Your feet are a very important part of your body and they reflect upon your state of health and well being. Painful feet may be caused due to a variety of conditions and injuries.

Some of the most common causes of painful feet include trauma, disease or a combination of both. A trauma is the result of forces outside the body can directly impact the body or force it into a position where a single or combination of forces can lead to damaging the structures of your body.

For instance poor bio-mechanical alignment may lead to painful feet. Wearing high heels or shoes that are too tight may also cause pain to the bones and balls of the feet. Tying your shoe laces too tight can also cause a lot of pain on top of your feet.

Injuries like muscle strains, fractures, ligament sprains or bruises occur quite suddenly and are a result of a single or combination of stresses on your feet. Injuries to the bones and joints of your feet can be caused due to a single blow or a twist, thereby resulting in stress fracture. Likewise when some one steps on your feet, it may not just result in a bruise but may actually cause a lot of damage to the muscles and ligaments of your feet. Similarly, bacteria, fungi or viruses are some of the reasons for painful feet. Even diseases like diabetes, gout and Hansen’s disease can affect your feet. In cases of peripheral neuropathy there may be numbness and burning sensation in the feet.

Given below are a few tips that will take care of your painful feet and keep them healthy.

One of the first things that you can do is wash your feet every day. Ensure that you wash between your toes and under the nails. Clean feet help in preventing any new conditions and helps solve the problem of painful feet. Likewise, after a bath, make sure that you dry your feet between the toes.

Remember, damp feet are a breeding ground for bacteria. If you are engaged in any sporting activity, you will find that changing rooms can be effective breeding grounds for feet related problems.

Check your feet regularly for any corns, blisters, calluses, and other similar problems and get them treated promptly. Similarly, excess weight can add more pressure to your already overstressed feet. So, consider reducing a few pounds of your weight. Finally, get your feet massaged regularly in order to relax and de-stress your feet.

Ever wondered why your feet are getting cramped and have been experiencing pain for a while now? You would have figured that it was maybe because you walk a lot or you are just tired. Have you ever considered that there may be more to it?

It may be more than just walking. There are quite a few reasons why you may experience pain on the outside of the foot.

Causes for pain outside of foot

Pain outside of foot can be caused due to several reasons. Wearing tight shoes may affect the front end of your feet.

Wearing shoes that are too small for you or wearing heels that are unusually high affect your heel and result in sore heels and can be a reason for pain on the outside of the foot. Foot swelling may occur due to continuous standing, pregnancy or for even being overweight. Other reasons for pain outside of foot may be common foot diseases. When you wear tight shoes, you cut of the moisture to your feet which result in cracks on your heels and sometimes an itchy rash. There are external growth such as corns on your toes or on the skin of feet or calluses. All of the above can happen because there is not much attention given to your feet. There are many viral and fungal infections that can cause pain on the outside of the foot. Wearing shoes of the wrong size can cause viral diseases like warts on the sole of your feet or may also cause athlete’s foot.

Remedies for outside of foot pain.

If and when any of these problems occur or if you experience any pain outside of foot, instead of choosing to ignore it, gauge the amount of pain you’re in and act accordingly. Severe pain should be examined immediately by a physician. Mild to moderate pain should be noted to determine if simple lifestyle changes can help alleviate the problem. For example, If you stand a lot at work and come home to find pain on the outside of the foot, you may benefit from a larger shoe size fitted with comfort inserts. Do you walk around barefoot a lot? You may be picking up bacteria through cracks in your heels. Also never underestimate the relief of simple over the counter pain medicine or a relaxing massage.

Still, don’t settle into the mindset of treating symptoms. Work to find the cause and prevent the pain from progressing.

Your feet make up the most dense and complex system of bones and muscles in your entire body. It’s not surprising that any one area of them can be affected by pain. The arch is a pretty common one.

