Our feet are an important part of our bodies. Even though they are smaller than the rest of the body baring the hands, our feet take our entire weight. The foot region is made up of 26 bones and 33 joints. There is a layer of 126 intertwining foot muscles, ligaments and nerves. Our feet helps to support our weight, act as a shock absorber, propel us forward and the also maintain our balance on uneven surfaces. There are however times when we get a foot pain.
Usually we will experience foot pain in one of three different places. They are the toes, the front of the foot and at the back of the foot. The foot pain that originates in the toes is caused mainly by the fact that a great many of us wear shoes that do not fit us properly or that constricts the toes painfully.
The other area of foot pain is in the front part of our feet. This area is called the forefoot. Any foot pain that comes from that area usually involves one of certain bone groups. The first groups of bones is the metatarsal bones. These are the five long bones that extend from the front part of our foot’s arch to the bones in our toes.
The next group of bones that can cause foot pain is that of the sesamoid bones. These are the two small bones that are embedded at the top of the first metatarsal bone. This bone is connected to your big toe.
The other place that we can experience foot pain is in the back area of our feet. Any foot pain that we may feel begins at the back of the foot. It then extends across from the heel area and across the sole of the foot all the way to the ball of the foot.
From these three areas of foot pain we can experience chronic and severe types of foot pain. In both of the foot pain conditions the problem is made even worse by the fact that the lower back is affected as well.
There are about 16 different types of foot pain that we can get. Each of these has different symptoms but they all require a podiatrist’s advice. Sometimes to relieve the pain simple surgery may be required.
The various types of foot pain are corns, calluses, ingrown toe nails, bunions on the big toe and bunionettes on the little toe, Morton's neuroma, hammertoe, Metatarsalgia or ball of the foot pain, Metatarsal stress fracture, sesamoiditis, Plantar fasciitis, Bursitis of the heel, Haglund's deformity or pump bump, Stress fracture or heel spurs, Tarsal tunnel syndrome, Flat feet or posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, High arches or hollow feet and Achilles tendonitis.
Whether we are suffering from a simple foot pain or a more severe
foot pain the most sensible course of action that we can take is to see what our podiatrist has to say and follow the treatment.
By Michel De Silva
