Foot pain is typically caused by a number of factors – lifestyle issues such as wearing unsuitable shoes, becoming overweight or pounding the feet on hard surfaces, medical conditions like diabetes, or an injury.
The Most Common Types of Foot Pain;
Aching / Tired Feet;
Tired aching feet after activity or at the end of the day is often due to the excessive work rate and use of our muscles. Muscles can overwork because of joint displacement / misalignment and the total amount of activity that you do.
Bunions;
Bunions occur when the joint of the big toe deviates from its alignment and becomes enlarged. Because the big toe is pivotal in your body’s movement – acting as the base for walking and running – a weak and unstable base will often produce a bunion and lead to excruciating pain.
Excessive Pronation;
This condition is often associated with the ankles excessively rolling in and the foot arch lowering and flattening. Essentially, the foot becomes very unstable and the bones are loose. Due to this, other parts of the body may compensate such as your knees, hip and back and the tendons and muscles may also be forced to work harder. This often results in feet that constantly aching.
Plantar Fasciitis/Fasciosis;
A common condition where the plantar fascia and heel tissues are over worked and become damaged and inflamed. This is often due to mechanical compensations in the tissues around the heel due to joint displacement. Because the heel is responsible for absorbing so much shock, any joint displacement can impact the bones, tendons and ligaments that are around the heel and result in pain.
Heel Spur;
Over time excessive load and strain to the heel bone can also result in a spur. A heel spur is simply the body responding to the bone stress by depositing extra bone to strengthen the area. Heel spurs are typically not painful or the cause of heel pain. They may or may not be present in cases of heel pain.
High Arches;
The problem with high arches is that they reduce the ability of the feet to perform their shock absorption role. High arches typically don’t absorb the shock required for optimal foot, leg and body function. As a result, other parts of the body, such as hips, knees and the lower back, take up the shock and work harder than they should.
Morton’s Neuroma;
This condition typically arises when the nerve sheath experiences abnormal levels of pressure becoming inflamed and thickened. This is usually the result of constant irritation by the surrounding bone structures and can be increased by collapsing of the metatarsal arch at the ball of the foot. It is normally found between the toes of the foot, most commonly the 3rd and 4th toes. A sign you have this condition is an electrical pulsing that shoots from the ball of the foot to the toes. Sometimes burning or numbness in the toes is also reported.