What is
Foot pain is the discomfort of the foot from disorders or injuries including bones, nerves, or blood vessels. Foot pain can affect your toes to the Achilles tendon. Foot pain can affect your ability to work or play sports. If foot pain is not treated, it can lead to long-term damage or disability.
Causes
Trauma and disease are the most common causes of foot pain. Poor biomechanical alignment may also lead to foot pain. Foot injuries such as ligament sprains, muscle strains, bruises, and fractures are caused by stresses to the foot. A sprain foot or ankle occurs when ligaments that hold the bones together are overstretched and the fibers tear. Depending if the ligaments are loose or tight, the joints of the foot may be a factor in foot pain. A foot injury can be caused by a single blow or twist, or repeated trauma that can result in a stress fracture. A main contributor to foot pain could be from footwear. Poor fitting shoes can cause blisters, calluses, bruising and be a source of athlete’s foot. The long-term effects of poor fitting shoes may be bunions, corns, irritation of nerves and joints, misalignment of the toes, and the source of micro trauma injuries to the foot.
Symptoms
The symptoms of foot pain are pretty much anything that you feel in your foot that isn’t right. Symptoms related to foot pain like swelling that won’t go away, numbness in the feet, unexplained redness and either the feet being too warm or too cold without any cause. You might feel foot Weakness, numbness or tingling feet. If the foot pain lasts longer than six months it is defined as chronic foot pain and may be accompanied by sleeping difficulties, lack of energy and depression. Foot pain can take any number of forms depending on the condition involved. When it comes to foot pain, everyone is different, but the most common sign of foot pain is going to be discomfort in one or more parts of the foot. The first thing a person who suffers from foot pain needs to do is to make sure the source of the pain isn’t coming from something that isn’t easily fixed, such as an poor-fitting pair of shoes or a high pair of heels.
Treatment
When you first begin to notice foot pain, you should rest, ice, compress, and elevate your injured foot. Medications may also be used to reduce discomfort and pain. Rest will allow the tissues to heal by preventing stress to the injured foot. To reduce stress from foot pain, use crutches to keep the weight off. Appropriate use of ankle and foot supports may provide rest, comfort, and support to the affected foot. Ice should be applied on the injured foot no longer than 20 minutes. If extreme discomfort occurs, icing should be discontinued immediately.
Prevention
To prevent foot pain you should inspect feet regularly, especially between toes. Cut toenails straight across to avoid ingrown toenails, which may cause foot pain. Wear well-fitted and comfortable shoes to take pressure off feet. Also make sure you do not wear the same shoes every day. Avoid walking barefoot, which might increase risk of foot injury or infection.