Say goodbye to feet pain with effective treatment

Feet pain is a common problem. Everyone suffers from it regardless of age and gender. So what’s exactly going on? What can you do about it? What can be the relative cause of the sudden rise in foot pain for everyone?

Your feet are an important part of your body for the simple reason that they carry you places. You might not even be noticing the hours you spend standing, walking, and doing simple activities. All of it is done with the strength of your legs and feet. This means that if anything goes wrong, you’re bound to notice.

Structure of the foot
Your single foot consists of 26 bones and 33 joints. These are all surrounded by muscles and tendons that make it flexible and durable enough to hold the weight of your body. The ankle too is a part of your foot, where it joins the rest of the leg.

It is your ligaments that hold all your tiny bones together, this includes your toes. These ligaments allow for flexible movement and durability, which is backed by many other internal and external muscles.

So with such a complicated structure, things are bound to go wrong. We aren’t all so careful when it comes to the care of our feet, and often put them through a lot.

Causes of foot pain
Keep in mind that the arches of your feet are the parts that determine the relationship between the force the ground puts on you, and the force that you put back. Whenever there is an abnormal amount of pressure, being out for a long duration, your feet feel the pain. There are inbuilt shock absorbers to help reduce the effect of any strong impact.

Pain usually registers when something is wrong inside the muscles of the foot, or when the interaction between the foot and the external environment is affected. To determine what causes the pain, it is important to localize the exact part of the foot that is in pain. The sooner a cause is established, the better. This is because due to the pain the body makes changes in the way that the foot functions, and causes strain on other parts of the foot.

All of this manifests in one’s inability to walk straight and stand upright, or do any other physical activities.

Foot pain can be caused by a number of diseases, or bad footwear, extraneous wear and tear, or just injury. Infections can be caused by bacteria, virus, or even fungus, as is the case with Athlete’s Foot. Sometimes things such as ingrown nails can cause severe pain and restrict one’s movement, and even cause an infection that runs very deep.

Arthritis, lupus, and even diabetes can also cause foot pain indirectly, by causing inflammation. Deformities may also manifest themselves in the form of foot pain. However, by far the most common reason for foot pain is an injury. Be it an acute injury or mild repetitive accumulated injury of the same area of the foot can both cause severe and debilitating pain. This mostly happens when people perform exercises incorrectly, or they run on uneven surfaces.

Another common cause is incorrect footwear. Wearing heels for a long duration can cause swelling and inflammation due to the unnatural position of your foot. Even exercising in shoes that are too loose or too tight, can cause pain. All of this pain may start as a numb throbbing, but if not treated correctly, and such that these harmful behaviors are removed, the pain can go on to cause arthritis and other permanent muscle damage.

Treatments to eradicate foot pain

Causes for foot pain are often simple and easy to determine on one’s own. Once you determine the cause, and if it is a controllable clause, such as footwear or exercise, then cease it immediately. The pain should go away on its own in about 3 to 5 days. However, if the pain is consistent and hinders with your day to day functioning, then it’s best to seek out medical advice and assistance for the treatment of your feet pain.
A second step you can take towards the treatment of the feet pain is the RICE technique. Stop any extraneous activities, and follow up with Rest, Ice pack, Compression, and Elevation. All of this coupled with some classic over the counter meds, and your foot pain should come to a halt.
More traditional treatments to curb foot pain include rolling a cold water bottle under the foot, and massaging the affected area gently with some oil.

Only in very severe cases, where debilitating pain restricts one’s movements is when you should consult a doctor and have a look at other treatment procedures, depending upon the cause of your foot pain.