How your feet are put together

There are a total of 24 bones in your feet and they are arranged in such a way that they form two arches, one that runs across your foot and the other that runs along your foot. This is how your feet are shaped. The bones of these arches are held together by tissues in the feet called ligaments. There is also another set of fibrous tissues known as fat pads that help in absorbing an impact. All these are put together in such a way that each works in relation with another. Arch foot pain occurs when the interaction of the above mentioned structures have been disturbed for some reason.

The causes of arch foot pain

Arch foot pain may be caused due to several reasons. The arches have the capacity to sustain impact up to a certain extent. Anything beyond that would result in arch foot pain. These can include:

• There is an intense fibrous sheet under the sole of our feet known as plantar fascia. When this is subject to high impact above its capacity, it results in arch foot pain.
• The ligaments are formed to hold the bones of the arch. Sometimes they can be overstretched resulting in them tearing which eventually would cause arch foot pain.
• Sometimes an accident can also break a bone in your feet which would harm the arch and result in arch foot pain.

Arch foot pain can also be caused by day-to-day activities such as running or walking on uneven surfaces, or sometimes wearing foot wear with less absorption capacity. It can also be caused if you over-exert yourself while working out.

Also remember, foot pain can be compounded over time. It’s possible to start gradually feeling pain from an accident or impact from some time ago.

Remedies for arch pain

When you have an arch foot pain you should be able to locate the exact area where you have been experiencing the pain. Instead of choosing to avoid it, it would be best if you visit a physician. If you visit a physician, they may take an x-ray or an MRI scan to locate the reason for the pain.

There are many solutions for arch foot pain and they vary on the intensity of the injury or symptoms. Some arch foot pain may be relieved by using prescription medication while others may require physical therapy. Daily activities leading to pain may be alleviated by a warm, soothing foot soak (try dissolving a cup of Epsom Salt in the water…it feels great). Nonetheless, it is always best to get diagnosed and prevent the problem from escalating.

A foot problem that is being brought up more and more often is plantar fasciitis symptoms. If you’ve spent any time looking into an issue concerning your feet, you likley have heard about it, and it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that it is basically the symptoms associated with plantar fasciitis.

However, before you read about the plantar fasciitis symptoms you need to actually know about the plantar fasciitis syndrome and what plantar fasciitis is. Knowing about the condition will also help you to look out for the symptoms associated with it, and therefore treating the condition will also become a lot easier.

The condition basically results from inflammation and small tears. The inflammations usually occur on the bands of your tendons and the ligaments that stretch from the heel to the ball. This band actually forms the arch of your foot and absorbs shock, and therefore if it becomes inflamed or is torn it will pose a problem. Another thing you need to know before you investigate the plantar fasciitis symptoms is plantar means the sole of your foot while fasciitis is the connective tissue.

Symptoms

Now concerning the plantar fasciitis symptoms and signs it is usually found in one foot. Plantar fasciitis on both the feet is extremely rare and is almost unheard of. Bilateral plantar fasciitis is basically caused by systematic arthritic condition that in itself is pretty rare. Men are more likely to be affected by plantar fasciitis then women and this is because men tend to be heavier than their female counter parts. So if you are overweight and are not that flexible, you need to watch out for plantar fasciitis symptoms. Greater predisposition to injury is also a cause of plantar fasciitis.

Here is a list of the plantar fasciitis symptoms:

• Severe pain in the bottom of the foot when you get up in the morning.
• A pain located in the landmark on anterior medial tubercle of your calcaneus.
• Severe pain while walking barefooted in a heel-toe gait.
• Pain in the forefoot, subtalar joint, Achilles tendon and the arch of your foot.
• Reduction of the pain on walking however the pain will return if you do some rigorous activity.
• Plantar fasciitis symptoms also include pain along the plantar fasciae. The plantar fasciitis usually occurs on the heel and sole of the foot.

Plantar fasciitis can disrupt your regular daily activity. So as soon as you detect the symptoms go to your doctor to begin a treatment regime.

Are you suffering from foot blisters? Well they are a pretty common problem and are usually marked by a small swelling or abrasion on the foot.

