MRI doesn't show anything (fracture, x-ray, pain, ankle)

[Edwin2021]

What happens if x-ray and MRI doesn't show anything... I just had to do an MRI for my left foot. It showed nothing based on the results. Last year my brother's step daughter who was 11 closed the door on my foot and I didn't take it out because I couldn't move it away. It could have been worse if I forced it out. She plays too much and took my juice and tried to lock me out. She actually broke my nephew's arm before also and injured other kids. Back to the MRI. What happens if they find nothing? It hurts around my left toe. I am waiting to get treatment to get rid of the pain. It happens gradually and I am in bed when I am not working. Then when I go to work it hurts gradually until the pain stays there like my toe is tired or something. My brother got steroid injection for his feet and now the pain is worse for him and his feet shake when walking. I wasn't offered steroids but if I am I rather get a different treatment. I have disability benefits where I work. The doctor did mention last year that maybe I would have to be off from work for some time to let the foot rest, but now I am not even sure that would work. I got injured in July. Can I still receive disability benefits for short and long term in this situation? I want to get paid if I have to be off from work, otherwise I won't be able to do it.

[Ann Alison]

Have you been treated by the emergency room or through a regular doctor appointment? If you haven't already, you must make an appointment with a doctor and have him/her refer you to specialists (orthopedic, maybe) until someone figures out what the issue is. Don't quit; they will assume all is good unless you tell them you're still in pain. Your foot might need treatment or surgery or just rest. Maybe something is broken. Be proactive with it with your doctor. I don't have experience with disability benefits but I think a doctor's documentation might be necessary to get them. Worry about your foot and get it seen to, and the rest (benefits) will follow. Good luck.

And what the hell is wrong with your step-niece? Is she a psychopath or a victim of abuse or what? Keep yourself and your family, if you have one, away rom her.

[Edwin2021]

Originally Posted by Ann Alison

Have you been treated by the emergency room or through a regular doctor appointment? If you haven't already, you must make an appointment with a doctor and have him/her refer you to specialists (orthopedic, maybe) until someone figures out what the issue is. Don't quit; they will assume all is good unless you tell them you're still in pain. Your foot might need treatment or surgery or just rest. Maybe something is broken. Be proactive with it with your doctor. I don't have experience with disability benefits but I think a doctor's documentation might be necessary to get them. Worry about your foot and get it seen to, and the rest (benefits) will follow. Good luck.

And what the hell is wrong with your step-niece? Is she a psychopath or a victim of abuse or what? Keep yourself and your family, if you have one, away rom her.

I saw a orthopedic who is a foot specialist. He said if nothing shows up that is wrong that no surgery is needed. I think her problem is that her real father left her. I don't know. My brother shouldn't have married a woman with a kid. That's a problem already, but he was very desperate and it's a way to make sure she doesn't leave him.

[Parnassia]

What happens if x-ray and MRI doesn't show anything... I just had to do an MRI for my left foot. It showed nothing based on the results.

So, these exams showed "nothing". That's still a somewhat useful result. Doesn't necessarily tell anyone what is causing your pain now, but a negative result does imply that you don't have an unstable bone fracture or significant damage to soft tissue. Sort of a good news/bad news situation. Not all soft tissue injuries show up on MRIs. A very minor stress fracture that happened months ago might not show up on an x-ray.

It happens gradually and I am in bed when I am not working. Then when I go to work it hurts gradually until the pain stays there like my toe is tired or something.

Are you saying you lie in bed the entire time you aren't working just because of your sore toe?

My brother got steroid injection for his feet and now the pain is worse for him and his feet shake when walking.

And? Your brother probably didn't get a steroid injection for the same exact reason you might get one. There's no precise way to predict what any specific steroid might or might not do for you...how well they work varies from person to person and from injury to injury.

I wasn't offered steroids but if I am I rather get a different treatment.

Don't dismiss an entire class of meds right off the bat, discuss this with your doctor. Steroids can be beneficial treatments for many minor inflammatory type injuries. If you don't try any of them you'll never know one way or the other. Your doctor may want to try oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatories first. That's a conservative approach many situations call for. It is usually better to start treating injuries sooner than later.

I have disability benefits where I work. The doctor did mention last year that maybe I would have to be off from work for some time to let the foot rest, but now I am not even sure that would work.

Some long standing inflammatory injuries take more time to resolve than others. Treatment doesn't necessarily mean you would need to stay home in bed to let the foot heal. Wearing a cast, a soft walking boot, using a rollator can also "rest" your foot because they immobilize and support at the same time. Your work duties could be modified temporarily so you spend more time at a desk with weight off your foot instead of walking around...but you could still be on the job and getting paid. No one here would know. That's a treatment plan your doctor would propose to you, and you discuss it with your employer. All parties would collaborate and come up with something together.

FWIW, I've had quite a few foot injuries and surgeries over the years and have worn casts, walking boots, worn protective wraps, gotten steroid injections, and physical therapy until the injury healed. It can be done. I reported to work much of the time and didn't need to go on any sort of disability.

I got injured in July. Can I still receive disability benefits for short and long term in this situation? I want to get paid if I have to be off from work, otherwise I won't be able to do it.

No one here can answer this. You need to discuss options with your employer. The injury didn't happen on the job so that affects what the alternatives will be. There's a difference between claiming disability and requesting paid medical leave. Again, we don't know what your employer offers so you'll need to find out from them.

[NVplumber]

MRI and xray can be VERY unrevealing in certain cases. CT is a bit better for bone MRI for soft tissue. I have a condition in what's left of my right ankle that MRI and xray flat won't show and CT is iffy. IT takes years before it shows up after an injury and the injury needs to be severe so I doubt you have what I have going on.

So, my point is even the snazziest of modern scans can miss something. Even something big. If It hurts it hurts and something has to be causing it.

[wit-nit]

OP it probably is a sprain and that won't show up on an MRI. And a sprained foot can take weeks to heal.

[Dragonmam]

My daughter had a broken foot due to a sports injury. The podiatrist could not find anything on the MRI or CT, but you could tell when he handled the foot (very roughly, I might add) that she was in extreme pain. His diagnosis was a sprained toe. It did not improve at all in the time he said it would heal, it actually worsened and you could see swelling.

I took her to an orthopedic foot and ankle specialist. When he examined her, there was a spot under her foot that he just barely touched and she pulled her foot back. Based on that reaction he searched the scans that had been done. He flipped back and forth between images to finally find a non-displaced crack all the way through a sesamoid bone. He placed her in a plaster walking cast, instead of the soft boot. After a few days in the cast and using a knee scooter to get around a very large college campus, her pain stopped.

When the cast came off, some pain came back. She had to go back to the boot for a bit. Then the doctor told her that there was some nerve involvement when the bone healed and that the only cure was to keep taking an anti-inflammatory and use the foot, without the boot. He had to reassure her for several weeks that the pain would go away but only if she used the foot. It did after a few weeks, and she's had no problems since then.

You need to go back to the doctor and get checked again. You mentioned the surgery has been ruled out, but have they done more conservative treatment, like a boot and crutches or knee scooter so there's no pressure on it? Maybe they need to repeat the MRI. Do you have a desk job, or do you have to stand or do physical labor?

Not trying to be mean, but right now all you have are subjective complaints of pain from an injury eight months ago for which you don't appear to have been seeking medical treatment in the interim. I don't see how you would get disability based on what you've presented to us so far. Also, have you used up all your sick leave? That is usually a prerequisite before tapping into disability benefits.