get myself the proper treatment so that I can someday walk again without constant pain... although I am somewhat older than others in this discussion, I am not old enough to accept being crippled and don't want to be a burden on my newlywed daughter the rest of my life. I am also wondering if there are any clinical trials or research regarding this and what treatment there may be for me now before looking into surgeries.

Any thoughts or advice regarding braces or other treatment are welcome - I am feeling very lost and discouraged right now. My husband recently died and I lost my health insurance with his death, so further surgeries may have to wait until I can qualify for Medicare.

@windyt You are in a very tough position if you do not have health insurance. Your husband's did not continue after he passed away? There are often provisions for survivors.
I presume then that you want to wait, how soon will you qualify for Medicare? I would as soon as possible seek a second opinion. It does not seem right that you are living with so much pain, I can't imagine that there is nothing that can be done, although that does happen at times.
For now it sounds as if you are doing all that you can. I hope your efforts will be fruitful. Why did the physician at Mayo say future surgery? If it's on the horizon is there a reason to not do it now?
JK

@lioness Thanks for your reply. The Mayo doc who did the surgery on my ankle was an orthopedic surgeon but as I noted, he did not address my concerns at the last visit in November, so I went to see a podiatrist in January and she is the one running more tests to try and find out why I am unable to walk. I am now awaiting scheduling for a nerve conduction study, but am having increasing pain in the inside of the ankle and calf with attempting to walk with my crutches or walker. I had to stop Physical Therapy now also since Uncle Sam now wants the money I have been using for PT every month, so that may have something to do with my lack of progress as well. At this point don't know if I should go back into my boot or continue to try to walk as I am with an ankle brace and sneakers...

@windyt You are in a very tough position if you do not have health insurance. Your husband's did not continue after he passed away? There are often provisions for survivors.
I presume then that you want to wait, how soon will you qualify for Medicare? I would as soon as possible seek a second opinion. It does not seem right that you are living with so much pain, I can't imagine that there is nothing that can be done, although that does happen at times.
For now it sounds as if you are doing all that you can. I hope your efforts will be fruitful. Why did the physician at Mayo say future surgery? If it's on the horizon is there a reason to not do it now?
JK

I just got fusion surgery from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. After four months I am walking with Hoka shoes; tennis shoes that have a thick solee. My ankle is sore at the end of the day, but the next day my condition improves. Get an at Mayo and let them give you an accurate diagnosis. Warrn.

@windyt So sorry for your problems I don't know what to tell you just my experience from my Dr He said stay of then he put me in P. T I'm sorry about your husband I went on Widows S.S at 62 before I got Medicare which is at age 65 Have you gone to S.S office and talked with someone there? If not I would suggest this

@ lioness Thank you for your condolences and wishes - as a widow yourself I am sure you understand how difficult things can be. I am not yet dealing with his loss very well. I checked on the Widows SS but since I am still working they said I would not get it, but that I can apply at my full retirement age of 66 + some months. I am walking on my heel as needed when my toes act up, but the pain in the inside of the ankle does not improve and I still need crutches or a walker to keep less weight on it.