These swellings are filled with watery liquid. They are usually caused due to friction and your foot reacts to this friction by producing the fluid. The fluid actually builds up beneath the part of your skin and causes acute pain and pressure when the skin is rubbed.

Foot blisters mostly occur when your feet get sweaty and hot and when your socks stick to your foot. If you are suffering from diabetes you may not realize the blisters because of neuropathy. So you need to take care of your feet well.

Causes and Symptoms

There are several causes of foot blisters and it is important that you know what they are. If you know the causes then you can take measures to avoid them. One of the most common causes of foot blisters is moisture and this can occur when you wear shoes that are not vented or socks that are non-wicking. Walking in the rain or through wet grass will wet you shoes and sock and your foot will slide causing blisters. When the skin of your feet becomes soft due to heat it will react to roughness and cause blisters. Frictions are one of the major causes of foot blisters and therefore make sure both your shoes and socks fit you well. Ill fitting shoes will result in friction between your foot and your shoes. Also when there is girt or dirt in your shoes there may be friction. Some people think not wearing socks will help them avoid blisters but this is completely wrong. So what are the symptoms of foot blisters? If you are developing the blisters you will notice a kind of redness on the infected part of your skin. The redness turns into a fluid filled balloon in some time.

Home remedies

There are some great home remedies for foot blisters and they really work. When you notice the blisters start applying anti bacterial lotion. Make sure you apply them till the blisters disappear. Cover the blisters with adhesive bandage but make sure the edges of the bandage are close to the blisters and the middle of the bandage is raised up. This will let in air and heal the blisters faster. Another foot blisters home remedy is soaking your feet in warm water before going to bed. The warm water will soften and shrink the blisters. If the blisters are on the sole of your foot buy cushioned adhesive pads. Cut the pad according to the size and wear them until the blisters subside.

So make sure that you keep your feet clean and wear the right footwear to avoid the blisters. And if you are infected then take proper care to get rid of the blisters fast.

Painful feet have become a very common problem and several researches have been undertaken to decipher different facets of foot pain. Are you wondering what exactly has prompted the research to undertake studies on painful feet?

Well it has been noticed that more and more people are complaining about a host of foot problems and the most common problem is pain in the feet.

Earlier it was thought that only the elderly people suffer from foot pain but nowadays more people from the younger age group are found suffering from pain in the feet. In fact small children are also no longer an exception when it comes to foot pain.

Foot pain- population based study

Some studies have examined painful feet in a general community and the objective of the study was to find a correlation between foot pain and community if any. The sample of one such study on painful feet was people aged over 18 and living in Northwestern Adelaide. Around 4060 were randomly selected and interviewed on the telephone. The second stage was data collection and it included relevant information on musculoskeletal condition. Around 3206 participants returned for a second visit and were asked questions on pain and stiffness of the feet. Information on major medical conditions, joint symptoms and BMI were also noted down. Nearly 18% of those interviewed complained of painful feet. The study concluded that 1 out of every 5 people suffers from foot pain and the pain is associated with increased age, obesity and pain in other regions. It was also seen that women suffer from pain more than men.

Foot pain, footwear and anthropometric variables among the elderly

The objective of this study on painful feet was to see the prevalence of foot pain among older people when they wear shoes and also the link between the pain, the footwear and the anthropometric variables. The method of the painful feet study included the evaluation of the feet of 172 elderly men and 227 elderly women. The evaluation included foot posture index, arch index and anthropometric variables. The participants were asked to answer question about foot pain when they wear high heels. The responses were analyzed using probability, test and multiple analyses. This study on painful feet came up with the findings that prevalence of foot pain was more when shoes are worn and was more common with the female gender. However it was noted that high heels had nothing much to do with foot pain. Women with foot pain were noted to have greater values of metatarsal head circumference and their instep was also larger. However there was no difference in measurement between men with pain and without pain.

These studies have helped the researchers to understand more about foot pain and come up with improved treatments.

Having pain in the bottom of your foot is certainly a very debilitating and inconvenient problem to have. Bottom of foot pain is something that is characterized by a number of different symptoms including aching, swelling, even intense throbbing. There could be several reasons why these issues may develop.

