Whether they've journeyed a thousand miles or just teetered on their first tentative steps, feet bear the brunt of our weight throughout our lifetimes. When foot pain strikes, it's a warning to slow down and reassess one's podiatric state of affairs.
Foot problems can take the spring out of a person's stride and exchange it for a painful limp. No one wants to hobble gingerly into the sunset. Knowledge of the causes of foot problems can help prevent such an ignoble fate.
Poor Structural Support
When the foot is contorted into unnatural positions to satisfy the whims of fashion, podiatric calamities can ensue. Intelihealth, Harvard Medical School's online repository of health information, reports that women undergo 90 percent of all surgeries related to common foot disorders, mainly due to their predilection for wearing fancy fashion footwear.
The tendency to wear shoes that are too small, with toes that are too pointy and heels that are too high can result in bunions, corns, calluses, blisters, muscle cramps, hammertoes and nerve damage, all of which are decidedly the unfashionable results of catering to fashion.
Diabetic Neuropathy
Pain is a good thing when it serves as a warning that the body needs attention. In cases of diabetic neuropathy, meaning nerve damage due to diabetes, sensation to the feet can diminish to the point where injuries go unnoticed. Cloistered away in the bacteria-riddled environment of a sweaty sneaker, a small cut or blister can easily become infected.
An infection can grow and gangrene can set in. Surgical amputation of the foot may be necessary. All of which can be avoided by daily foot checks, proper daily washing of the feet and consultation with a doctor when a diabetic patient incurs foot injuries.
Connective Tissue Problems
Ligaments, tendons and fascia are forms of connective tissue that help hold the foot together so its complex, yet compact conglomeration of bones, muscles, nerves and blood vessels function as a single unit. When connective tissue is strained, pain and joint instability can ensue.
Achilles tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon at the back of the heel. Tiny tears in the tissue due to stress on the ligament cause aches in the leg and heel after physical activity such as running.
Plantar fasciitis, the Mayo Clinic explains, is another painful connective tissue injury. It occurs when the shock-absorbing fascia at the bottom of the foot suffers tiny ruptures, causing sharp pain in the heel.
Other Considerations
A vast range of other factors can influence the health of the feet. Arthritis, gout, pregnancy, leg and foot deformities, spinal problems, neurological disorders, as well as knee and ankle injuries all are potential sources of foot problems. The precise mechanism by which they affect the foot, and the symptoms that they cause, vary in each case. However, the importance of proper foot care will help keep our limbs pain free and bearing our weight for a lifetime.
