5 Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tips
There are a number of different types of arthritis that can affect your feet, as well as your ankles. These types of arthritis can all cause a considerable amount of pain.
Osteoarthritis, what is commonly referred to as “wear and tear” arthritis, results in inflammation, pain and swelling in the foot joints, and is caused by wear to the ends of the foot bones over the years. Once they are no longer smooth, irritation, inflammation and pain result.
Foot arthritis pain can also be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, which destroys join cartilage due to a system-wide inflammatory disease. In this case, other joints are probably also affected besides the foot joints. If your foot was injured, you could suffer from post-traumatic arthritis as well, as a result of the previous injury.
There are different treatments that are effective for arthritis of the foot, each of which varies depending on the cause and type of arthritis you are suffering from.
A Look at the Anatomy of the Foot
To understand arthritis of the foot, you must have working knowledge of the anatomy of the foot. The foot contains 28 bones and more than 30 joints. These bones and joints are held together or held in place by ligaments, which are bands of tissue.
When arthritis develops in any of the dozens of joints in the foot, arthritis foot pain occurs, most commonly in the ankle area of the foot, but also very often in the hind section of the foot.
Let’s look at some tips to help you ward off arthritis foot pain.
- Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tip #1
Often the pain and inflammation of foot arthritis can be eased by taking over-the-counter pain medications, such as ibuprofen, or other types of anti-inflammatory medications. These types of medications reduce the swelling, which provide some pain relief.
You can also try topical types of over-the-counter pain medications, such as creams or gels. These products can help block the pain sensors, without adding the risk of taking oral medications. In addition to over-the-counter pain medications, some people report a lessening of foot arthritis pain as a result of taking nutritional supplements, such as glucosamine and chondroitin, or flaxseed oil.
- Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tip #2
Any type of foot stress or pain can be made worse by being overweight. Many people suffering from foot arthritis report a reduction in foot pain by simply losing weight.
- Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tip #3
There are a number of different types of orthotics that can be used in your shoes, such as shoe inserts, arch supports, or cushioned pads that can help reduce the pain of foot arthritis. You can try either over-the-counter shoe inserts, or see your doctor for specially fitted and prescribed inserts, or custom-fitted shoes.
- Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tip #4
Exercise and physical therapy can help reduce the pain of foot arthritis. While you don’t want to overdo it to the point of creating additional inflammation, regular walking and stretching types of exercises can help not only reduce the pain and inflammation, but also help to keep your joints flexible.
Exercise can also help to either reduce extra body weight, or maintain a healthy body weight, which also is a great help to reducing foot arthritis pain
- Easy Arthritis Foot Pain Relief Tip #5
Soaking your feet in a warm water bath can also help reduce the pain of foot arthritis. The warmth of the water can help increase the mobility of the foot joints and relieve pain, especially if your joints become stiff as a result of cold weather.
Avoiding Surgery for Arthritis Foot Pain
Although there are medical procedures such as surgery which are often needed to provide permanent relief from severe foot arthritis, by using the tips above, you can relieve much of your foot arthritis pain without these more invasive procedures.
For more good reading on arthritis foot pain, please read our article Arthritic Foot Pain: Important Precautions.
