The most common reason for foot pain is planter fasciitis, or heel pain. Sometimes referred to as heel spur syndrome, planter fasciitis can be present with or without an actual bony spur.
Stepping down on the foot, especially just getting up in the morning or after sitting for an extended time, can cause immediate shooting planter fasciitis pain. And pressing harder on a sore heel, the way some do with a foot that’s fallen asleep, causes planter fasciitis pain worsen. Starting exercise without warming up, Planter fasciitis flares up when the planter fascia ligament that stretches from the heel to the ball of the foot – which also supports the arch – becomes inflamed. Planter fasciitis is a serious condition and should not be ignored.
Heel spurs and planter fasciitis typically occur in people with flat feet and can usually be avoided by making a special effort to wear support shoes with arch support. Otherwise, the arch starts to collapse and stretches beyond its limits, leading to possible muscle tears and bone spurs.
Additionally high arches that pull on the muscles, tight calf muscles from lack of stretching or muscle tension that pulls away a piece of the bone can also cause planter fasciitis. In severe and chronic cases, heel spurs may require surgical correction.
Treating planter fasciitis consists of:
• Taking pressure off the foot
• Always wearing appropriate footwear with insoles.
• Using a heel cup, heel pad, heel cushion or slight heel lift to relieve pressure and reduce inflammation.
• Keeping calf muscles at a proper length using a night splint.
• Correcting leg length discrepancy via an adjustable heel lift.
• Ice massaging to reduce inflammation.
• Stretching calf muscle to reduce tightness.
Category: Exercise
Swollen feet, sometimes called edema, is a condition where the muscles in the feet have an excessive buildup of fluid. Gravity pulls the fluid to your ankles and feet.
Swelling can be a symptom of a serious underlying problem, be it a sports injury, pregnancy, heart disease, fluid retention, kidney problems or another condition. If your feet swell chronically, is accompanied by shortness of breath or weight gain, see your doctor.
Slight swelling of the lower legs commonly occurs in warm summer months. Slight swelling is more likely to occur if a person has been standing or walking a lot.
Traditional treatment might include any or all of these suggestions:
Elevate your feet and legs. Place a pillow under your heels, and prop your feet on a chair or high stool. Use a leg wedge to elevate while sleeping.
Dip your feet into a tub of cold water or sit on the side of the bath with your feet under a cold-water tap. After this put your feet up for a while.
Reduce your salt intake. Salt causes you to retain water.
Do not abuse laxatives.
Take diuretics if prescribed by your doctor. Diuretics increase urination by pulling excess fluid out of your cellular tissues.
Practice good health habits. Proper nutrition and daily exercise improve the health of your cardiovascular system and your circulation, helping to reduce the tendency of your feet to swell.
Wear support socks or stockings and well fitting shoes.
Usually swollen feet don’t indicate a problem, but it can signal pre-eclampsia. If the swelling appears abruptly or if you notice that you are also getting swelling in your hands at the same time, call your health-care provider immediately! Pre-eclampsia is a type of pregnancy-related high blood pressure than can be very dangerous.
Feet are particularly vulnerable to swelling during pregnancy because you have more blood and other fluids circulating in your body — as much as six to eight extra quarts. Women tend to notice slight swelling throughout pregnancy, but especially during the third trimester.
Your feet will grow a half size to a full size during the nine months that you are pregnant Many pregnant women’s feet grow right along with the baby. Even though the fluid-related swelling will disappear within a few days of delivering your baby, some women find that their feet are as much as a size larger following a pregnancy. For that you can blame the hormone relaxin. Relaxin helps loosen your pelvic joints in preparation for your baby’s journey down the birth canal.
Tips for reducing swelling include:
• Lie on your left side. This reduces pressure on major blood vessels to the heart and kidneys.
• Rest lying flat on the floor. Put your feet up to a 45 degree angle.
• Take a luke-warm to cool bath. Water pressure puts more fluid back into your blood vessels.
• Wear tighter, thick stocking socks.
• Wear a well fitting, strong arch support shoe to support the extra weight your carrying.
Blisters are small swelling of the skin containing watery fluid caused by friction. The body responds to the friction by producing fluid which builds up beneath the part of the skin being rubbed, causing pressure and pain.
Blisters are a common problem with athletes wearing in new shoes. They are also a common problem for athletes, runners and walkers who participate in exceptionally long events such as marathons or long hill walks. To help avoid or lessen blisters, use petroleum jelly or baby powder applied before long walks.
After a blister develops keep it clean and dry. If the blister has not “popped,” leave it alone. Most of the time, the blister will reabsorb and heal on its own.
If a blister is red, leaking yellow fluid or has red lines near the blister, visit a doctor immediately. Redness and leaking yellow fluid are symptoms of infection.
Dry cracking heels (xeorosis) is a condition of thickening and fissuring (cracking of the bottom part of the heels). This is a very common problem and in most people it is only a nuisance and a cosmetic problem. But when the problem persists, especially in diabetes or people with impaired vascular sufficiency, this can lead to a serious medical problem.
