Medicine and Health
Anatomy of the foot
The foot is one of the most complex parts of the body. It's made up of 26 bone connected by many joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The foot is at risk of many stresses. Foot problems can cause pain, inammation, or injury. These problems can result in limited movement and mobility.
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What are the different types of foot problems?
Foo pain is often caused by incorrect foot function. Shoes that don't well can make foot problems worse and, in some cases, cause them. Shoes thatt correctly and give good support can prevent irritation to the foot joints and skin. There are many types of foot problems that aect the heels, toes, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and joints of the foot
The symptoms of foot problems may look like other health conditions and problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
What are heel spurs?
A heel spur is a bone growth on the heel bone. It's often located on the underside of the heel bone where it attaches to the plantar fascia. This is a long band of connective tissue running fromtheheeltotheballofthefoot.Thisconnectivetissueholdsthearchtogetherandactsas a shock absorber during activity. The plantar fascia can be overstretched from running, wearing poor-tting shoes, or being overweight. Then pain can result from the stress and
inammationofthetissuepullingonthebone.Overtime,thebodybuildsextrabonein response to this stress, causing heel spurs. Treatment methods may include:
- Rest
- Cold packs
- Anti-inammatory medicine, such as ibuprofen
- Correct stretching before activity
- Correct footwear or shoe inserts
- Achilles stretching
- Corticosteroid shots(injections)
- Surgery(formoresevere, prolonged conditions)
What is a corn?
Corns are yellowish, call us growths that occur on top of the toes. Corns develop because of irritation or stress. Often, a corn develops where a toe rubs against a shoe or another toe. Corns can cause extreme discomfort and pain. Treatment may include:
- Trimming the corn by shaving the layers of dead skin
- Applying pads around the cornarea
- Wearing larger shoes to comfortably your foot without trubbing
- Surgery
What is a bunion?
A bunionis a bulge of boneor tissue around the joint of the great toe or small toe. Bunions may occur at the base of the great toe or at the base of the little toe.They of ten occur when the joint is stressed over a period of time. Women get bunions more often than men do because they may wear tight, pointed, and conning shoes. Bunions can also be a result of arthritis,which often acts the big toe joint.
Treatment of bunions may vary depending on the pain and deformity. Treatment may include:
- Wearing comfortable, well-ttingshoes(particularly shoes that conform to the shape of the foot and don’t cause pressure areas)
- Surgery (for pain ,not for cosmetic reasons)
- Applying pads to the aectedarea
- Medicine, such as ibuprofen
What is Mortonneuroma?
Morton neuroma is a buildup of noncancer (benign) tissue in the nerves running between the long bones of the foot. Morton neuroma occurs when 2 bones rub together and squeeze the nerve between them. Most often, neuromas develop between the bones leading to the third and fourth toes. Morton neuroma often causes swelling, tenderness, and pain. If the pain becomes severe, it may cause tingling, numbness, and burning in the toes. It often occurs after standing or walking for a long period of time. Treatment for this condition may involve
restorachangeinfootwearthatdoesn'trestrictthefoot.Iftheproblempersists,cortisone injections or surgery may be considered.
What are hammertoes?
Ahammertoeiswhenthetoebendsorcurlsdownward.Thiscausesthemiddlejointofthe aected toe to poke out. Tight-tting shoes that put pressure on the hammertoe often
makethisconditionworse.Oftenacorndevelopsatthissite.Treatmentforhammertoesmay include:
- Applying atoepad specially placed over thebonyprotrusion
- Changingy our footwear to accommodate thedeformedtoe
- Surgical repair
What is an ankle sprain?
Ananklesprainisaninjurytotheligamentsintheankle.Ligamentsaretoughbandsofelastic tissue that connect bones to each other. Ankle sprains may occur if the ankle rolls, turns, or twists beyond its normal range of motion. Ankle sprains may be caused by awkward foot placement, irregular surfaces, weak muscles, loose ligaments, or wearing shoes with spiked heels.
