Health
Pain in Various Foot Regions: Causes and Treatments
Our feet support us as we walk and run. But they can also hurt from shoes that don’t fit or conditions such as arthritis and gout. How your foot feels and where it hurts can explain the cause. Painkillers sold over-the-counter and ice packs might be beneficial.
Pain in the Toes
When you have toe pain, your doctor will ask you how the injury happened and whether it improves or worsens with certain activities. They will also want to know if you have other symptoms, like numbness or weakness. Toe sprains often happen when you jam, stub, or overextend one of your toes. It can damage tendons and other soft tissue. It can also cause bone fractures if the impact is severe enough. If you have a toe sprain, your primary care doctor may treat it with rest, ice, and pain relievers. Arthritis can affect the big toe joint, which causes pain and stiffness that worsen over time. This type of arthritis is called hallux rigidus. It can develop from an old injury that damaged articular cartilage, or it can be caused by the shape of your foot and by wearing shoes that don’t fit well. It can also lead to a hammertoe when the toe bends at the middle joint and sticks out like a claw. You can stand, walk, and run comfortably with custom foot orthotics. It can lessen foot discomfort brought on by ailments like arthritis.
Pain in the Arch
Problems with several tissues, muscles and bones can cause foot pain in the arch. Getting a proper diagnosis and treatment is important as it could lead to pain in other areas of the body, such as the ankle, knee or back. Most often, the cause of pain in the arch is plantar fasciitis which is irritation and inflammation of a band of tough tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes. Symptoms are usually the worst early morning or after long walks or prolonged standing. Other symptoms include stiffness, swelling and tenderness when pressed on. Treatment for arch pain may consist of ice and gentle stretching to loosen the tight muscles of the foot. It is also important to ensure that shoes fit properly and use inserts or support shoes if necessary. Exercises that assist the foot and arch in becoming stronger and more flexible are also highly beneficial.
Pain in the Ball of the Foot
This discomfort, which is felt at the base of your foot behind your toes, worsens with prolonged standing or walking. You may also feel shooting pains or numbness when you flex your toes. It is called metatarsalgia and can be caused by ill-fitting shoes, high-impact sports or repetitive movements like running. Morton neuroma and sesamoiditis are two more conditions that can produce discomfort in the ball of the foot. Morton neuroma is a condition where extra tissue builds up around one of the nerves leading to your toes, usually between the third and fourth toes. Prolonged compression leads to irritation and inflammation. Sesamoiditis is a similar condition irritating your feet’ small, pulley-like bones. It’s common in people who participate in high-impact activities and athletes. It can also occur due to certain foot shapes, such as when the second toe is longer than the big toe or small curled-up toes, known as hammertoes.
Pain in the Heel
Heel pain can be a chronic problem in people who often walk, run or jump. It’s often the result of a heel bone injury like a stress fracture or sprain, or it can be caused by wearing poorly constructed shoes. It can also result from abnormal foot mechanics that put too much strain on the arch and soft tissues of the feet; this is called overpronation. Plantar fasciitis, which develops when the soft tissue along the bottom of the foot strains or rips, is the most typical cause of pain at the back of the heel. It’s most common in people who run or jump often, have flat feet or high arches, or wear poor-fitting shoes with little or no arch support. You can treat this by icing the area and taking over-the-counter pain relievers. It’s also helpful to stretch heel and foot muscles and use shoe inserts with good arch support and cushioning.
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Discover the benefits of hyaluronic acid for acne.
In most acne scars there is a loss of skin volume ( atrophy ), which gives the area where they form a depressed or “engraved” appearance.
This atrophy is the product of a lack of hyaluronic acid and collagen in the dermis, the intermediate part of the skin, responsible for giving the turgidity, volume, and elasticity of healthy skin.
Methods of treatment
There are different methods to treat atrophic scars, which we could classify into two different groups according to their speed of action:
· Immediate effect. They are called fillers, biocompatible substances that can be injected into the skin to give volume to areas that have lost it.
