FOOT PAIN
BONES OF THE FOOT(Keywords: foot pain, chiropractic, plantar myofacitis, ankle sprain treatment, ankle fracture, chiropractic for Mortons neuroma)There are amazingly 26 bones in the foot, each and every one capable of causing foot pain! In between are even more joints, likewise a rich source of pain. The cuboid alone abuts six different bones, all with a joint. The foot is extremely richly endowed with nerves that send information to the brain, telling the brain exactly where the body is poised in space. We call it "proprioception" - it is so important that the body dedicates a specific tract in the spinal cord carrying this information to the brain. When one is kicking a ball, for example, even walking, it is extremely important that the brain has exact information about the position of each part of the body, in order to precisely coordinate movement. Little wonder that the foot, with so many bones, joints, ligaments, nerves and muscles, all extremely pain sensitive, can cause so much discomfort.
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Notice too the Cuboid bone. See how many other bones articulate with it? Six! The cuboid is often the spoke in the wheel when it comes to foot pain.
"Do you appreciate your feet? Have you thanked your metatarsals for their hard work? How about your talus?" Vince Pierri
ANKLE SPRAINFoot pain often starts after a inadequately managed ankle sprain. When you turn your ankle, it's not only ligaments that are sprained. Frequently several muscles are strained, either on the side of the leg and even under the foot, and the small bones in the midfoot are subluxated. Often the talus, or the cuboid, and the calcaneus (heel bone) too may become fixated and in fact any of the ankle and foot bones. It all starts with a thorough examination before any ankle sprain treatment. Prevention!
METATARSALGIA
Metarsarsalgia, or ball of the foot pain, is a very common and sometimes extremely distressing problem. It can be acute, often recurs, and in many people becomes a chronic source of pain. A limp often develops with a negative knock-on effect at the knees, hips and spine. It is usually, but not always associated with a dropped transverse arch, in which case the toes often jut upwards, and thick calluses form under the metatarsal heads (or "met heads", for short) due to increased pressure on the second, third and/or fourth met heads. The solution is NOT to scrape the callus away.
The arrow points clearly to the callus formation. Improper fitting and too-tight shoes may be the cause, especially women’s dress shoes with a high heel, which force more weight onto the forefoot. Pointed shoes squeeze the ball-of-foot into a restricted space, forcing the met heads against each other, irritating the nerves that run between them. This may cause a Morton’s neuroma, a benign painful swelling of the nerve, leading to extreme discomfort in the forefoot and tingling and pain in some of the toes. Associated with the Meta-tarsalgia we often find a generalised PLANTAR MYOFASCITIS with pain running under the foot, down towards the heel. Mortons NeuromaA Morton's neuroma is a not altogether rare condition in which the nerve between the toes becomes swollen and inflammed. Flames of pain, tingling and numbness in the toes is the result. Read more about Mortons neuroma …Lees meer over MORTONSE NEURALGIE … FROM THE COAL FACEMrs Naude, a pharmacist, consulted me with a very acute attack of sacro-iliac pain in the lower back. Her back had been grumbling for some months since she started limping with pain under her foot, warning her of impending trouble, but despite various therapies her foot continued to hurt - for nearly two years. Finally, her back collapsed, and she spent three weeks in bed, had various scans. Neither pills nor physiotherapy helped, and an over-enthusiastic manipulation aggravated the problem.Her back pain settled within a few weeks, but the foot was another matter. She had a very high arch with a fixation between two small bones in the midfoot. Owing to the chronic nature of the condition it presented with pain in the plantar fascia, pain in her heel, pain in the Met-heads, and pain in those two little bones. Fortunately she is not over weight. Treatment is directed at the fixations of the Cuneiform bones, stretching of the plantar fascia, adjusting the toes, a heelcup for the heel pain (actually both heels, otherwise she would have a leg length difference), and the 'alphabet' exercises. Rome won't be built in a day, nor Aachen and Cologne as they say in Holland, but she will get better in a month or two.There are few conditions that I like to treat more than metatarsalgia. Except in extremely deformed feet, this condition responds brilliantly to chiropractic treatment of the foot, without arch supports, bandages and the like. The stretching and longitudinal frictioning of the muscles between the metatarsals may be very painful, but I can almost give a guarantee ... something no wise doctor ever does! Update: Mrs Naude is fine. I treat at least five feet every day. I love 'em. A lot easier to fix than a difficult back. For more interesting cases from the Chiropractic Clinic,
click here. CHIROPRACTIC COALFACE ... HOT TIPEver think of sending a card to your doctor, chiropractor, dentist? Tell him/her how much you appreciate their efforts, how much you are improving. When you know he or she has really gone the extra mile, a bottle of wine at Christmas wouldn't go amiss! We in the healing professions can also do with a little encouragement from time to time.I got this letter from an English lady who crossed the North Sea to consult me in Holland for pain in the foot. It turned out to be Metatarsalgia of two years duration. Only three treatments: "I can walk without pain, yes!" Better still, think about sending your Chiropractor (or your doctor for that matter!) an inspirational Chiropractic book.