What can cause it

Tendinitis is certainly a common cause and can be a combination of pain and inflammation, usually at the back of the Achilles tendon and heel.

Chronic pain can also be developed as a result of sports related injuries such as muscle tears or broken bones. Injuries don’t necessarily have to be related to sports. Simple sprains and bruises in the area can also lead to the pain, but commonly these will only last for a relatively short period of time. In addition to all of this, flat feet, a hereditary condition, can also lead to discomfort and pain in the bottom of the foot as well.

How you can treat it

There are lots of different types of treatments that you could try in order to reduce the level of inflammation and pain in your feet. However, the type of treatment you employ will certainly depend upon the cause of the problem.

Simple drugs such as ibuprofen will certainly decrease the swelling that may be associated with conditions such as tendinitis or sprains. Swelling in almost all cases can be alleviated by alternating time with a cool compress and a heated pad. Other over-the-counter options such as aspirin will also help to achieve reduced pain in the area.

If your foot pain is more chronic then you might need to seek professional medical attention as soon as possible. Your Doctor can then prescribe you with something more powerful if deemed necessary to alleviate the pain.

Acupuncture or massage therapy are also options that you could choose to take as well. These will generally help to relieve your overall level of pain and discomfort by stimulating nerves and manually manipulating pain receptors.

You may also try a number of at home remedies in order to help as well. These might be particularly useful if the pain has resulted from a short-term injury and is minor in nature. One thing to do would be to compress the affected area using sports tape in order to restrict your movements if this is causing additional discomfort.

Conclusion

Of course, while these treatments might be suitable once you have developed the pain it is certainly a better option to try to prevent any sort of problem from happening in the first place. As such, make sure that you wear proper shoes at all times to provide proper support for your feet. In addition, always make sure that the shoes have proper padding and are suited for your daily activities.

Consult with your doctor if any pain you are suffering from is not going away. You might need physical therapy to get over a more serious injury and therefore relieve bottom of foot pain.

Are foot warts troubling you? If they are you need to take care of them immediately. Around the world several people are affected by these warts every year – one of the most common feet infections. However, not many know about foot warts, their causes, symptoms and treatment.

Warts on the feet are also known as Plantar warts and they are basically a sign of unclean feet.

So, if the Planter warts are bothering you, you will need to know about the causes of these warts and their symptoms. This will help you combat the warts easily and effectively.

Definition, cause and symptoms

Foot warts, also known as planter warts are usually located on the sole of the foot and are marked with black dots. They can occur both in children and adults and are about 1cm in diameter. When there is a single wart consisting of several small warts it is known as Mosaic warts. These warts can easily be transmitted from one person to another as they spread easily through swimming pools, common showers and changing rooms. The easiest mode of foot warts transmission is water and therefore if you have the warts it is advisable to avoid swimming.

So, what exactly is the cause of foot warts? These warts are caused by a virus named human papilloma virus (HPV). If there is a cut or a scratch in your feet or you do not take care of your feet well then the virus might make an entry. To treat the foot warts effectively and in time you will need to be aware of its symptoms. What are the most common symptoms of planter warts? Some of the common symptoms include pain when any kind of force is applied, pain when the wart is squeezed – a feeling that a small stone is under your feet.

Home remedy and relief

To get relief from the foot warts you can try out home remedies. These have proved to be quite effective. You can treat the warts by applying a simple duct tape on them for about a couple of weeks. This will actually reduce the warts. Another home remedy is the use of an adhesive tape with salicylic acid. This will melt away the warts. A very good home remedy for foot warts is soaking a cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and placing it over the warts. Hold the ball in place with a tape. This has proved to be very effective too. Soaking your leg in warm water will also help release foot tissue tensions.

So when you are bothered by planter warts try one of the many home remedies available and you will get instant relief.

If you want to stay healthy you just cannot do without exercises. Almost all parts of your body need exercise to function properly, and your feet are no different.