Common symptom of cracked heels are:
• Peeling and cracked skin
• Hard growth of skin on the outer edge of the heel
• Pain while walking
• Increased pain in thin soles or open back shoes
• Red or flaky patches on the heel of the foot
• Yellow or dark skin on the heel
• Itchy skin
Most common causes are:
• Dry skin
• Prolonged standing
• Wearing shoes with an open back
• In active sweat glands
• Misaligment of the metatarsal bones
• Flat feet
• High arched feet
• Improperly fitting shoes
• Athlete’s foot
• Surgery to the lower extremities
• Psoriasis
• Thyroid disease
• Diabetes
The best treatment for cracked heels are:
• Appling a moisturizing cream
• Using a pumice stone
• Wearing closed backed shoes
• Wearing shoes with a good shock absorbing sole
3 out of 4 people in the US experience serious foot problems but only a small percentage is born with foot problems.
Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles. A quarter of all the bones in your body are in your feet.
Walking is the best exercise for your feet, contributing to general health by improving circulation.
Conditions like arthritis, diabetes, nerve and circulatory disorders can have their initial symptoms in the feet – so foot ailments can be your first sign of more serious medical problems.
Women have about four times as many foot problems as men. Doctors generally blame high heels for the difference.
Your two feet have about 250,000 sweat glands and can excrete as much as a cup of moisture per day.
Neglect and a lack of proper care, including ill fitting shoes, bring on foot problems.
If you put on weight, the bone and ligament structure of your feet might change. Get your shoe size rechecked to make sure you are buying shoes that are best for your feet.
Approximately 65% of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve damage, which in severe forms can create the need for lower limb amputations. Approximately 56,000 people a year lose a foot or leg to diabetes.
Walking barefoot can cause plantar warts. The virus enters through a cut.
Your two feet may be different sizes and the ball of the foot is twice as wide as the heel. Be sure to get shoes that fit.
About 5% of Americans have toenail problems in a given year.
The average person takes about 9,000 steps a day. That means that by 70 most people would have walked around the earth 4 times!
Did you know that about one in five people with diabetes enters the hospital for foot problems? In fact, many people with diabetes have mild to severe nerve damage. This can cause diminished feeling in the feet. As a result, you may not feel cuts, scratches, and breaks in the skin on your feet. These wounds can lead to unnoticed infection.
There are several specific problems that you should be aware of as a diabetic:
• Poor circulation can make your feet less able to fight infection and to heal.
• Calluses occur more often and build up faster on the feet diabetics. If not trimmed they can get very thick, break down, and turn into ulcers (open sores).
• Diabetic nerve damage (neuropathy) also can lessen your ability to feel pain, heat, and cold. Loss of feeling may mean that you might not feel a foot injury.
• Foot ulcers occur most often over the ball of the foot or on the bottom of the big toe. Ulcers on the sides of the foot are usually due to poorly fitting shoes. Neglecting an ulcer can result in infections, which in turn can lead to loss of a limb.
If the above problems are not cared for, amputation of the foot or leg may result.
Be sure to talk to your doctor if you notice any of these symptoms:
• Changes in the color of the skin on your feet
• Changes in skin temperature
• Pain in the legs, either at rest or while walking
• Swelling of the foot or ankle
• Open sores that are slow to heal
• Ingrown or fungus-infected toenails
• Corns or calluses that bleed within the skin
• Cracks in the skin, especially around the heel
Check your feet every day. Inspect the top, sides, soles, heels, and between the toes.
Just as our body needs exercise to stay healthy and function properly, since our feet are part of our body, they also need to be exercised. The best exercise for your feet is to walk bare feet on the grass, but barring that option here are a few other exercises that you can do to strengthen your feet.
Toe stretch – With your feet flat on the floor, raise one foot to have only your toes on the ground. Raise to a point and then curl your toes under. Hold each position for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times.
Foot Stretch – Sit on the floor with your legs in front of you. Loop a towel around your feet. Keeping the heels on the floor and pull the towel with both hands, use the towel to draw the middle foot and toes towards your body. Hold in this position for a few seconds and then relax. Repeat 5 times.
Ankle Stretch – Sit with your legs stretched out in front of you. Point your foot down and then bring it towards you as far as is comfortable. Hold for a few seconds, then relax and repeat 10 time
Marble pick-up – Place 20 marbles on the floor. Pick up each one and put it into a small bowl.
A sprain is a twisting injury to the ankle. The stretching or even tearing of the ligaments that hold the ankle and foot bones in place causes pain and injury. Ligaments are an elastic structure that usually stretch to the limit and then go back to their normal position. When the ligament is forced beyond its normal limit, a sprain occurs.
Seeing a doctor is suggested to rule out a break in the ankle or foot. Your doctor will tell you the grade of the sprain and recommend treatment.
The amount of pain depends on the amount of stretching and tearing of the ligament. Walking may be difficult because of the swelling and pain. Usually swelling and pain will last two days to three days.
Most ankle sprains need only a period of protection to heal. The healing process takes about four weeks to six weeks. Even a complete ligament tear can heal without surgical repair if it is immobilized appropriately. Even if an ankle has a chronic tear, it can still be highly functional because overlying tendons help with stability and motion.
Over time, your feet become wider and longer and the natural padding under your heel and forefoot thins. Years of standing and walking flatten your arches and stiffen your feet and ankles.
If you wear high heels — shoes with a heel 2 inches or higher — your feet slide forward in your shoe, redistributing your weight, creating unnatural pressure points and throwing your body’s natural alignment out of whack. Over a number of years this can cause serious problems with the hips and back.
As with all anti-aging advice, keeping your body fit always comes first. Standing on one foot for as long as possible and then switching to the other foot and repeating is a best single exercise which improves motor coordination and can be done at any time and without any special equipment. This exercise works the muscles and tendons in the foot and keeps them working longer.