Lateral Foot Pain
Ugg boot foot?
We have been seeing an increase recently in clients experiencing pain through the outside of the foot. One of the main changes over the last few months have been people working from home and wearing slippers or going barefoot. I have written a summary below on the common injuries in this area and how we can help!
Where?
Lateral foot pain is located on the outside of your foot – top, bottom or side.
Symptoms
Symptoms can arise before, during or after activities:
- Aching
- Sharp, stabbing pain
- Pins and needles
- Tightness, cramping
What are the causes?
- Footwear changes or worn out runners
- Foot restrictions and deformities
- Biomechanics
- Increase in activities/ overuse
- Trauma/Injury
Why am I getting this pain?
- Plantar fasciitis (lateral band) – The plantar fascia is a ligament that extends along the bottom of your foot from your heel to your toes. When this is overused it can cause micro-tears in the ligament causing pain
- Bursa – Fluid filled sac that cause can friction between the normal movements of a joint
- Stress fracture – Small crack in the bone caused by overloading or a repetitive overuse injury
- Neuroma – Growth of nerve tissue, commonly between the metatarsals of the foot. It can cause numbness and tingling in the toes
- Ankle Sprain – Acute injury where you ‘roll’ your ankle towards the outside of your body. This can vary in its severity depending on the injury
- Peroneal tendinopathy – These tendons start at the outside of the leg, run under your ankle and insert onto the foot. When this tendon is overused it can become inflamed.
- Corns/ Callus – Build up of hard skin that can become painful
What a Podiatrist can do for you…
- Offloading – tape, padding or orthotics to help redistribute the pressures in your foot.
- Strengthening exercises – exercises to strengthen muscles and prevent overloading
- Mobilisation – did you know we have 26 bones in our feet?! As Podiatrists, we use mobilisation to keep all the joints and bones moving to their full ability
- Footwear recommendations – it may be time to update those shoes and we can help make sure that you making the right choices when it comes to footwear
- Skin care – if you are developing corns and callus we can help with reducing the hard skin on your foot.
If you have any additional questions please feel free to email me, or if you would like to make an appointment, click here to make an appointment online.
Marney Cowell
Podiatrist
Torquay Sports Medicine Centre