My feet are killing me!
Foot pain is such a common thing in most our lives that we think that its just something that we have to live with. Reality is that foot pain is a warning that something is wrong with your foot, ankle or calf and it needs to be taken care of.
For some people, poor footwear choices cause their foot pain. Many women and men wear shoes that are too narrow or have very little arch support, which puts pressure on the ligaments on the bottom of the foot and also the nerves in between the long bones of the foot. Examples of poor footwear choices include dress heels or tight dress oxfords, but also expand to such footwear choices as flip-flops, Ugg boots, ballerina flats or shoes that are simply too narrow for your size foot. I always suggest going to a knowledgable shoe store such as Dick Pond Athletics (athletic shoes), New Balance Chicago (dress shoes) or a store that carries a wide range of shoe sizes such as Nordstrom. You may have to pay $70-150 for your shoes, but that’s a lot cheaper than foot surgery down the road!
Some of my patients have foot pain even though they are wearing the correct shoes. A common cause of this type of foot pain could be overly tight posterior calf muscles that change the way that you walk, irritating your foot’s joints and ligaments. Calf muscles commonly tighten if you have a weak glute maximus muscle, sit for long periods of time or wear shoes with heels regularly. To treat this common cause of foot pain, start by stretching your posterior calf (runner’s stretch or hanging heel off of a stair) and icing the painful area on your foot. You should start to see results within 2 weeks. If not, schedule an appointment and we’ll be able to see if there is complicating factors such as adhesions, nerve damage or other foot pathology.
As with any injury, it’s always better to treat the problem when it first starts and not wait until there is further damage. Foot surgery and cortisone injections are not pleasant experiences and it’s always our goal to help you avoid those interventions if we can!