However, you often tend to ignore your feet. The truth is that your feet need regular exercise. Throughout the day they are put through a lot of pressure. A lot of walking and tremendous pressure can cause your foot and toe muscle to weaken and that is why foot exercises are important to keep them in shape.

Foot Stretch

One of the most effective foot exercises is the foot stretch.
For this exercise you will need to sit on the floor and stretch out your legs. Then you will have to loop a towel or resistance band around the feet. Keep your heels on the floor and pull the towel with both your hands and draw the toes and the middle of your foot towards your body. Stay in this position for 5 seconds and then go back to the initial position. This exercise will enhance your overall flexibility and allow you to live with less physical restrictions. It can also help you control your stress and strengthen your foot muscles should you have an annoying injury.

Ankle Stretch

Another excellent foot exercise you can try out is the ankle stretch. Lay on your back with both knees bent towards the ceiling, feet flat. Raise one leg to a 45 degree angle above your head. Reach for the ball of your foot and try to pull downward. Hold for 10 seconds then release. Repeat this exercise for at least 6 times. This exercise will strengthen your ankles and help prevent injury. It will also increase the durability of the joints of your ankle and make the surrounding muscles stronger.

Toe Stretching

Toe stretching is one of the best foot exercises. For this you will have to raise your heel till the ball of your foot touches the floor. Stay in this position for 5 seconds and then release. Repeat it with only your toes touching the floor. Then repeat it again with your toes curl so that only your nails touch the ground. You will need to repeat each position 10 times. This exercise will increase your balance and reduce foot pain. It will correct misalignment and will help your body to detoxify, as well as, improve your foot reaction time and stamina-hence your body posture.

As you can see, foot exercises do not have to be tedious or difficult. However, the long and even short term benefits cannot be overstated. Your feet have the largest collection of bones in your body, and these bones are mitigated with muscles. Keep them loose and keep them strong, and your feet will have no trouble carrying you to wherever you need to go.

Bunions are a common problem when it comes to some foot pain. They can be very painful when walking or even just standing, but there are many people who do not know what these are. This article will give you some insight into the causes and treatment of bunion pain that may help you cope with this condition of the feet.

But first, for those who do not know, what are bunions?

A Bunion is the swelling of the bursa (fluid sac) at the first joint of the big toe. These swellings can be very painful and can cause difficulty when walking in everyday life.

Many people mistake foot calluses for bunions, when in fact a bunion is a more of a deformity than just localized foot pain.

How bunions can form

The first is the wearing of high heeled, narrow toed shoes. The wearing of these shoes causes pressure where the big toe is pushed against the second toe. This pressure affects the first joint of the big toe causing it to swell which then produces a bunion. Men are affected in much the same way as women with regards to wearing narrow toed shoes for the sake of stylish dress. They will have the same affect as women’s heels over time.

The second reason that may cause this condition is that if it is hereditary. There has been a link in some cases where family members have been known to get these deformities of the feet without wearing tight narrow toed shoes. It is more likely that you will get these if your mother or father, grandmother or grandfather has them.

The third reason why someone may develop these is because they may have one leg longer than the other. When one leg is longer than the other, you will find that more weight will be placed on a certain foot, usually on the big toe area. This can cause your foot, overtime, to start to change causing a bunion.

Taking care of bunions

There are a couple of treatment methods that can be used on bunions and for bunion pain, but it depends on the deformity, seriousness and symptoms of them. As is common among foot problems, changing your foot gear may the first step in alleviating pain. Wearing wider end shoes opposed to narrow toed ones can help release pressure and can cut the pain down.

Anti inflammatories can also help ease the pain of bunions, though they will not likely decrease the deformity itself. Another thing that may help is a whirlpool bath or a soak in a foot tub. This may help to ease the discomfort that you may be feeling.

If you are really suffering then surgery may be the last option that can relieve the pain. Surgery can help remove the bunions and help fix the deformed bones. But overall the less stress on your feet is the best way of relieving pain. So start with a change of shoes and see whether that helps.