Foot Pain

Who are the ones who generally become a prey to the foot pain?
1. Obese / overweight
2. Rigid / uncomfortable / improper footwear
3. Standing / walking for a very long time
4. Lack of calcium in the body
5. Lack of Vitamin D
6. Flat foot (Pes planus)
7. Too much arch of the foot (Pes cavus)
8. Diabetics

There are 2 common conditions that may occur in the foot.
1. Calcaneal spur
2. Plantar fascitis

Many health professionals, generally, get confused about these two. But today, let us find out very important differences between these two conditions.

1. Calcaneal spur:
This is a condition where the pain is felt on the medial side (innerside) of the heel. It means that the person is putting more weight on the heel rather than on the foot or the fat pad that should be present under the heel (it's present between the heel bone & the skin) is thin enough (which has to be a little thicker, & that avoids this condition to occur).

The main symptom of this condition is, the person gets the pain early in the morning, rather than after work. As soon as the person gets up he may be unable to put the foot on the floor. This is because as he has been using his foot all through the previous day (strained his heel), when he goes to bed, the muscles & the heel pad swells up & when he gets up in the morning, because of the swelling present (which may not be visible from outside), it may be too painful to touch the floor with his/her swollen heel.

2. Plantar fascitis:
Plantar fascia is a sheath made of 5 muscles present at the bottom of the foot. This fascia originates from the heel bone (calcaneum) & gets inserted into the toe bones. Now, any pain which includes the anterior portion of the bottom of the foot & also the posterior portion of the bottom of the foot is to be considered as the Plantar fascitis.

These people too may suffer from the foot pain early in the mornings & the same principle which i have endorsed above applies to them too.

Now, let us discuss something about the prevention & the treatment.
1. Use soft insoles (if u wear shoes, put a silicon made insole into the shoe), or if you use chappal, then use the chappal which is made of Micro-cellular rubber (MCR)
2. The footwear should be flexible enough (when you try to bend the anterior portion of the footwear, it should be bent easily)
3. The front end of the shoe should be broad
4. Decrease your body weight (if it applies to you)
5. Increase the intake of Calcium in food
6. Get exposed to the sunlight early in the mornings (for 20-40 minutes)
7. Use the arch support if there is a lack of arch in the foot (flat foot)
8. Soft insoles are a MUST for the feet which have too much arch
9. Maintain the diabetes levels
10. Regular exercise is a MUST
11. If the pain has already started, then put some cylindrical structure or hot water bottle underneath the foot & keep on rolling the foot on that cylindrical structure or the hot water bottle. Do it twice a day (early morning & at night before going to bed). Pain relief is assured.
12. Please DO NOT take any injections into foot. These injections contain Hydrocortisones, which stops the pain for 3-6 months depending upon the dosage injected. This may ruin the condition further.
13. In the initial stages, Ultra-sound therapy treats the condition. But if it's in severe stage, Laser therapy (LLLT) works out well.

I hope this article & the above discussion is of some use to you. ALL THE BEST !