There cannot be a more discomforting situation than to have a pain on the top of your foot. The peculiar nature that the foot differs from other body parts; in that it has to support the entire body while standing with not additional support from any other part of the anatomy, makes it particularly vulnerable to injuries and pain.
What is most striking of the construction of the foot is the presence of the “floating bones’, that help spread out the entire weight of the person over a wider area thus minimizing the impact on any single part of the foot alone.
The injuries to the foot are particularly distressing to a person in that the entire mobility is hampered thus preventing him from attending to day to day activities. If there could be some way of lessening the impact of a foot injury to a person, it would be most welcome; I am sure.
Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
Nerve Entrapment
- Causes: First and foremost the causes of most nerve entrapment on the foot are the transgressing of other bones to areas they are not meant to occupy. The very nature of the floating bones would make them an ideal candidate to move around, so to speak. It is thus bound to impinch on the neighboring nerves and hence gives out the pain. The other factor of nerve entrapment is the wrong or incorrect positioning of the broken bones while they were being set after a fracture.
- Symptoms: The first sign that a nerve has been entrapped is to feel a sharp pain on the top of the foot while weight is placed on the foot. This pain could be considerably reduced when some of the weight is removed or displaced from the offending foot. With the pain associated with the wrong healing of bones, the pain is never evident while the foot is encased in plaster. But the very first instance that the foot is removed and the bull body weight applied to the foot, a sharp shooting pain would be experienced.
- Treatment: Relief is had with removing the weight from the offending foot and it is the usual practice for nerve entrapment to be put on traction to reduce the discomfiture. Often relieving the foot its weight and application of external force could help realign the bones to a more favorable position. With the wrong healing of broken bones, it is the usual practice to correct the defect by once again forcing a break in bones and the resetting of the condition.
- Prevention: The most common causes for the floating bones to get displaced by the position are the use of bad footwear. Thus care must be chosen in picking out the proper and fitting shoes and slippers.
Athlete’s Foot
- Causes: The mentioned condition is due to a fungal growth that occurs on the foot and particularly at the top of the toes of the foot. The warm and moist nature of the foot in shoes does give sufficient conditions that harbor the type of fungi that is what is predominantly causing the condition. There are also situations that does not allow the toes to breathe that does bring about athlete’s foot.
- Symptoms: The condition is characterized by a pain on the top of the foot particularly on the toes that does not go away. Often a watery discharge is observed with reddening of the skin around the area.
- Treatment: There are antibiotic powders that bring quick and lasting relief from the condition. The affected area needs to be washed and cleaned often many time in a day to prevent the further progress of the lesions.
- Prevention: The practice of wearing of shoes without using a pair of socks must be discouraged. Using shoes that have been worn by others must also be avoided at all costs. This could lead to more serious conditions later on. While buying a pair of shoes particular attention must be taken to see that it can ‘breathe’ well, thus airing the area that is mostly covered by the shoe. It is important that while buying shoes that a model and type that suits the condition be used at all times.
Tarsal Coalition
- Causes: This particular condition is brought about by the coming in contact with each other by the floating bones or the tarsal bones and a bridge being formed between the two. Thus joining the two together. In most of the cases of this nature, the causes of the condition are seen to have occurred at birth and thus genetics play a large part in the formation of this condition.
- Symptoms: Sharp pain on the top of the foot. The affected foot would appear stiff to touch and any attempt to move about the foot is met with resistance and pain. There is generally a lack of flexibility with the particular foot.
- Treatment: Most cases are required to be operated on to separate the two bones surgically. The complex nature of some of the conditions would naturally make this a not so common procedure.
- Prevention: There is hardly any preventive method to tackle this condition and there is not forewarning to its appearance.
Thus there is more to a foot pain than what people would make it out to be. If sufficient and proper attention is not paid to a situation, it is possible that the condition might deteriorate further. There could not be a more serious body part to deal with than a foot as it is mostly the single element that carries the entire weight of the person at all times with little support from any another source.
A healthy foot is a general sign of good health of a person. The very intimate nature of the foot that is tied in to the entire body would make this an important as well as a not to be missed aspect to good health.