Foot Pain Management
Feet. They carry you everywhere, every day. Most of the time we are unaware of them until something goes wrong. And when it does, you want relief almost instantly. To get the right treatment, you need to know the problem. This is where our podiatrists can help you with Foot Pain Management.
Each human foot is comprised of 26 bones, over 100 muscles, and numerous ligaments and tendons. If you have pain in your feet, it usually indicates there is a problem with how your foot is interacting with internal and/or external factors. The foot’s main purpose is to wear weight and to act as a mobile adaptor to the different terrains that our feet encounter. Because of this when we feel pain we need to treat the pain immediately. When we feel pain we tend to change the way we walk and this can create more problems.
As podiatrists we see a wide range of feet (no two feet are the same!) with many different ailments ranging from sports injuries and trauma, to pain associated with chronic health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. Other common causes of foot pain are:
– Bunion
– Cramps
– Fibromyalgia
– Heel Spur
– Ankle Sprains
– Metatarsalgia
– Morton’s Neuroma
– Muscle Strain (Muscle Pain)
– Overuse Injuries
– Peroneal Tendonitis
– Pes Planus – Flat Feet
– Pinched Nerve
– Plantar Fasciitis
– Posterior Ankle Impingement
– Psoriatic Arthritis
– Severs Disease
– Stress Fractures of the bones of the feet
– Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Foot Pain management is the process of providing podiatric care to alleviate and reduce pain. Management of pain can be conducted in several ways.
Physical Therapy: This includes a whole array of treatments such as good foot hygiene, orthotic therapy, physiotherapy, heat, cold, strapping and splints and many others. For example, Your podiatrist may recommend a stretching and strengthening program for your specific foot condition or prescribe orthotics/ footwear and strapping upon the return to physical activity.
Pharmacological: Your podiatrist can discuss many pharmacological options to treat foot pain. Over the counter analgesics can be a simple and effective solution as a first line treatment to help reduce symptoms associated with foot pain. Your GP can also assist with pharmacological pain relief if warranted.
Regional Analgesia: This comprises of the injection of pharmacological agents into the painful tissue. This injection can be placed either around an inflamed joint or around a nerve. While this is not a long-term cure, these blocks often have a beneficial response, and can be useful in conjunction with other therapies. Your podiatrist will advise you if this form of therapy will benefit you.
Psychology: The pain experience and amount of suffering is usually dependant on many psychological parameters such as anxiety, past experience, the meaning to the patient of the pain and their beliefs about treatment and medications.
Your podiatrist will take all of these factors into account when making a clinical diagnosis and treatment plan for your foot pain management.
First and foremost if you have painful symptoms in your feet, don’t ignore them as foot pain tends to worsen!If you notice any of the following:
– Soreness in the toes, heels, or balls of your feet
– Bumps or protrusions on any part of your feet
– Difficulty walking or feeling uncomfortable while walking
– Tenderness to the touch on any part of your feet,
Then you need to call us and let our team help you manage your foot pain and make for more comfortable walking.