The Forgotten Foot

Aches and pains killing your feet? Maybe you haven’t been giving them the love they need.

The first thing I look at when in front of the mirror is my face, immediately followed by my figure. I check for smudges.  I strike a pose, suck in and flex, noting anything out of place or areas I could improve upon.

But you know what I never pay attention to? My feet. