I have been having terrible pain at the base of the second metatarsal in one foot. Sometimes my foot is so swollen i cant put my shoe on, but no bruising. My dr sent me for X-rays which came back suspicious for stress fracture. I was placed in a surgical shoe after the pain went on for 5 weeks. I was told to wear the shoe for two weeks, which I did. I felt improvement. Two days after I took it off, the pain was just as bad as it had been at the beginning so I put the shoe back on. It seemed like I had undone the progress I had made. Then we took a two-day road trip and from not being able to elevate my foot, it was so swollen and painful I couldn't fall asleep. I saw an Orthopedist in the state I was visiting who took new X-rays (now at 10 weeks from onset) and saw no signs of stress fracture. He found that I had at some point fractured my big toe (same foot) but the injury was old and had heeled. The orthopedist sent me for an MRI. I just got the results and the only thing they found was mild arthritis setting into the joint of the big toe. I just don't understand how that would be causing my symptoms. My pain is not in my big toe, it has always been on the top of the foot. From just the physical exam, the Orthopedist also thought i had a stress fracture in the second metatarsal until he saw the xrays. We are now approaching the 12 week mark from onset and I am still getting pain and swelling. Any thoughts on what might be causing this?