Relieving Arch Pain Can Also Help You Avoid Major Foot Disorders
Arch pain and foot overpronation can cause issues for persons of any age and can even affect an athlete’s performance during every type of activity. Three causes of this type of pain may be surprising to some who aren’t aware of them. Most of the causes are easily averted, whereas some can be inherited. According to the Cleveland Clinic, 3 of the easily averted causes for arch pain include high heel shoes, tightly-fitting footwear, and lack of foot arch support. These bad choices can all cause painful foot problems like bunions, hammertoes, and plantar fasciitis. The Mayo Clinic cites that 2 of the inherited foot problems that can cause foot overpronation and arch pain include fallen arches or arches that are excessively high. Below we explain some foot procedures that remedy these problems and how each of them can be healed.
Serious Foot Issues Can Occur Without Proper foot arch support
Some of the inherited foot problems include either low arches or excessively high arches. Arch malformations such as these affect normal and active people alike. The result of a low arch can be arch pain and foot overpronation because this flattened part of the foot is not working as it should. When this part of the foot malfunctions, overpronation occurs which can cause a heel spur, a bony protuberance in the heel. Surgery is sometimes needed to remove the boneprotrusion and relieve the pain. The surgeon will use a bone saw to cut away the extra spur of bone to take away the inflammation and pain it had been causing. The best alternative for treating both types of arch problems so heel spurs can be avertws is by supplying the foot with proper foot arch support through athletic insoles.
Arch Pain Can Be the First Sign of Bunion Formation
Removal of a bunion, or a bunionectomy, is the process whereby the bump of bone just below the big toe is filed away to achieve a more conventional foot profile and width. In more severe cases where the big toe has begun to turn under the other toes, the surgeon cuts a triangle-shaped block out of the big toe’s bone to reset it to its normal position. One screw is used to hold the bone’s new position. After about 6 to 7 months, the screw is taken out of the bone. Despite the fact that this condition can be brought on by pointed shoes, some bunion occurrences are hereditary. Foot specialists warn that pointed-toe shoes that force the toes into an unnatural position can cause bunions.
Without Proper Shoes, Painful Hammertoes Can Occur
Shoes that crowd the foot, including pointed-toe shoes, can result in development of hammertoes. This condition can affect athletes that wear ill-fitting shoes during activity as well. Hammertoes are, regrettably, difficult to treat without surgery. First, a surgeon can try to tape the affected toe to try and coax it into a more natural placement. However, the patient must use shoes with a wider toe box in order for this method to succeed. Hammertoes can recur if improper shoes are worn again. If splinting the toe is unsuccessful, surgery is the only option. The malformed toe must have a section of the bone taken out to lessen its bend. The recovery period is crucial, as patients who refuse to stay off their feet as recommended will not heal properly. The way to prevent this condition is to wear roomy shoes.
Regardless of lifestyle, genetic disposition, or age, foot ailments can occur in a large percentage of people. Though foot procedures can surgically fix these disorders, most of the time they are preventable through proper shoes and appropriate foot arch support.