Thesymptomsofasprainwilldependonhowseverelytheligamentsarestretchedortorn, butusuallyincludeswelling,pain,orbruising.Treatmentwilldependontheseverityofthe sprain, butmayinclude:
- Resting the ankle
- Wrapping the ankle with elasticbandage or tape
- Using a nice pack application(to reduce inammation)
- Keeping the ankle raised
- Taking over-the-counter nonsteroid alanti-inammatorydrugs(NSAIDs),such as ibuprofen to help reduce pain and inammation
- Returning slowly to walking and exercise
- Using a walking boot(for moderate sprains)
- Having surgery (rarely forsevere sprains)
- Getting physical therapy
What is a foot fracture?
With 26 bones in a single foot, almost any of them can be broken. Many breaks or fractures don't need surgery, or even a cast. They will heal on their own with some support. When a footisfractured,thesiteofthefractureusuallyispainfulandswollen.Thesiteofthefracture will determine the course of treatment, if needed, including:
- Ankle joint fractures. These fractures may be serious and need medical care right away. Anklefracturesusuallyneedacast,splint,orboot.Someneedsurgeryifthebonesaretoo separated or misaligned.
- Metatarsal bone fractures. Fractures of the metatarsal bones, located in the middle of the foot,oftendon'tneedacast.Asti-soledshoemaybeallthatisneededforsupportasthe foot heals. Sometimes surgery is needed to correct misaligned bones or displaced segments.
- Sesamoid bone fractures. The sesamoid bones are 2 small, round bones at the end of the metatarsalboneofthebigtoe.Usually,paddedsolescanhelprelievepain.Butsometimes the sesamoid bone may have to be surgically removed.
- Toefractures.Fracturesofthetoesoftencanhealwithorwithoutasupportivehardshoe.
What is foot pain?
Foot pain can get in the way of an active lifestyle. Foot pain can have many sources, from fractures and sprains to nerve damage. Listed below are 3 common areas of pain in the foot and their causes:
- Pain in the ball of the foot.Pain in the ball of the foot, located on the bottom ofthefoot behind the toes, may be caused by nerve or joint damage in that area. In addition, a benign (noncancerous) growth, such as Morton neuroma, may cause the pain. Corticosteroidinjectionsandwearingsupportiveshoeinsertsmayhelprelievethepain. Sometimes, surgery is needed.
- Plantarfasciitis.Plantarfasciitisischaracterizedbypainintheheelofthefoot,especially when standing up after resting. The condition is due to an overuse injury of the sole surface(plantar)of the foot.It causes inammation ofthefascia,atough,brousbandof tissue that connects the heel bone to the base of the toes. Plantar fasciitis is more common in women, people who are overweight, people with jobs that need a lot of walking or standing on hard surfaces, people withat feet, and peoplewithhigharches.Walkingorrunning,especiallywithtightcalfmuscles,mayalso cause the condition.
Treatment may include:
- Rest
- Icepacks
- Nonsteroidal anti-inammatory drugs(NSAIDs),such as ibuprofen
- Stretchingexercises of the Achillestendons and plantarfascia
- Inrarecases,plantarfasciitismayneedtreatmentwithinjectionsorsurgery
- Achilles tendon injury. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body. It connectsthecalfmuscletotheheelbone.However,thistendonisalsoacommonsiteof rupture or tendonitis, an inammation of the tendon due to overuse.
Achilles tendonitis is caused by overuse of the tendon and calf muscles. Symptoms may includemildpainafterexercisethatgetsworsegradually,stinessthatimprovesafterthe tendon warms up, and swelling. Treatment may include:
- Rest
- NSAIDs
- Supportive devices orbandages for themuscle and tendon
- Stretching
- Massage
- Ultrasouned
- Strengthening exercises
- Surgery
Diabetes and vascular disease
Diabetes aects the nerves, blood vessels, and bloodow throughout the whole body, includingthelegsandfeet.Peoplewithdiabetesneedtochecktheirfeetregularlytoidentify sores or wounds on their feet before complications develop. And to help manage diabetes- related foot problems, they may need to see a healthcare provider and orthopedicspecialist, and sometimes a vascular specialist.
Medical Reviewers:
- Rahul Banerjee MD
- Raymond Turley JrPA-C
- Stacey Wojcik MBABSNRN