Foot pain may impact any part of your foot, from the Achilles tendon on your heel, all the way to your toes. Often, foot pain is a minor annoyance. At other times it can be more serious, particularly if it is due to chronic conditions or the result of an injury. Pain which is minor usually responds quite well to foot pain treatment at home.
Pain of the more severe type may require appropriate foot pain treatment from a doctor. Most pain of the feet is due to poorly fitting shoes, overuse, or injury. However, certain structural defects and medical conditions of the foot, like diabetes and arthritis, can be the culprit. Common causes of pain include: achilles tendinitis, bones spurs, broken foot bones, bunions, bursitis, diabetic neuropathy, gout, plantar fasciitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and stress fractures.
If the pain is severe in nature, it is important to see a doctor for a proper diagnosis. Because we are on our feet every day, the feet get little opportunity to rest and recover. These types of injuries may linger for months, even years, if left untreated, causing further damage which may be permanent.
Symptoms of Foot Pain
Foot pain symptoms can range from mild to severe. They may be acute or chronic, depending upon the severity of the underlying cause. Each type of pain is different, providing a clue as to what the ultimate diagnosis may be. Only a doctor, however, is qualified to make that determination. One type of pain may be caused by achilles tendinitis. This condition is caused by inflammation of the achilles tendon- a band of tissue connecting your heel bone to calf muscles located at the back of your lower leg. This condition is often caused by a running injury or some other type of sports-related injury.
It typically is seen after overuse, jumping, intense exercise, or any other activity that excessively strains the calf muscles and tendon. Foot pain treatment of achilles tendinitis typically consists of simple care at home under a doctor's supervision. Left untreated, the condition can worsen into a rupture requiring surgery to repair the damage done to the tissues. Another type of pain is caused by bone spurs. These are bony projections which form along bone edges. The spurs can rub against nerves located nearby, causing varying degrees of pain. Foot pain treatment for bone spurs depends upon their location and severity.
Treatment of Foot Pain
If your condition is serious enough to require medical attention, the type of foot pain treatment your doctor will recommend depends upon the underlying cause of the pain. Your treatment may involve medication, custom-fitted shoes, rest, or surgery in severe cases. If the cause is one or more broken bones in the foot, the break may need to be set and a cast put in place. One possible cause of foot pain, especially prevelant in young athletes, is an avulsion fracture.
This condition occurs when a ligament or tendon, together with a section of the bone it is attached to, gets wrenched away from the main section of the bone. It often involves the hamstring muscle and attaching tendons, the hip flexor muscles, and the forearm muscles located on the inner side of the elbow. If you are diagnosed with this particular condition, foot pain treatment normally is conservative. It usually involves resting and icing the painful area, then undertaking mild exercise, stretching the tendon to spur bone healing. However, if the hip muscles are involved, you may have to spend some time on crutches. Typical recovery time is four to eight weeks.
