"I have this foot pain..." That's how many conversations go after I tell people that I am an expert in walking. I can usually finish their sentence. The usual complaint is plantar fasciitis or heel spur, a common injury to the bottom of the foot caused by overuse or trauma. If your foot hurts worst when you first step on it in the morning, that's a major symptom of plantar fasciitis. It hurts and can become chronic. Coming in second are bunions, caused by irritation to the bone near the big toe. I have a bunion, and until I realized where the pain was really coming from, I thought my whole foot the problem. Once I discovered it was the bunion, I switched to both wide shoes and wide socks and now rarely have bunion pain. Yes, having too narrow of socks irritated my bunion almost as much as the shoes. I get a fair amount of sharing about Morton's neuroma as well, which is something I have yet to experience first hand.
Gretchen Reynolds of the New York Times has a piece on "Unhappy Feet." She notes that knee injuries get all of the press, while if you're crippled up from a foot injury you get less sympathy. But I've had far more people telling me they don't walk due to foot pain than any other problem. The toll that takes on their health must be enormous.
The simplest solution can be finding the right shoes and the right inserts or custom orthotics. Many people spend hundreds of dollars trying to find the right combo for themselves rather than going to a podiatrist or other professional who can get it right the first time. I'm not a foot care professional, I'm just a walker with lots of walking friends. Nothing beats having feet that don't hurt. It's worth the money to take care of the problem and avoid putting on extra weight due to being inactive.
Photo © Wendy Bumgardner
I couldn’t agree more – I have had a total of 6 operations on my feet – all because of bunions. The first 2 surgeries were done improperly, which led to the rest, including joint replacements. Because of the pain before surgery and the recovery after, I have gained a lot of weight. A LOT! I am slowly trying to build up my endurance, but had to give up my career as a flight attendant because I just could not be on my feet for long periods. Take care of your feet – give up the high heels, and wear wide shoes and get custom orthotics. They managed to postpone my surgery by three years. And find a good podiatrist! I know I will never be a runner or a long distance hiker, but I would at least like to be able to be on my feet for a regular day of work.