More and more people are facing common foot problems and more serious foot conditions everyday. The human foot is one of the best-engineered parts of the body. Each foot has 33 joints, eight arches, 26 bones, more than a hundred muscles, ligaments, and tendons that all work together to distribute body weight and allow movement. Unfortunately, many people pay no attention to their feet until they start to hurt.
Foot disorders must be diagnosed and treated early, before they become very painful and incapacitating. In some cases, some painful foot abnormalities are already warning signs of even more serious ailments such as diabetes, circulatory disorders, and nerve problems.
What is Ankle Pain?
Ankle pain often stems from injurious accidents – a broken piece of bone due to a bicycle crash, a sprained ankle after carelessly stepping off the car – or complications originating from diseases and certain conditions that trigger inflammation in the ankle. The pain is felt when there is twisting of ligaments in an inward manner, called sprain, that leaves a torn portion of them. Left uncured, as the injury takes several weeks to heal, the sprain develops and causes an unstable ankle that further swells. And as your weight adds up to pain, walking normally as before is not possible.
The Symptoms
There are other instances, however, when a broken bone is mistaken for a pain in the ankle. So patients need to correctly distinguish ankle pain over an injured bone. Signs of ankle pain including difficulty in walking, deformed joint, painful sensation felt when taking a rest, trouble trying to bend the ankle, inflammation on affected joints, and sometimes abnormal high body temperature (more than 100 °F). Medical experts explain that the body weight adds to the pain felt since some nerves are swollen, leading to inflamed joints. On the rise in body temperature, doctor states that the warmth is caused by an irregular blood flow.
Common Ankle Problems:
- PLANTAR FASCIITIS – Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It is due to inflammation of a thick band of tissue called the plantar fascia, which runs across the bottom of the foot, connecting the heel bone to the toes.
- ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE – Achilles tendon rupture is where the large tendon in the back of the ankle ruptures.
- ACHILLES TENDINITIS – Achilles tendinitis is a syndrome of irritation of the Achilles tendon in the ankle. The Achilles tendon is the large tendon in the back of the ankle that inserts into the heel bone.
- ANKLE SPRAIN – The ankle joint, which connects the foot with the lower leg, is injured often. An unnatural twisting motion can happen when the foot is planted awkwardly, when the ground is uneven, or when an unusual amount of force is applied to the joint.
- HAGLUND’S FOOT DEFORMITY – Haglund’s foot deformity is a protrusion of the upper posterolateral calcaneum.
Possible Causes
There are two possible causes: one is injury while the other is complications due to malignant diseases. As explained above, sprain and fractures are some of the injuries that can lead to ankle pain. Additionally, some of the diseases commonly associated with ankle pain are tendinitis and arthritis. Inflammatory diseases often bring about tendinitis, affecting the posterior tibial tendon, Achilles tendon, or peroneal tendon. The condition occurs when the tendons are inflamed, which is why the illness is sometimes called tendonitis. On the other hand, unlike tendinitis, arthritis develops gradually.
Common Foot and Toes Problems:
- BUNION / HALLUX VALGUS – Hallux valgus is a condition when the big toe of the foot called the hallux starts to deviate inward towards the direction of the little toe.
- MORTON’S NEUROMA – Morton’s Neuroma is a benign soft tissue mass that forms on the nerve which runs between the metatarsals and the ball of the foot.
- PLANTAR WARTS – A plantar warts (also known as “Verruca plantaris”) is a wart caused by the human papillomavirus occurring on the sole or toes of the foot.
- INGROWN TOE NAIL – An ingrown toe nail is a painful condition of the toe. It occurs when a sharp corner of the toenail digs into the skin at the end or side of the toe.
- ONYCHOLYSIS – Onycholysis is a diseases whose symptoms appear as the separation of the nail plate from the nail bed on your fingers and toes.
- FOOT ARCH PAIN – Arch pain, better known in the scientific community as plantar fasciitis, is the term used to describe the burning sensation under the long arches of the feet (arch strain).
- CLAW TOE DEFORMITY – Claw toe is a result of the flexor digitorum brevis (attached to the middle bone, also called the middle phalanx) contracting and eventually overpowering all of the toe muscles.
- FOOT ARTHRITIS – Foot arthritis is a disorder characterized by the swelling of the joints of the feet. Just like arthritis on another part of the body, it can be painful and debilitating.
- FOOT CORNS – Known in the scientific community as ‘helomas,’ foot corns are actually thick skin areas that develop because of too much friction and pressure.
- GANGLION CYST – Ganglion cysts are masses of tissues filled with fluid, usually jelly-like.
Am I at Risk?
Physicians state that patients having weak immune system face a high risk from a simple ankle pain which may lead to joint infections. In addition, diabetic patients are prone to many bacterial infections in affected joints.
When do you need to call us about your Foot or Ankle problem?
If you are unsure of the cause of your discomfort, or if you do not know the specific treatment recommendations for your condition, you should seek medical attention. Treatment of these conditions must be directed at the specific cause of your problem.