Chiropractic Care of Foot PainAs in all conditions the first step in treating metatarsalgia is to determine the cause of the pain. Proper fitting footwear is obviously the start.Mobilising the metatarsals, adjusting the toes, and deep stretching and soft tissue therapy of the muscles between and under the metatarsals is extremely effective. Checking for fixations in other parts of the foot are important. They can be adjusted with the help of a
Thulitables drop board.
SPRAINED ANKLE TREATMENTThe foot and ankle obviously functionally go together. Ankle joint injuries are certainly worthy of a page of their own. Whilst I don't have the research to back it up, my opinion is that many foot pain problems begin after an improperly managed sprained ankle , in which the subluxated bone(s) were never corrected.McDONALDSalgia
Spare a thought for this giraffe. Think the poor devil's got foot pain? We've heard it all before, we know about the high blood pressure, the knee arthritis etc Etc ETc ETC .... and we've tried so many diets and, and, and ... Our free WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS really do work. Start by simply eating rather less CARBS. One less potato, only a small helping of pasta and pizza, and more salads and veg. IT DOES WORK. And it WILL spare your feet. EXERCISESFinally, exercises for the foot are are important in the treatment of foot pain. However, they are specialised and difficult to teach over the internet.One simple option is the so-called alphabet exercises: sitting on a chair, well back, with the shoes off, move each foot tracing out say about 5 letters of the alphabet. Flex your toes and foot as high as you can (called dorsi-flexion), then drop them down, tracing out an A. Try and move all parts of the foot including the toes. The knee shouldn't move. More exercises for the foot and ankle can be found here. Choosing the right shoes, of course, is also vital. The first and most basic rule: if the shoe doesn't immediately feel comfortable, move on... don't buy into "you'll wear it in", "it'll stretch".
BUYING RUNNING SHOES ... ANKLE FRACTUREWhen bones in the foot or ankle are fractured there are invariably other tissues involved. Sprained ligaments, pulled muscles, injured hyaline cartilage and subluxated for fixated joints.Unmanaged, once the cast has been removed, these other conditions frequently lead to chronic foot and ankle pain and, if you changes your gait, knee, hip and back pain. ANKLE FRACTURE ... MASSAGE OILSWhen massaging away your foot pain you may want to consider a few different massage oils. Here are a few choices... MASSAGE OILS ...SHIN SPLINTSShin splints is a painful condition of the inner side of the shinbone. Since some of the muscles involved are inserted into the foot, the pain may radiate into the foot.
Read more about SHIN SPLINTS MORE ABOUT FOOT PAINMonthly newsletter - sign up here.Subscription to our free monthly newsletter is rising in leaps and bounds. Join the party! They are light and informative. Sign up here.You will then have access to these newsletters, and more as they become available:BACK ISSUESIssue #23 Maintenance Chiropractic Care / Miracles we do at once / The miracle of fish oil. ... Issue #17 Facial Pain / Mussel Facts Issue #16 Obesity in the Chiropractic Clinic / Flax seed Issue #15-Breastbone-pain / Broccoli ... Issue #01 - Tingling in the arms and hands/ Apples (PS. If you find them boring, one click will de-list you.) FOOT PAINDid you find this page on foot pain useful? Perhaps forward it to a suffering friend. |
