Arch pain and overpronation can cause issues for persons of any age and can even affect an athlete’s performance during every type of activity. For many people who experience pain like this, they may not be aware of the 3 common triggers. Most of the causes are avoidable, however many can be hereditary. As recommended by the Cleveland Clinic, three of the avoidable causes for arch pain include pointed-toe heels, shoes that are too snug, and lack of arch support . These poor decisions can all lead to painful foot disorders like bunions, hammertoes, and plantar fasciitis. The Mayo Clinic has found that 2 of the inherited foot problems that can lead to overpronation and arch pain include fallen arches or arches that are excessively high. Below are some common foot procedures that fix these disorders and how each of them can be helped.
Arch support Can Prevent a Host of Serious Foot Problems
Some of the hereditary foot disorders include either flat arches or abnormally raised arches. Both types of arch disorders can affect the average person as well as an active athlete. The result of a flat arch can be arch pain and overpronation because this flattened part of the foot is not performing as it should. When this part of the foot malfunctions, foot pronation occurs which can lead to a heel spur, a bony outgrowth in the heel. Surgery is sometimes necessary to remove the boneprotrusion and relieve the dicomfort. The surgeon will use a bone saw to cut away the extra spur of bone to take away the inflammation and pain it had been causing. The best alternative for treating both types of arch problems so heel spurs can be avertws is by providing the foot with proper arch support through orthotics.
Foot Arch Pain Can Be the First Sign of Bunion Formation
Removal of a bunion, or a bunionectomy, is the process through which the bone growth that appears to the side of the ball of the foot is filed away to achieve a more conventional foot shape and width. In critical cases where the big toe has situated itself under the other toes, the podiatrist cuts a triangle-shaped block out of the bone in the big toe to reset it to its normal position. A tiny screw is used to fasten the two bone portions together. After about 6 months, the screw can be taken out. Though this problem can be caused by pointed shoes, sometimes people are born with the tendency to form bunions. Podiatrists agree that pointed-toe shoes that force the toes into an abnormal position can lead to bunions.
What Causes Hammertoes and How to Treat Them
Hammertoes can be brought on by pointy shoes or footwear that is snug. This problem can affect walkers and runners that wear snug shoes during training as well. Hammertoes are, regrettably, difficult to fix without surgery. First, a podiatrist can try to tape the affected toe to try and coax it into a more normal shape. For this procedure to work, patients need to wear shoes with plenty of toe room. Hammertoes can return if improper shoes are worn again. If forcing the toe straight with a splint fails, surgery is the lone alternative. The affected toe must have a part of the bone taken out to lessen its bend. The recovery period is crucial, as patients who do not remain off the affected foot as suggested will not restore appropriately. The prevention for this condition is to wear properly-fitting shoes.
No matter what type of activity level, age, or heredity, foot disorders can affect a large percentage of persons. Though foot procedures can surgically repair these conditions, most of the time they are never an issue if people wear well fitting shoes and appropriate arch support .
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