Foot Pain Relief & Treatment

Your foot is a complex support network of bones and joints connected by muscles, tendons and ligaments. While all this makes the human foot strong enough to support your weight during walking and strenuous activities, there is a lot that can go wrong.

From your toes to your heel, injury and pain can affect any part of your foot and the American Podiatric Medical Association states that over 75 percent of Americans report experiencing some type of foot pain. Because there are so many parts to the foot, foot pain symptoms and the underlying causes can cover a wide array of issues.

Symptoms

Pain is typically the result of pressure placed on surrounding nerves in the area. The more nerves involved, or the greater the pressure, the more intense the pain will be. Here are some common symptoms of foot problems:

• Being unable to walk or even stand on the affected foot.
• Discomfort with or without walking.
• Swelling of the feet and ankles.
• Numbness with or without tingling.
• Blisters, calluses, corns.
• Redness of the skin, drainage from the skin, or even an open wound on the skin
• Temperature changes of the skin (hot/cold)

Causes

While some foot pain is caused by mild overexertion or in some cases temporary environments like poor fitting shoes and so forth, other foot pain is can be the result of a serious condition. Foot pain can be the result of:

• Arterial Insufficiency.
• Arthritis.
• Biomechanical problems.
• Bone bruising or fracture.
• Bunions
• Diabetic neuropathy secondary to diabetes
• Hammertoe and mallet toe.
• Infections (bacterial, fungal, and viral).
• Inflamed blood vessels.
• Ingrown toenails.
• Joint inflammation.
• Nerve injuries
• Overuse.
• Peripheral neuropathy secondary to absorption issues, alcohol abuse, or back problems.
• Plantar fasciitis.
• Poorly fitting shoes.
• Skin conditions.
• Soft tissue injuries (tendon or ligament injuries)
• Tumors.
• Venous problems.

While some of these are often caused by injury, some conditions are genetic.

Treatment

There are a number of viable treatment options available for foot pain. There are also a number of easy remedies you can try at home, like rest, soaking your feet and getting better fitting shoes. Over-the-counter pain relievers can help with minor pain from a mild sprain or arthritis. Heat and cold packs can also help for minor issues. However, you should consult a podiatrist if you are experiencing severe pain, swelling, ongoing pain, stiffness or numbness.

For major foot pain, conservative treatment, stronger medication or surgery may be indicated. If you have reached the point where your foot pain is unbearable or it is impeding your daily activities,
contact Dr. Alex Tievsky today for help in determining what the best course of treatment is to get you started on the process of freeing yourself from foot pain.