Just like other parts of your body, your feet need attention and care to stay healthy and strong.
You may not think about your feet much on a daily basis, but they play an important role in your overall health and wellness. Your feet support your weight, help your balance, and enable you to do many activities you enjoy. Because feet do so much for us, they can become overworked, tired and painful. And when your feet hurt, it can be hard to think about anything else.
Learn more about the common reasons behind foot pain and the steps you can take to keep your feet healthy and pain-free.
What Causes Foot Pain?
Pain or discomfort in your feet can be felt anywhere including your heels, your toes, and the bottoms of your feet. Maybe you experience pain after a long day of standing at work, or maybe your pain is related to an old injury that didn’t heal properly. As a Veteran or Service member, you may have foot pain related to your service as well, including standing on your feet for countless hours on watch, carrying heavy loads, running or jumping. All of this activity may have taken its toll on your feet.
Some common causes of foot pain include overuse, long periods of time on your feet, improper footwear, or a slight injury to the foot. These causes of foot pain may require some rest or a change in shoes, but there are additional causes of foot pain that may require more attention. These include conditions such as:
- Arthritis – Arthritis can occur in different parts of the foot, including the toes, heel or bottom of the foot.
- Gout – This is a form of inflammatory arthritis that often begins in your big toe when high levels of urate build up in your body leading to joint pain and swelling.
- Bunions and hammertoes – These are both foot deformities that can be inherited, caused by injuries to the foot, or caused by health conditions such as arthritis or diabetes. Bunions occur when the big toe moves inward toward the other toes and hammertoes happen when there’s an abnormal bend in the middle joint of the toe. Both conditions can be painful and become worse over time. Pointy, narrow shoes or boots are a big culprit in causing bunions. Shoes and boots that are too small can cause hammertoes.
- Cold weather injuries – Frostbite and chilblains can cause damage to feet in cold or wet weather. If the toes or feet feel numb and do not get better quickly with warm water, you may need to see a provider.
- Fallen arches or flat feet – This is a common condition in which the arches on the underside of the feet flatten when weight or pressure is put on them. The condition can develop in childhood but also later in life after an injury or from aging. Interestingly, people with high arches have more foot problems than people with flat feet.
- Nerve damage from diabetes – Nerve damage affects around 50% of people living with diabetes. This can lead to foot numbness, tingling or weakness. When it’s untreated, it can lead to infection or amputation of the affected area.
- Plantar fasciitis – This occurs when the thin ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot becomes irritated and inflamed. It usually occurs from overuse or activities that put repeated stress on your arch running from the ball of your foot to your heel – related to running or being on your feet for long periods of time.
- Stress fractures – Stress fractures are tiny cracks in the bone. They are more subtle than a broken bone, so you may notice pain but not always swelling or bruising. They are more common in older adults, but they are also diagnosed in Service members due to carrying heavy loads and completing intense training routines.
- Foot injuries – Due to the intense nature of military service, many Veterans and Service members suffer from foot injuries that may cause chronic pain or mobility or balance issues.
How Can I Keep My Feet Healthy and Pain-Free?
Just like other parts of your body, your feet need attention and care to stay healthy and strong. Try the following tips based on advice from the National Institutes of Health newsletter and their magazine:
- Wear proper footwear. Shoes aren’t just a fashion statement. Your feet need comfortable, properly fitting, arch-appropriate shoes. If you’re wearing your service boots, make sure you have enough room in the toe box to wiggle your toes and be sure to give yourself enough time to break them in properly.
- Get measured. Most people’s feet change shape over time, so your shoe size when you were 20 might be different than your shoe size at 50. Get measured regularly and buy shoes that give you a little space and feel good to start. Especially for walking and running, you need shoes that keep your feet in neutral position. Running shoe stores and magazines can help guide you first to select the right shoes for exercise.
- Check your feet daily. It can be easy to forget about your feet when they’re always covered with socks and shoes, but it’s important to take a few minutes to check them over each day. Look for cuts, redness, swelling, changes in the skin or nails, or stiff and swollen joints in the foot or ankle. These symptoms can be signs of other health conditions, like high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. If you have diabetes, it is important to get regular checkups with your provider to check for loss of feeling.
- Keep your feet clean. Wash your feet with soap and water every day and dry them completely. Change your socks at least once a day but do it more often if they get wet or sweaty.
- Trim your toenails regularly. To keep your toenails from getting infected, cut straight across and make sure they’re not too short.
- Prevent blisters. Blisters are common for active duty Service members and can make training, marching and other activities extremely painful. Experiment with different methods to reduce your risk for blisters, including wearing moisture-wicking socks, using powders or creams, taping sensitive areas of your foot and more.
- Stretch and strengthen your feet. Stretching and exercise help improve blood flow, strengthen your feet and help you with balance. Slow stretching with the knees straight and slightly bent can help improve foot, ankle, leg, and back pain. It is important to stretch the hamstrings, as well.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Your feet have the responsibility of supporting your weight. If you’re overweight, you are putting additional stress on your feet. Check out The Importance of Maintaining a Healthy Weight for additional information and support.
- Get an evaluation. If you’re experiencing foot pain, get evaluated by your health care provider. Veterans, you may find that your foot pain is service-related, and you may be eligible for disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
What Can I Do If I Experience Pain?
If you’re experiencing foot pain beyond a normal ache after a long day, make an appointment to see your health care provider. Your provider will review your symptoms and your health history with you. He or she may take X-rays or an MRI to help diagnose the cause of your pain. From there, you and your provider can discuss treatment, which may include shoe inserts, physical therapy, removal of painful calluses or warts, or surgery to fix structural issues like bunions.
Don’t let foot pain interfere with your quality of life or your mission readiness. Use these tips to keep your feet healthy and strong!