Having a foot disease or condition can truly be one of the most painful experiences that you will ever have. Your foot is your primary means to walk. It is what you need to balance your body weight as you move from place to place. Since your body weight requires your feet to be strong enough to support, having an injury or condition must be dealt with immediately.Your feet have up to 26 bones as well as multiple joints, and various other ligaments and muscles that are all at constant motion when you walk.
The injuries and conditions that are most common to feet are bunions, hammertoes, fractures, plantar fasciitis, neuromas and nerve entrapments, cysts and soft tissue masses, and arthritic bones to name a few. When you develop one of these conditions, you will need to visit a doctor specializing in Podiatrist, who will treat your condition through surgery, anti-inflammatory medicine,
orthotics, physiotherapy, and exercise. This is so that you are
able to walk properly again. If you prolong your condition, your ability to properly walk may be permanently affected. Which is why in understanding the value of treatment of foot diseases and conditions, you must understand which are the most painful foot conditions and diseases and hope to the high Heavens that you never experience them.
The most painful foot diseases and conditions
There are numerous conditions and diseases that many people experience on their feet. These conditions are either common or rare, yet one thing remains constant in each and every one of them. This is the fact that you need to treat them properly with medication, rehabilitation, and maybe even surgery.
Metatarsalgia
Metatarsalgia is the pain that occurs in the ball of your feet. This pain is normally dealt with by a Podiatrist, who will determine the cause of your pain. These normally are caused by Neuroma, which is a pinched nerve or a thickening of the nerve between two bones. Another cause for Metatarsalgia is a long metatarsal
bone that is not prominent when you walk. This causes a lot of pain along the socket tissue between the bone and the skin. This is known as bursitis, wherein the inflammation of the socket tissue between bone and skin that is brought
about by pressure in the feet.
Plantar Fasciitis
The average foot has strong and flexible muscles and ligaments. When a case of Plantar Fasciitis occurs, the main ligament that becomes affected is the Plantar Fascia, which connects the heal bone to the ball area that forms the main arc of your foot. The Plantar Fascia ligament is composed of small fibers that is commonly injured by lose hind-joints that are a result of obesity, over-use, and the use of wrong footwear. When your hind-joints are lose, your foot can move too freely, causing the Plantar Fascia to be stretched to its limits. When this occurs, small tears are formed on your feet. These tears are known to be
extremely painful and difficult to heal because they become inflamed.
Gout
One of the more popular diseases is gout. Gout is a product of having a very unhealthy diet, wherein inflammation in your feet occurs. This inflammation primarily involves joint tissue that forms because of an excessive amount of Uric acid in your joints. Uric acid is a compound that is a result of digesting a certain
kind food. When this compound develops, it gets circulated in your bloodstream and removed in your kidneys and urine. People who develop gout have the inability to completely remove Uric acid in their bloodstream. When this compound builds up excessively, they form into crystals and locate themselves in
joint areas in the leg, ankle, and toes. When this occurs, your joints become inflamed, extremely sensitive, and painful.
Neuroma
A painful condition that affects middle-aged women who
habitually wear narrow shoes is Neuroma. The pain is normally found in the front of the foot, extending to the toes. This is normally in response to irritation, trauma, and excessive pressure. Neuroma is an enlargement of your digital nerves in your feet, which cause pain in the third and fourth toe of your feet. Another source for the pain is located on the bottom of the ball under your foot where you may experience either numbness or shooting pain in your toes.
Ingrown toenail
One of the most painful conditions that you will ever experience on your foot is an ingrown toenail. An ingrown toenail is when your nail grows into your skin penetrating it so deeply that an incision must be performed to extract the nail from your skin. A common cause for ingrown toenails is when you cut your
toenails too short or trimming them too shortly across the side of your toenails. This causes your toenails to curl down and grow into your skin. When this occurs, your nail becomes sore and infected to the point that pus develops due to this. Another cause for ingrown toenails is wearing shoes that are too tight or shoes that have high heels that cause the foot to put tremendous amounts of pressure on the nail and skin.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is the inflammation of the structures that attach the muscle to the bone in your feet, enabling the muscles to be unstable. When your foot experiences trauma or injury, there are a lot of tendons located in your feet that become inflamed and painful. When these ligament tears do not heal properly, tendonitis begins to manifest itself by causing pain in many parts of your feet. The swelling and inflammation in your tendons become severe; oxygen is hampered from travelling to your feet. One of the most common causes for tendonitis aside from injury is dehydration and improper shoe wear.
Bunions
Bunions are a deformity that occurs when you continuously wear high heel shoes that wedge your toes together. Bunions are an abnormal angle formation of your big toe that produces swelling at its base. Your foot is comprised of 26 bones and different muscles and ligaments. When your big toe moves out of alignment, your big toe will stick out forming a lump. This condition can be extremely painful when you walk. Other causes of bunions are hereditary, arthritis, and gout.
