Broken Foot Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment
A broken foot is when one of the bones located in the foot fractures, or breaks. About 10% of broken bones occur in the foot.
Bones typically break when an object crushes, bends, or stretches the bone. In the foot, the location of the broken bone is usually indicative of how the break occurred. Toes usually break when something hard and solid is kicked with great force. Broken Heels are usually a result of falling from a great height and landing on the feet. Other broken bones in the feet can occur because of a twisted or sprained ankle. Most of the time, a broken foot results from a sudden accident or injury. Sometimes small cracks can form over time in the bones of the feet from repeated stress. These cracks are called stress fractures and usually only occur in athletes that put a lot of pressure on their feet, like runners, dancers, and gymnasts.
Symptoms of a broken foot typically include pain, swelling, bruising, and redness. Occasionally the pain of a broken foot may be so severe that walking is not an option. However, this depends on the location of the broken bone within the foot. Broken toes are usually less painful than broken heels or other bones within the foot. A foot that is blue, numb, cold, misshapen, cut or deformed can occur in more serious cases of broken feet. Those who are experiencing any of these symptoms, or suspect that they have a broken foot, should seek medical attention in a center where x-rays can be performed.
Prior to seeking the attention of a doctor, several steps can be taken at home in order to reduce pain and swelling. Stabilization and elevation of the broken foot should be the number one priority. It is important not to move the foot, so any type of homemade splint will work well. However, any splint that causes the foot to become more painful, or cut off blood circulation should be removed. Ice can also decrease swelling and alleviate some of the pain that a broken foot can cause.
In a medical center, treatment for a broken bone will differ depending on which bone in the foot is fractured and depending on what caused the break. Some broken feet will require the patient to use crutches, while others will require splits or casts. More severe cases may require surgery on the foot to repair the broken bone or bones.
When Foot Surgery is Necessary
Foot surgery may be necessary for a variety of reasons, but it is normally reserved for cases in which less invasive procedures have failed to help with the problem. Cases in which surgery may be deemed necessary include, but are not limited to, surgically removing deformities of the foot (such as bone spurs and bunions), problems with arthritis that have caused severe bone issues within the foot, and reconstruction to attend to injuries caused by accidents and congenital malformation (such as club foot and flat feet). Foot surgery may be necessary for individuals of all ages and races.
If you find yourself in need of foot surgery, the reason why the surgery has been found to be necessary will dictate exactly what kind of surgery you need. If you have to have a growth, such as a bunion, removed, then you may undergo a bunionectomy. If your bones need to be realigned and fused together, then you may undergo a surgical fusion of the foot. If it is nerve pain and problems that you are enduring, then you may need to undergo surgery in which the tissue that surrounds the painful nerve is surgically removed. Normally other, less serious treatments are first applied when a problem is discovered, but if those treatments are found to be ineffective, surgical techniques are considered and used.
Even though surgery of the foot is usually reserved as a last resort by most physicians, there are some benefits if you and your doctor choose to use surgery to fix the problem. The first is that the pain associated with the issue is normally relieved, which means that you can finally resume the activities your foot problem was preventing you from participating in. The second benefit is that, once you have the surgery completed, the problem is generally eliminated since it has finally been addressed.
History of podiatry has shown that foot surgery techniques continue to advance every year. Endoscopic surgery is just one of the many advancements that have been made in the field of foot surgery. As technology improves, foot surgical techniques will also continue to improve. Many procedures can now be completed using a very small incision and smaller, more refined instruments. Because of these better tools, surgeries are becoming less invasive, and recovery time has become a great deal shorter. Shorter recovery periods mean that you will be back on your feet in no time.
Working on Your Feet
When your feet are overworked your whole body can be affected. Thus, taking care of your feet is a must for overall good health. Standing on the feet all day can cause bunions, callouses and plantar warts. These are all very painful conditions that can be avoided with proper foot care. Good shoe choices and proper posture both contribute to the health of your feet.
Always choose a negative heeled shoe that places the heel slightly lower than the ball of the foot. Shoes designed in this fashion are the best for foot health. And most definitely purchase your shoes from a reputable manufacturer who puts foot health at the forefront of their goals. Having a job that keeps you on your feet all day makes it an especially a good idea to spend the extra money on a good pair of shoes.
The feet were not designed to be enclosed for hours on end. In fact, incorporating some "barefoot" time into your daily routine is not a bad idea to improve overall foot health. There are some other simple things that you can do to help alleviate pain and pressure on the feet from standing all day.
First of all, you can perform some simple foot exercises and even some common yoga moves to improve the function of your feet. A foot work out that incorporates mechanically correct movements will stimulate the blood flow and the muscles of the foot. Also, yoga exercises that stretch the foot out flat on the floor are very beneficial for those who work on their feet, and can help stretch and relax the calf muscles and Achilles tendon. These exercises may be performed every day during your daily routine, perhaps even while you are sitting in your vehicle or standing in line at the grocery store.
If you spend a lot of time on your feet every day, you know what it can be like to have foot pain, and you may begin to think that foot pain is inevitable. It doesn't have to be. Foot stretches and proper footwear can do miracles in alleviating foot pain and preventing further foot problems.
With just a little effort and some education on the proper foot exercises, you can keep your feet healthy and feeling good for years to come. If your feet hurt your whole body will feel the effects over time. Start taking better care of your feet today. They will love you for it!
Effect of High-Heels on the Feet
For hundreds of years, women have been wearing various kinds of high-heels for mostly aesthetic reasons. Women who wear high-heels appear to be taller and to have longer and thinner legs, and the wearer’s gait and posture changes. Though high-heels have had an association with femininity and have kept them popular over the years, there are definite health problems caused by wearing them too frequently.
The motion of the ankle joints is limited when heels are worn. The ankle joint is very important to the body when it comes to walking. Because of their location, these joints have a great deal of weight put on them. Thus, it is very important to keep them as healthy as possible. The Achilles tendon is the main tendon in the ankle. Wearing high-heels too often, studies have shown, can cause the calf muscle and Achilles tendon to shorten and stiffen, which can cause problems when shoes without heels are worn.
By putting a great deal of pressure on the ball of the foot, by forcing the toes into a small toe box, high-heels can cause or may worsen many foot problems, such as corns, hammertoe, bunions, Morton’s neuroma and plantar fasciitis.
Not only does wearing very high-heels regularly have negative effects on the feet, the rest of the body can suffer as well. The knees, one of the most important joints in the entire body, can be affected by wearing high-heels. High-heels causes the knees to stay bent all the time. Also, it can cause them to bend slightly inward as well. Doctors believe that women can suffer from osteoarthritis later in life because of constantly walking like this. By limiting the natural motion of the foot during walking, high-heels also cause an increased in stress on the knees.
Similarly, the back may also be affected by high-heels because it causes the back to go out of alignment. If high-heels are worn constantly, the spine’s ability to absorb shock can cause continued back pain. They can compress the vertebrae of the lower back, and can overuse the back muscles.
However, this is not to say that high-heels can never be worn. If worn occasionally, they will not cause serious problems. They should not be worn every day in order to avoid the long-term physical health problems of the feet, knees, ankles, and back like mentioned above.