advice needed on foot turning in

[poppy]

Some of you know about my silly little accident at the hmsa residential on saturday night, for those that dont i were sat in my wheelchair playing pool and managed to trap my foot under the footrest, twist my ankle round and run over my own foot.
i bandaged it and hopped around the next day then when i got home googled diagrams of foot and ankle and after studying a nice picture of all the bones i discovered my ankle was dislocated so popped it back in then put 4 bones in my foot back where they belonged. after that i could put some weight on it but it was still quite painful and felt very unstable but i expected it would settle down in a few days.
by friday it was no better but i werent going to go get it x rayed because i were going away that weeknd so i had my weekend away then went to the hospital on monday. x rays showed nothing broken or dislocated but it all looked very loose apparently which i were surprised about because usually my x rays look normal if everythings in joint. they didnt really know what to do with me so heavily bandaged it but my ankle soon popped out of joint again
so then a phone call to my gp to see if i could have an aircast boot. gp didnt know where to get one of those from but would find out. got phone call on thursday to say i needed to go to plaster room at a different hospital to the one i'd already been at and get an aircast boot or a cast
monday went to plaster room and were given aircast boot, told them it didnt feel like it was going to hold my ankle together and suggested a cast might be better for a couple of weeks until it settles down then an aircast boot should be enough. of course they knew best so i went home with an aircast boot
tuesday phoned plaster room to say ankle had dislocated twice through the night with the aircast boot on
wednesday back to plaster room to get cast on

so i now have a cast on until the 18th. the cast is brilliant, i can walk better than i have in over 7 years!! when i were 13 my foot started turning in when i walked. i were seeing at least 4 different medical professionals then and asked each one whether my foot turning in might be causing the pain i were getting in my knee. each one told me something along the lines of no thats nothing to worry about and wont cause any problems. well now that my foot cant turn in i can walk so much better so it looks like my foot turning in has caused problems with my hip making it sublux and dislocate, problems with my knee which dislocates sideways because the ligaments are so stretched and problems with my foot and ankle which are apparenty very unstable now.
i have an appointment with my gp soon but dont know what referrals i need, who can i see that will be able to do something to stop my foot turning? and has any else had this kind of problem? if so what did or didn't help? should i be trying to get an mri scan done aswell to show up whether theirs any damage to ligaments?

[madmum]

My son has pronation of his feet,particularly his right. He dislocates his right kneecap to the inside. It is well documented that foot problems affect your knees,hips,back,neck and even give you headaches. I feel you need an urgent orthotic/podiatrist appointment under the biomechanic section. They can look closely to assess how this affects your walking and general posture. You may need some form of specialist insoles and footware which they will make for you. Good luck.

[nemonie]

Hi Honey,

I've been having a think about this. I think you need to get a video of you walking with the cast on as evidence and you need to ask for "gait analysis" I've had look online at the North Yorkshire PCT and this seems to be provided through Podiatry i.e at Harrogate or Scarborough e.g. http://www.hdft.nhs.uk/our-services/department-service-t-z/therapy-services/podiatry/biomechanics-service/
This is probably the kind of thing that would be very useful for you. In gait analysis, it's kind of like a blue screen computer analysis system, where they attach little sensors to your feet, ankles, knees and hips then have you walk (or stagger) down a long narrow room and record it on camera. A computer system then analyses the biomechanics of how you walk compared to the "ideal".
At least that was how it was done back when I did my masters in 2002 (I'm so old ) They could also hopefully sort you out with shoes that fit and hopefully orthotic insoles.

[poppy]

thanks will ask doctor to refer me for gait analysis anywhere but scarborough (scarborough hospital is officially one of the worst hospitals in the country!!)
will definitely have to get my mum to video me walking with the cast on and then when i get it off video me walking without the cast so if any more doctors reckon my foot turning in when i walk isn't a problem i can prove them wrong!
i'm meant to wear aircast boot for a few weeks after getting the cast off but not sure whether i will because the aircast boot was too heavy for my knee and made it dislocate in new ways, the last thing i need is for my knee to start dislocating in ways that are possible as well as impossibly dislocating sideways

[Eloise]

It is my pelvis and hips that are wonky and cause my foot to swing outwards. So it maybe worth getting your whole body looked at to see if the problems are from the pelvis down or the feet up - both just as likely. Unfortunately I don't have any other advice. Take care xxx

[nemonie]

I think I wrote that, then sat down to watch the news and the report about Scarborough hospital was on Harrowgate hospital looks quite promising as they show on their website that they actually do gait analysis and biomechanics stuff. Some podiatry departments are more into diabetic foot ulcers and oedema, but you'll definitely need a specialist in biomechanics and gait analysis, so make sure that is emphasised to your GP.

To further what Eloise has said, gait analysis should be able to tell if the problem is with your foot (the bottom up) or your hip and knee (the top down).