Top of The Foot Pain
5 Reasons for Top of Foot Pain
It is no question that your day to day activities, hobbies and footwear has a direct impact on the aches and pains your feet experience. The changing of seasons usually means a change in footwear. Foot pain located to the top of your foot could be caused by a number of factors and I am here to help you hone in on what it is that may be causing your foot pain. Sometimes, it is not one thing, it is a combination of many factors that result in foot pain.
- Footwear that is too restrictive or high heels can lead to top of foot pain. It goes without question that we all know high heels are bad for us. Why exactly ? Heels and footwear that does not allow the normal ankle range of motion can lead to imbalances in the foot and ankle. Footwear that drastically changes the angle in which our feet meet the ground, over repetitive steps,day after day, leads to injury. This effect of weakening is similar to wearing a cast after injury, where foot strength in compromised after a period of time from being immobilized. Over time this can lead to weakness and pain on the top of your foot!
- Loose fitting footwear can cause foot pain. Yes, unfortunately, it is kind of like that Goldilocks Theory. Footwear that is too tight or too loose is never too good for us. The middle ground with that happy medium is always best for our feet. Footwear, like flip flips causes overuse in the tendons in the feet. The flip flops place an overuse demand on the foot in a manner it is not used to. Repetition of this load causes reoccurring tendon strain and pain. This is the same situation when shoe laces are too loose, or footwear of slip on nature is used for longer than our feet are used to.
- A neuroma is a condition where the nerves in our feet become inflamed or irritated . Neuromas are commonly found in those with repetitive strain to the feet or those who wear, yes again, high heels. The nerves in our feet migrate in the toe area and this delicate area can be a vulnerable spot of potential injury. I have been able to help restore function with proper rehabilitation exercises with this condition, but conservative care usually has a poor result. Once conservative measures fail, better success is with anti inflammatory injections and last resort surgical intervention.
- Stress fractures are no joke. For those weekend warriors or those tough athletes who love to push through pain, take warning when this top of foot pain does not improve. Other sings include when one cannot even stand or walk without debilitating pain. These injuries are common in people who overtrain, increase in duration too much too soon, have previous foot injury or stress fracture and those who have nutritional deficiencies.Unfortunately X-rays do not always show a stress fracture. A bone scan will show this injury as well as a CT and MRI will also show this injury. Rest and an air cast followed by a proper rehabilitation program and nutrition is the best protocol in this situation.
- Other bone conditions that can results in top of the foot pain include Freiberg’s Disease or various forms of arthritis. Freiburg’s disease is a term used for avascular necrosis. This condition is caused by trauma to the bone that results in lack of blood flow to the bone, causing the bone cells to die. This is a serious condition that needs medical attention and time offloading to properly heal. There are various forms of arthritis that can cause foot pain. Arthritis can be caused from general wear and tear, while others arise from an auto immune condition.
All of these foot pain differentials are factors that can result in foot pain. Foot health is so important to your every life and there is no medal to be won for enduring unnecessary foot pain. Before your condition worsens or before you need to take more time off from activity or your lifestyle, please seek professional attention for the best advice on your foot health.
Podiatry on Yonge at King has a vast amount of experience when it comes to foot health.
I, registered Chiropodist, Laura Desjardins would love to get to the root of your foot pain.
