My Feet Hurt!! Top Ten Things Relieve Foot Pain Today...

My Feet Hurt!

Top Ten Things 

To Relieve Foot Pain Today...

The following advice may not be popular but it is highly effective! 

It's straight forward, common sense medicine and --

it sure beats surgery! 

Give it a try and I would love to hear how it works for you...

1.

Stop Walking Barefoot.
Forget about what people say about being barefoot being "natural" -- being naked is "natural" but we all wear clothes to protect our bodies from the elements.
It's wise to protect your feet also. 
There's nothing "natural" about walking around on concrete all day!
Plus, if your feet weren't hurting, 
you wouldn't be reading this.

2.

Stop Wearing Flip-Flops.
Zero biomechanical control.
Try an experiment -- have someone video you on their cell phone from behind as you walk barefoot or wear flip-flops.
Now video you doing the same thing while wearing proper shoes with arch support.
Pay attention to what is happening to your feet, ankles and knees.
Not pretty, is it?
Lots of extra wear-and-tear on your joints, muscles and tendons.  
Remember, you're either beating up your feet -- 
or you're beating up your shoes.
If you think what you're shoes look like after several years of wear, 
what do you think is happening to your joints?
 

3.

Stop Walking Around the House Wearing Only Socks.
Minimal protection!
Zero biomechanical control. 
Although I do recommend wearing socks with shoes, if you are walking around the house in only socks -- that is only slightly better than being barefoot. 

4.

Stop Wearing Flimsy Bedroom Slippers.
If your slippers are flexible or bend too easily, 
you may be causing damage to your joints as well as setting you up for potential injury.
If you like to wear slippers in the house, 
at least look into getting"Diabetic Slippers" 
even if you are not diaabetic. 
These slippers offer more protection and are probably ten times more comfortable. 
Foot Solutions has a great Diabetic Slipper 
and you can find many others online. 

5.

Around the house - as a bedroom slipper - 

wear Crocs RX clogs 

with the strap to the back.
Do you have heel pain? 
Knee, hip, lower back pain?
This is the cheapest and best medical advice you will ever get!!
If you wear Croc Rx Clogs with the strap to the back around the house, you will probably have a significant improvement 
in a very short period of time. 
The only time you should be barefoot and standing is in the shower! 

6.

For a great Walking Shoe - 

go to a New Balance Store and purchase a 

New Balance Walking Shoe 

with Roll-Bar Technology 

and a wide base with an extra-depth toebox.
I often write my patients prescriptions for this shoe, which can make it tax deductible and give them a 10% discount at any New Balance store. 
I truly believe that proper shoes are medically necessary for many patients because it will decrease pain, risk of injury and prevent surgery. 
Not to mention make your life more pleasant because you will have less pain and you can concentrate on staying active and having fun! 

7.

Elevate and Rest Your Feet 

and use a topical pain reliever like: 

Biofreeze or Traumeel -

both are over-the-counter and safe. 
Don't underestimate the power of rest!
As a physician, I am always amazed at the body's healing power so --
at the end of the day, 
grab a good book and put those feet up... 

8.

Wear Arch Support.

Either Custom-Molded Orthotics or 

a good Over-The-Counter Insert, 

which you can purchase from your local Podiatrist or your local running shoe store.  
Ten percent of people cannot tolerate arch support, which means you have a ninety percent chance that arch support can improve your life.
I wish Las Vegas had those odds! 
Good arch support can also significantly help with knee, hip and lower back pain.
I've had patients say, 
"I have high arches -- I don't need arch support"
and my response is, 
"Bridges have arches but engineers design them with struts for support."
It's the same with your foot -- 
support under the arch means less strain on the joints, tendons and muscles. 
Custom molded orthotics from your Podiatrist are far superior to over-the-counter inserts but, if you are constrained by a budget, at least get the over-the-counter inserts so that you get some degree of arch support.

9.

Wear Diabetic Socks 

for extra cushion 

and comfort. 
It sounds silly but I've been to lectures entitled "Current Technological Advances in Socks and
Sock Strategy."
Proper socks can decrease friction and thereby decrease calluses, corns, blisters and 
heel fissures. 
Diabetic socks may cost a couple dollars more but hopefully will be well worth it! 

 

10.

Make an Appointment with your 

local Podiatrist!

Try to find a Podiatrist that specializes in conservative, non-surgical treatment. 
In my opinion, less than five percent of patients with foot pain need surgery. I am not referring to foot "procedures" that can be done in the office such as fixing ingrown toenails -- I am referring to more serious surgeries such as bunions and fusions of joints that will permanently change your foot and ankle biomechanics.
Foot surgery is more than you think!
The foot heals slower, hurts more, and swells more because while you are trying to heal it -- 
you are walking on it!
Not to mention, recovering from foot surgery poses many risks and the results are never guarenteed.
I always tell my patients that 
the goal of surgery is 
to take an "abnormal painful foot" and turn it into an "abnormal non-painful foot."
The only time you should consider having foot surgery is if you have tried everything and completely exhausted conservative treatment and you cannot perform your normal daily activities because of the pain.
Before you have foot surgery, please get a second or even third opinion!
 Most biomechanical foot pain can be resolved using conservative, non-surgical treatment. 

***

For more information, 

please see the article on this blog for:

Shoe Recommendations for Patients Recovering from Lisfranc's Injuries.
(Continue to Scroll Down)

On this Blog, you can also look up:

Top Ten Comfortable Sandals

Top Twenty Comfortable Dress Shoes

Top Five Comfortable Walking Shoes

Top Twenty Womens Comfortable Boots


Please feel free to explore the blog!
I have lots of information, articles and shoe recommendations for people who suffer from foot pain.

