Trust that persons had a time for Carnival. As quickly as the season came, it is over. This is a continuation of last week’s article which focused on vascular, neurological and dermatological conditions. The focus today is on orthopaedic conditions.

Orthopaedic Conditions

This is the section that deals with musculoskeletal pain either the result of injury, overuse- where a particular foot structure is being over worked and eventually starts to break down. There are also metabolic diseases that can affect the joints of the body, and the feet are no exception. There are numerous reasons why a foot will start to hurt, and in many cases, the pain can occur for no apparent reason at all.

We all get aches and pains for one reason or another, and in the majority of cases, these pains will subside in a reasonable period of time, and we then forget about them. Foot pain that persists regardless of all attempts to remedy it either by oral or topical medication, rest, change of shoes, change in activity, etc. will more than likely require medical attention. A lot of the pain seen in the foot can be simply part of the aging process, as the feet tend to show arthritic changes before other parts of the body. This type of pain can be intermittent or can be an ongoing issue.

Trauma Related Musculoskeletal Pain

Simple sprains and strains will tend to improve on their own; sometimes they will linger and they too will require medical attention. In most cases of trauma, no matter how small, if pain persists beyond a couple of days, a precautionary x-ray is always indicated, as there is always the chance of a broken bone. In cases of fractures, you cannot just look at the foot to determine if it is fractured. You would be amazed how many people have asked me that over the years.

Musculoskeletal pain is probably the most common type of pain that brings a patient into the podiatrist’s office. It is very likely that your musculoskeletal pain, once identified, will not follow the same course of remedy as your friend, co-worker, or relative who suffered from a similar problem. There are just too many variables involved, one of which is patient compliance. I have found over the years, that those patients who took my advice seriously, tended to get better quicker. The problem with musculoskeletal pain in the foot, as I have mentioned numerous times on this site, is that it is very difficult to rest a foot (for minor injuries.  Every time a person walks, they basically re-injure the foot, and that is why foot problems can take so long to heal.

Assessing Your Pain

If your foot has started to hurt and there is no history of trauma, in an effort to avoid a visit to the doctor, first take a look at the shoes you are wearing. Is there one pair of shoes that seems to aggravate the problem more? Did the problem begin when wearing a certain pair of shoes? Have you been doing an activity that you are not accustomed to doing, like perhaps a new job where you are required to stand long hours? In other words, try and think about what caused your pain in the first place; perhaps by eliminating the “cause” you will be able to remedy the “problem”.

Some musculoskeletal issues cannot be remedied by conservative measures; so many times it takes surgical intervention to fix the problem. Just keep in mind that surgery is not a solution for all problems. Most foot surgery are elective procedures, meaning you technically can live with your problem. I bother to mention this because sometimes surgery, although it looks and sounds good on the drawing board, does not always end with the anticipated results. The last thing you want to get involved in then, is having multiple surgeries for the same condition. No matter how good the surgeon and the surgery, mankind cannot do the same job that mother nature did.

Precautionary Treatment Advice

As a closing thought, many people attempt to cope with their musculoskeletal pain by living on aspirin and other inflammation reducing, over the counter, pain medication. This type of treatment is fine for short term reduction of pain, but it is not a solution. The chronic use of this type of medication can cause stomach, kidney, and liver problems, all of which can have devastating effects. Just because a medication is sold without a prescription, does not make it safe to abuse. Get professional advice on your problem to make the best decision.

Your feet mirror your general health . . . cherish them!