How to Deal with Chronic Foot Pain

Do you experience regular pain in your feet? You shouldn’t put up with daily foot pain. Your feet carry you everywhere! Here’s how to relieve discomfort and pain in your feet to improve your quality of life.

Because your feet quite literally take you everywhere you need to go, having constant pain in your feet can lower your quality of life. Left untreated, some causes of chronic foot pain can lead to severe health issues.

Along with diagnosing the cause of your pain and providing customized treatment, double board-certified podiatrist Eric Gilberston, DPM, FACFAS at Renew Foot & Ankle, LLC helps you manage chronic foot pain so you can improve your quality of life and enjoy physical activities with less discomfort.

Causes of chronic foot pain

There are many reasons your feet may hurt. Chronic foot pain can be caused by a lack of movement, inadequate or poorly fitting footwear, an injury, or an underlying health condition. Foot pain may occur at any age, and can even affect other parts of your body like your knees, hips, ankles, or back.

Common causes of foot pain include:

Stress fractures
Bunions
Broken toe
Broken foot
Rheumatoid arthritis
Bone spurs
Gout
Plantar fasciitis

Dr. Gilbertson determines the root cause of your chronic foot pain to provide the best treatment.

Types of chronic foot pain

Your treatment plan will depend on where you feel discomfort and pain, the severity of the pain, and what type of chronic foot pain you experience. Common types include:

Arch pain

If your feet hurt in the arches, Dr. Gilbertson may determine the cause of your pain is related to aging, overuse, weight gain, or a neurological issue. If the outside of your heel hits the ground first when walking, you have a common condition called overpronation, which can lead to problems with your tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

Pain in the ball of your foot

A common cause of chronic foot pain in the balls of your feet is overuse of the feet. Your feet may become inflamed and painful as a result.

Heel pain

If your pain is mostly confined to the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis or heel spurs. Plantar fasciitis is a result of an inflammation of the tissue connecting your toes and heel.

Toe pain

If your chronic foot pain is mostly in the toes, you may have gout. Gout is a type of arthritis that typically affects the big toe and causes pain and swelling. Another common cause of toe pain involves bunions, which can be aggravated by wearing tight-fitting shoes.

How to relieve chronic foot pain

Dr. Gilbertson determines the primary cause of your foot pain and develops a customized treatment plan to provide relief. Once the primary problem is treated, the pain usually subsides.

You can try some at-home remedies to relieve pain, including over-the-counter pain relievers, resting and icing your feet throughout the day, and wearing comfortable and supportive shoes. If do-it-yourself treatment methods don’t offer relief, schedule an appointment online with Renew Foot and Ankle in Grand Rapids or Bigfork, MN to get treatment.