I have experienced this, and still do to some degree.
It is a VERY long story that I will try to sum up quickly.
I was in a very serious car accident several years ago and was partially confined to bed for nearly a year. Among other broken bones, my (sandaled) feet smashed up into the floorboard of the car.
For 5 years after that I had an extreme amount of stress in my life, and not only because of my injuries.
At first I had bad pains in my toes, restless leg syndrome, burning, stinging in my legs and feet, etc. This started a few months after the accident. Then it was like someone was stabbing me in the toes, feet and legs with a knife, and I very often cried out or gasped loudly with the pain. It was always more intense at night. This went on for years and I started keeping a diary of foods I had eaten, caffeine intake, activity level during the day, and my mood that day. It always seemed to come back to stress/anxiousness. I couldn't sleep at night, which make me more cranky, irritable and stressed the next day. Then my feet/legs would act up even more then next night. It was a very vicious cycle.
Six years later I still have it, but much, much less. I do have nerve damage from the accident. I did the nerve blocker thing, and both prescription and OTC painkillers, hot and cold massage, etc. Coincidence or not, the pain lessened considerably when the stress in life was greatly reduced.
For me, the only way to control it was to give up caffeine, try to keep calm and stress-free, and to elevate my legs for at least an hour before bed. I still have trouble sleeping and sometimes it can go on for a couple weeks at a time, then I am fine again.
I hope that you are more fortunate and that when your brace is off and you're operating more naturally that it will wear off.
