Arch Pain: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments & Home Remedies

Arch pain is felt on the underside of your foot between the heel and ball. The aim of the arch is to transfer your body weight from heel to toe, and pain is the result once the arch doesn’t perform properly.

Each foot contains twenty six bones, which form 2 arches. The longitudinal arch runs the length of the foot, and the transverse arch runs the width. The bones of the arch are primarily command together by the form with that they fit with each other and by fibrous tissues referred as ligaments that serve to hold the bones to each other. The muscles of the foot, along with a tough, sinewy tissue referred as the plantar fascia, give secondary support to the foot. There are also fat pads within the foot to assist with weight-bearing and absorbing impact. Arch pain will occur whenever one thing goes wrong with the function or interaction of any of these structures.

Causes of Arch Pain

There are many alternative factors which will cause arch pain. A structural imbalance or an injury to the foot will usually be the direct cause. However, most often the cause could be a common condition referred as plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia could be a broad band of fibrous tissue located on the lowest surface of the foot that runs from the heel to the forefoot. Excessive stretching of the plantar fascia, typically due to over-pronation (flat feet), causes plantar fasciitis. The inflammation caused by the plantar fascia being stretched off from the heel usually ends up in pain within the heel and arch areas. The pain is commonly extreme in the morning when an individual 1st gets out of bed or after a prolonged period of rest. If this condition is left untreated and strain on the longitudinal arch continues, a bony protrusion could develop, referred as a heel spur. It’s important to treat the condition promptly before it worsens.

Arch Pain Symptoms

Go to a podiatrist at the 1st sign of symptoms. Besides pain on the lowest of the foot, additional symptoms could include:

• Burning sensation in arch
• Difficulty standing on tiptoes
• Inflammation
• More pain after sleeping or resting
• Redness
• Heat
• Localized pain within the ball of the foot
• Sharp or shooting pain within the toes
• Pain that increases once toes are flexed
• Tingling or numbness within the toes
• Aching
• Pain that increases once walking barefoot
• Pain that increases once walking on hard surfaces
• Pain the increases once standing (putting weight on your feet) or moving around and decreases when immobile
• Skin Lesions

Treatment for Arch Pain

Your podiatrist at PA Foot and ankle Associates could recommend one or a lot of of these treatments to manage your arch pain:

• Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation
• Over the counter pain medications
• Custom in-shoe orthotics to relieve pressure and balance the foot
• Shoe modifications
• Change in footwear (no high heels)
• Stretching exercises
• Surgery for severe cases

Arch pain could have a variety of causes and proper analysis and diagnosis by a podiatrist is important in planning an effective treatment.

Arch Pain Home Remedies

When you 1st begin to notice discomfort or pain within the area, you’ll be able to treat yourself with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). Over-the-counter medications can also be used to reduce discomfort and pain.

Rest can allow the tissues to heal themselves by preventing any further stress to the affected area.

Ice should be applied no longer than 20 minutes. The ice is also place in a plastic bag or wrapped in a towel. Commercial ice packs are not recommended as a result of they are typically too cold.

Compression and elevation can help prevent any swelling of the affected tissues.