Foot Pain - Oh, the Aching Feet – Causes and Treatments
How well do you care for your feet? Proper foot care is important for preventing a host of problems later in life, such as flat foot, ball, or top of foot pain. There are numerous tiny bones in your foot and they undergo some of the harshest punishment of any part of your body. When you run, for example, your feet are pounding on the ground with up to 5 times your body weight. It’s no wonder they occasionally complain. The bones under the ball of your foot by your big toe can bruise - just a warning before worse damage is done. Excruciating pain could indicate you have broken one of these bones. Ball of foot pain may be located further to the outside of the foot. Pain under your three small toes when you press your fingers between the toes and the ball of your foot may indicate bursitis. Top of foot pain, may indicate that one of the long thin bones that run along the top of your foot has a stress fracture. This top of foot pain will be accompanied by redness or swelling, and if you press on the area the pain will be excruciating. See your doctor for treatment of any suspected fracture and for advice on support products. If these are not your symptoms you may have a bone spur which can cause both top of foot pain and ball of foot pain. If your arches have fallen then you have flat foot syndrome, although there is not necessarily any pain associated with this. For ball of foot pain, whether it is bruised bones or bursitis, elevated rest is advised with use of a modified shoe or a shoe pad with a cut-out to reduce pressure on the affected area while walking (no running). In most cases crutches are not necessary. If the bones are actually fractured (and only an x-ray would identify that), then complete immobility of the foot is necessary (and yes, so are crutches). With bunions there is no cure to make them go away. About all you can do for treatment is to get modified footwear to relieve the pressure on the foot. There are also a variety of products you can get to reduce swelling, inflammation and pain. Your feet are important; they are what you stand on. Consult your doctor or podiatrist for potential treatments of lingering foot pain.
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