Have a Great Day!

Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy

:)

Comfortable Men & Women's Casual Shoe...

Comfortable Men & Women's Casual Shoe.

If you have "biomechanically challenged" feet or suffer with chronic foot pain - try a shoe or boot with a hidden steel shank for added protection and comfort! 

If you suffer chronic painful feet, this may be a great option for you! Although it's counter-intuitive, if your feet hurt, one of the best things you can do is buy a shoe with a hidden shank in the sole of the shoe. 

I've had great success with patients who have chronic biomechanically challenged feet by getting them into shoes with a shank. The shank will prevent motion across the bottom of the foot which will limit motion across the joints, muscles and tendons which will greatly decreased stress, strain and pain. Whenever I have a patient come in wearing a regular outfit with work boots, I immediately know that this person has chronic pain and he or she has found the one shoe that they can wear without pain. 

I had a lovely forty year old woman who presented with eight years of chronically painful feet that completely limited her daily activities. She had seen at least ten other doctors who recommended everything from "just live with the pain" to major reconstructive foot surgery. I advised her to discontinue barefoot walking and flipflops, I recommended she wear Crocs Rx in the house as house slippers and we got her into a steel shanked hiking boot that came above the ankle. Her second appointment we got her molded for custom-molded inserts to go into her new steel shanked hiking boots that she purchased from REI. I didn't see her for another eight months when she came into the office to hug me and thank me because she had lost forty pounds because she was hiking two hours every day and she was doing everything she wanted to do pain free. She laughingly told me she had just gone to a wedding wearing a fabulous dress and her boots and she didn't care what people thought because she felt great! Needless to say, she made my day and it's that kind of success story that makes me love my profession. By the way, she looked uber-cute in her sundress and boots - she had the sunshine-y attitude that pulled it off to perfection!

A word of caution: this does not work for people who are elderly, have muscle weakness or are easily fatiguable. Also, anyone with nerve damage or drop-foot - the boots or shoes with a shank may be too heavy for your legs and will cause you to tire easily. 

I found a great website:

www.vanderbilts.com

which has a nice selection of men and women's steel shanked boots and shoes. Be careful when ordering to make sure that you haven't inadvertently ordered a boot with a steel toe (unless you want the steel toe) as they will offer the shank options with and without the steel toe feature. 

I've featured several of the shoes with steel shanks  below...

Men's Blackbriar Caterpillar

$78

Men's Ridgemont Caterpillar

$70

Women's Tatum Harley Davidson

$78

These shoes are Recommended (with either custom-molded inserts or a good over-the-counter insert) for Patients with:

*Mild to Severe Hallux Limitus/Rigidus (limited range of motion of the 1st toe joint)

*Mild to Moderate Osteoarthritis

*Mild to Severe Metatarsalgia

*Mild to Moderate Tendonitis (Peroneal and Posterior Tibial Tendonitis)

*The Women's Tatum Shoe is recommended for mild Achille's Tendonitis (the men's shoes may not work as well for Achilles Tendonitis as there is not enough of a heel elevation to release tension on the Achille's tendon. You may be able to correct this by wearing a heel cup on top of your insert)

*Mild to Moderate Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain) 

*Mild Morton's Neuroma

*Mild to Moderate Bunions and Hammertoes

*Mild to Severe forefoot joint capsulitis, degenerative joint disease or other disorders of the forefoot (i.e. metatarsal-phalangeal joints).

*Mild to Moderate Ankle Instability (You may need to add an ankle brace or get a steel shanked boot that goes above the ankle). 

*Recently healed fractures or soft tissue injuries of the foot and/or toes

*Patients who are on their feet all day on concrete surfaces

*Pre-Charcot Foot (You should be under a Podiatrist's care and refer to his or her recommendations on this)

*Mild to Severe Hypermobility

*Flat Feet

These shoes are NOT Recommended for Patients with: 

*Diabetes

*Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)

*Drop-foot

*Weak legs or easily fatiguable lower extremities

*Elderly 

*Patients with open sores or Ulcers (Do not pass go and go straight to a Podiatrist asap!)

I highly recommend that if your feet hurt enough for you to consider wearing a shoe with a shank that:

1. Visit your local Podiatrist and get his or her full evaluation and treatment recommendations for your particular foot and ankle condition. 

2. You get either a custom-molded orthotic or an excellent over-the-counter insert to replace the insert that is inside of these shoes. Check with your insurance company or your Podiatrist to see if your health insurance will cover custom-molded inserts - many times they are a covered benefit as the insurance companies know that CMO's can prevent surgery as well as stop or prevent the progression of foot problems such as bunions, hammertoes, plantar fasciitis, ect. Also, your Podiatrist will most likely have a excellent over-the-counter insert in stock in there office. For patients who do not have coverage for CMO's, we carry "Footsteps" which is a wonderful OTC insert that costs $50 as opposed to $400 for a CMO. I always tell patients that if finances are a concern, then please invest their money into a great shoe and purchase the OTC insert. The insert is like icing on the cake but the cake is the shoe. A quality shoe is crucial! People who purchase the CMO thinking that will solve all their problems are mistaken. You can have the best CMO in the world and if you put it in a crappy shoe it will only get you so far. However, if you have a great shoe and you put in a good OTC insert, you are much better off! 

3. If the steel shanked shoe helps but you are still having pain, you may want to add an ankle brace or get the steel shanked boot that comes above the ankle for more biomechanical control. Once again, I recommend seeing your local Podiatrist as we typically have excellent braces in our office and we will verify whether or not you should be in a brace. 

I hope this was helpful!

Have a wonderful day,

Dr Cathleen A. McCarthy 

:)