Foot Pain

If you had to pick one part of your body that helps you most throughout the day (other than your brain and heart!) it might be your feet. They help us to walk, run, drive, stand, sit, balance, and the list goes on. So when foot pain strikes, it can really disrupt our daily activities and overall lifestyle. Regardless if you are experiencing occasional foot pain or chronic foot pain, it’s beneficial to seek help from a pain management specialist who can recommend the best treatment for you. The Nevada Advanced Pain Specialists in the Reno, Sparks and Carson City areas are here to help get you comfortably, safely and most minimally-invasive back on your feet. 

What is Foot Pain?

Foot pain is any pain that is felt on the top, bottom or sides of the feet. It can affect the heel, toes, arch and any of the 26 bones and 33 joints in between. Due to the fact that we use our feet daily, and repeatedly throughout the day, there is a great opportunity for the bones, as well as the hundreds of ligaments, muscles and nerves to experience duress. Not to mention that the feet bear the weight of the entire body! 

In addition to overuse, foot pain can result from a traumatic injury, underlying health condition, or even something as simple as wearing the wrong shoes. While foot pain is common, living with it doesn’t have to be. There are several ways to treat foot pain but the first step is identifying the specific cause of pain. 

What Causes Foot Pain?

There are several reasons why a person might experience foot pain. However, all of these reasons can be grouped into either structural issues or neuropathic issues. Structural issues that lead to foot pain include trauma, fractures, etc. Neuropathic foot pain is the result of nerve disorders or damage. 

Due to the fact that the foot is a complex structure made up of bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and nerves, there is a great opportunity for some sort of damage to occur – especially since we use our feet every single day. 

Some of the most general reasons why a person might experience foot pain can include standing on their feet for extended periods of time, aging, injury, overuse and being overweight. If your provider finds that these are the reasons why you’re experiencing foot pain, simple lifestyle adjustments might be the best course of action. 

However, if structural issues deem to be the case of pain, medical help is needed to help resolve issues. The most common causes of structural foot pain include: 

• Bone spurs: as the name implies, bone spurs are bony projections that form along the sides of the bones in the feet, and are usually the result of arthritis. Not only can they irritate nearby nerves, they can also cause pain when walking. 
• Stress fractures: stress fractures are tiny cracks in the bones within the feet, usually due to repetitive pressure or overuse. While they are most commonly seen in athletes, especially runners, anyone can experience a stress fracture, especially if they begin an exercise regimen too quickly or have osteoporosis. 
• Achilles tendonitis: this common condition occurs when the Achilles tendon, the largest tendon in the body and the connection point between the calf muscles and the heel bone, becomes inflamed and irritated, usually due to overuse
• Bursitis: this is a painful inflammation in the bursae, which are the fluid-filled sacs that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near the joints. Due to the fact that there are 33 joints in the foot, bursitis can be a very painful condition. 

Osteoarthritis: this degenerative joint disease occurs when the tissues in the joint break down over time. When experienced in the foot, this can cause pain, stiffness and swelling. 

• Rheumatoid arthritis: this condition involves the body’s immune system attacking normal, healthy joint tissues. This can lead to pain, swelling, deformities and dislocated joints, among other symptoms. 
• Bunions: a bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of the big toe, which causes the big toe to lean toward the second toe. This not only causes abnormal positioning of the toes, but also a bony knob on the inside of the foot. 
• Plantar fasciitis: one of the most common causes of heel pain, plantar fasciitis is the inflammation of the plantar fascia, which is the tissue in the foot used during walking and foot movement 

If structural issues are not to blame, then it’s necessary to explore neuropathic causes. The most common neuropathic causes of foot pain include: 

• Morton’s neuroma: swelling and irritation that is most often found in the nerves between the third and fourth toes
• Peripheral neuropathy (PN): a condition that damages nerves in the body’s extremities that leads to weakness, numbness and pain
• Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD): usually caused by a foot injury, RSD is an abnormal neuropathic response with symptoms that most often include severe burning pain
• Tarsal tunnel: a compressed nerve that leads to ankle or foot pain
• Lumbar radiculitis: this conditions happens when nerve roots in the lower part of the spine are compressed, leading to radiating pain that can extend to the foot

Because there are so many factors that can lead to foot pain, it’s important to know what is causing foot pain in the first place so that the most accurate and efficient treatment option can be used. 

What Treatments are Used for Foot Pain?

The best treatments for foot pain depend on whether the pain is caused by a structural issue or there is a neuropathic cause. 

If found to be a structural issue, your pain management specialist will most often recommend giving your feet a rest. RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) can help to provide relief, as well as taking pain medication to reduce pain symptoms. Additional treatment could include physical therapy or wearing a splint or cast. Surgical options are generally a last resort and for patients who are experiencing tremendous and chronic pain. 

For neuropathic causes of foot pain, a provider will first try RICE, but then will suggest additional therapies if pain is not consistently resolved. These methods include: 

• Pain and anti-inflammatory medications
• Epidural steroid injection: the injection of medication into the epidural space around the spinal cord with the goal to treat intense, difficult to treat foot pain
• Lumbar sympathetic nerve block: an injection of numbing medication into the lower back that block nerves from sending pain signals to the lower extremities
• Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) unit: a small device that delivers the current at or near your nerves to block or change your perception of pain
• Spinal cord stimulation: an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve chronic pain. Dubbed the “pacemaker for pain,” this minimally-invasive treatment option allows patients to control their level of stimulation as needed. 

If you are suffering from foot pain and are tired of both suffering from pain and a decreased quality of life, the Nevada Advanced Pain Specialists in the Reno, Sparks and Carson City areas can help. Please schedule an appointment today so that we can determine your cause of pain and best treatment option for you.