Treatment or Relief for Foot Pain

With 26 bones and 33 joints located in each foot, there is no wonder that you can experience chronic pain in your feet. It is important to get an accurate diagnosis of foot pain. Once you do, you will be able to treat the pain and gain relief and mobility.

Swelling Reduction

• If your injury is related to muscle strain or connective tissue wear, you will need to reduce swelling to reduce pain. Connective tissue in the foot such as tendons, ligaments and fascia, may become irritated or torn, causing foot pain. Depending on the severity, the pain may make walking and other activities difficult. Using ice and elevating the feet will help to reduce pain and swelling. Reduce activity where possible in order to allow the area to heal. Once it begins to heal, you should do slow and deliberate stretches of the foot by pulling the toes back and pointing them down along with rotating your ankle. Increasing the flexibility of the connective tissue will greatly help reduce future irritation to the foot. You may also take anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen.

Joint and Bone Pain

• Your feet take a lot of abuse and you may develop problems such as arthritis in your toes. You may lose mobility of the joint along with increased pain over time. When mobility becomes an issue, your doctor may begin to look at surgical options to alleviate pain and pressure. Keep in mind that foot surgery itself is a painful process that requires considerable healing time off your feet. Having bone spurs removed could take as much as six months of recovery time.

  Before you jump to surgery, make sure you explore other options to see if you can improve or alleviate the pain. Such options would be ice baths for your feet as well as sessions with heat to improve circulation, which helps to heal the area. Foot orthotics may also greatly reduce if not eliminate pain from arthritis, bone spurts, fascitis and arch problems. You may be able to prevent surgical procedures.

Bunions, Warts and More

• You may grow bumps and growths on your feet, including bunions, corns, calluses and warts. Topical applications can remove these items. Keep in mind that part of the cause is bad footwear that is either too tight or does not provide enough cushion. Talk to your doctor and get fitted for quality shoes to help reduce the problem and prevent it from reoccurring. If any of these conditions become too problematic, your doctor can remove them with minimally invasive procedures.