Foot pain keeping you down?
April 20, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Foot pain can make it hard to enjoy the fun things in life and it can make the every day tasks virtually impossible. Unfortunately, I think that most of us take our feet for granted and don’t think about taking care of them unless we have a problem. Because of this, uncared for feet is a prime source for chronic pain.
I came across this press release issued by OurHealthNetwork.com, which discusses foot issues and how you can prevent pain.
Chronic pain in the ball of the foot hurts, and it can be disabling.
Metatarsalgia is a catch-all term that includes several painful foot conditions, such as calluses, dropped metatarsal heads, bursitis, arthritis, sesamoiditis, and Morton’s neuroma. Metatarsalgia (or forefoot pain) affects millions of Americans, making each step for them a nightmare.
When a person takes a step forward, the ball of his or her foot bears 100% of the person’s body weight for a brief period of time. Weight, or force, on the balls of the feet increases if a person carries a heavy object, runs, or jumps. At times when a person walks, pressure on his or her feet can exceed the person’s body weight. When a person runs, the pressure can be three to four times his or her normal body weight.
To make matters worse, wearing high heels, walking barefoot, and standing for long periods of time without proper support puts abnormal pressure on the balls of the feet. So even if a person’s feet are perfectly aligned, he or she may experience metatarsalgia if nothing is done to protect the balls of the feet.
Dr. Paul R. Kasdan and Dr. Lowell Weil, Jr., board-certified podiatrists and medical directors for OurHealthNetwork.com, recommend the following measures to help avoid or alleviate metatarsalgia:
– Wear shoes with heel heights of no more than 3/4 to 1 inch. If the heel is higher, too much of your body weight will be thrown forward on the balls of the feet.
– Avoid walking barefoot. Shoes – especially those with thick, cushioned soles – protect the feet and provide good shock absorption for the entire body.
– Consider custom-made orthotics for metatarsalgia. Custom orthotics can be designed to fit in dress shoes, while containing the custom accommodations that help to elevate dropped metatarsal heads. Orthotics also provide cushioning that helps the fatty pads protecting the bones in the feet to work as they should.
– Also consider wearing metatarsal pads made from felt, foam, and gel. Metatarsal pads comfortably raise dropped metatarsal heads to their normal levels, thereby rebalancing the forefoot and helping to eliminate pain. The following Web site provides more information about metatarsal pads and how they can help reduce forefoot pain: http://www.OurHealthNetwork.com/store/index.asp?department_id=51
To learn more about how Morton’s neuroma, metatarsalgia, sesamoiditis, calluses, and other common medical conditions can be easily and conveniently treated from the comfort of one’s own home with custom-made orthotics and over-the-counter pads for the ball of the foot, visit http://www.OurHealthNetwork.com.
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Image: iStock.com
Hello, I hope I can help others bypass the terrible years I have gone as a result of foot pain!
Let me start that here I was, a 58 year old male that had always been very active physically!
About 5 years ago I was enjoying 5M speed walks with my wife & in great shape. Then something happened….Within a 2-3 week span I found that I could hardly walk with all the pain in both of my Heels.
I started researching on the web & watching TV and I suddenly became a believer of the “Cure All Feet TV Shows”…So much so that I spent $250 thinking that I found the cure!
Believe me, it wasn’t a cure, the pain became even worse with the imposible hard plastic inserts I had for $250….I still have them just to remind me of the “Con” art still on Television.
I the spent the next 3 years gaining weight, not walking or doing anything much and putting on a ton of weight trying to find a cure without surgery, which for this condition is very “iffy”.
Then I discovered the incredible MBT walking shoes with a great rocker sole & I spent $250 for a pair.
These shoes immedietly took care of my terrible 3 year old heel pain problem and I began walking again and soon was easily walking 3, 5 miles a day with no problem.
Then all of a sudden I developed a major pain in the ball of the left foot(metatarsal) area. I kept on walking thinking it was something that would go away…It didn’t!!
I kept on walking but this pain became as great as the Plantar heel pain, so much so, I again quit walking.
This time it took another 15-18 months to find a solution.
Yes – I went to a podiatrist and his solution was to give me a Cortisone shot through the top of my foot into the bone ! Ya Right! I said No thank you!
I went through hundreds (Yes $100’s) of dollars in shoe inserts trying to find relief to no luck.
Then one day in Wally World (my family’s affectionate nickname for Walmart) I saw a “Gel Arch Insert” with a peel & stick surface for less than $5 for 2 each. I had never seen this in all of the other stores…I haunted Walgreens, CVS, Target etc…
I thought what would happen if I took that nice, soft gel insert and placed it with the sticky side down “right in front” of the super sore area on the ball of the foot?
I bought a package, peeled the film off (Be careful – they are really really sticky but if you’re careful you can remove and replace where needed)and I placed it where I thought it would help (Be sure not to place directly under the sore area! What good would that do? It’s already sore!) What you want to do is build sort of soft bridge in front of that sore area so you are not directly placing any pressure or weight on it.
I placed the Gel Arch insert right in front of the sore area so that it acted as a soft bridge.
Then my wife and I went for a great, long walk and when we came home I was literally giddy with joy…I not only did not have any additional pain, it was actually helping relieve and making the pain go away.
Well, we have been walking for 3 months I can say I have purchased another 15 packages (just so I have them on hand (I am still on the original inserts) and I have placed one in each of my shoes for walking.
I truly hope this information helps everyone having problems with their feet because I know for a fact it can take an extremely fit, athletic person and destroy the abilty to stay active.
The MBT shoes are expensive but buy on Ebay @50% off from Retail (where I bought my first pair).
Be sure you understand the sizing because it is confusing and also that you have the right to return!
Please feel free to email me…If you hurt as I did in heels and/or ball of the foot, I know what you are going thru