Among them, those of hyaluronic acid, polylactic acid, or calcium hydroxyapatite stand out among others. Its turgid effect is immediate, filling cavities, furrows, and atrophic areas of the skin with very natural results. The duration of these materials is limited, so periodically (every 6 – 18 months ) it is common to practice a new session.
· Delayed effect. It implies that they promote the synthesis of collagen and ground substance of the dermis. It is worth mentioning the fractional lasers (ablative or non-ablative) and the intermediate and deep peels.
The main advantage of these methods is that their effect is permanent once the optimal point of improvement has been reached, which is not immediate but after practicing several sessions of the procedure.
Hyaluronic acid is indicated in the treatment of atrophic, depressed, and ice-pick acne scars. There are different densities of hyaluronic acid, designed to treat different forms of atrophy or loss of volume.
For the treatment of moderate or ice pick acne scars, it is useful to use low and intermediate densities; and to recover a large volume in especially atrophic areas, it is possible to use higher densities to cover the maximum repertoire of defects.
The main advantages of using hyaluronic acid lie in its immediate action, its durability, its biocompatibility, and its minimal allergenic potential. This molecule can fill in atrophic scars, providing optimal volume immediately and in the short term, promoting collagen synthesis in the long run.
In this way, the irregularity on the surface of the skin is substantially reduced after the application of hyaluronic acid, improving the overall appearance of the skin in the treated area.
Another positive aspect of using hyaluronic acid is that it usually only requires a single application session. Likewise, fillers are one of the best tolerated aesthetic procedures since they have a minimal rate of adverse effects and the pain caused is minimal if a precise technique is followed. Slight erythema (redness) that lasts 2-4 hours after the procedure is common and can be reduced with the application of cold compresses.
According to studies published by Halachmi et al, the satisfaction rate and results in patients with atrophic acne scars and ice pick treated with hyaluronic acid are excellent.
The only limiting aspect of hyaluronic acid fillers is their duration. This molecule is naturally degraded in the skin, its effect persisting for 6-18 months depending on the density of hyaluronic acid used and the indication for which it has been applied.
Specifically, for acne scars, the duration of hyaluronic acid is the maximum possible, since it is retained within the fibrosis that partitions the scars. It should be remembered that, in the long term, this molecule favors the synthesis of collagen, so that the perceptible effect is progressively more durable as different sessions are carried out.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
What is the main indication of hyaluronic acid in acne scars?
Its main effect is to fill in depressed scars and regularize the appearance of the skin surface.
When is the effect of hyaluronic acid noticeable?
The effect of hyaluronic acid is immediate and noticeable at the end of its application. Over a week or so, the hyaluronic acid settles in the applied area and the surface where it has been applied progressively becomes even more regular.
How is hyaluronic acid applied?
The procedure is performed in the Dermatology consultation through microinjections applied under the scars to be treated. An anesthetic cream is usually used before the session and it is very tolerable, with minimal discomfort.
How many hyaluronic acid sessions are needed to treat facial acne scars?
In general, if they are not very deep or extensive, one is enough.
How is the face after doing the filling session?
The corrective effect of hyaluronic acid is immediate. At the end of the session, most atrophic and depressed scars have recovered all or part of their lost volume. Immediately after the session, it is usual to see some redness in the treated areas and slight swelling, which usually lasts between 2-4 hours.
It is possible, although infrequent, that during the procedure a minimal punctual hematoma may appear in an injection area, which will disappear spontaneously over a week or so.
Is it a painful procedure?
Filling with hyaluronic acid after application of anesthetic cream is one of the most well-tolerated and appreciated aesthetic procedures, with an excellent satisfaction rate for the patient.
Can fillers be combined with other acne scar treatments?
Yes. They can be used concomitantly with ablative/non-ablative peels or lasers, or even botulinum toxin if desired. It is recommended, yes, to carry them out in different sessions.
Is the effect of hyaluronic acid definitive?
No. Although with each session there is a certain accumulation of the effect due to the collagen synthesis promoted by hyaluronic acid, it is advisable to perform a filler every 6-18 months depending on the indication and the area to be treated.
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