Utah Foot Pain & Treatment

What causes foot pain? 

 

Foot pain is a common problem that affects people for a number of different reasons. The foot consists of 26 bones, 33 joints and hundreds of ligaments, muscles, and nerves. As a result, there are several potential sources from which foot pain might originate. Some of the more common causes of foot pain include bursitis, bone spurs, stress fractures, tarsal tunnel, neuromas, osteoarthritis, neuropathy, and Achilles tendonitis.

 

Foot pain is divided into two categories; structural and neuropathic.  ​​

 

Afflictions specific to structural foot pain include bone spurs, Achilles tendonitis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and stress fractures. 

• Bone spurs- usually are a result of arthritis and can affect the surrounding nerves, causing significant pain. 

• Achilles tendonitis- is usually a result of participation in sports and other recreational activities that utilize the muscles of the lower legs (running, dancing, basketball, etc.) and results in the inflammation of the Achilles tendon, located in the ankle, just above the heel. 

• Rheumatoid arthritis- is a condition where the body's immune system attacks normal joint tissue, producing considerable pain and possible deformities. 

• Osteoarthritis- is a result of the breakdown and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. This condition tends to occur in older individuals. 

• Stress fractures- are tiny fractures that occur in the bones of the feet, usually as a result of overuse or improper physical training.

Some of the treatments that are commonly used for the treatment of structural foot pain include opioid medications, physical therapy, steroid injections, NSAIDs, splinting/casting, and surgical intervention. 

 

Afflictions specific to neuropathic foot pain include Morton's neuroma, peripheral neuropathy, RSD, and lumbar radiculitis. 

 

• Morton's neuroma- is an inflammation of a nerve, which is typically centered between the third and fourth toes. 

• Peripheral neuropathy- can stem from several other conditions including diabetes mellitus, infections, and vitamin deficiencies. It is characterized by an inflammation of peripheral nerves in the lower extremities. 

• RSD (reflex sympathetic dystrophy)- is an abnormal neuropathic response characterized by redness, swelling, and temperature change in the affected area. It is usually caused by injury. 

• Lumbar radiculitis- is caused by nerve root impingement in the spine at the lumbar level. 

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Utah Foot Pain Treatment

 

Foot pain treatments include neuromodulation, using a TENS unit or spinal cord stimulation, medications such as anticonvulsants, lumbar steroid injections or sympathetic nerve blocks, and physical therapy. Spinal cord stimulators are often recommended when more conservative treatments fail to relieve pain.

 

For more information on how Omega Interventional Pain can help treat your foot pain, please contact us at 801-261-4988.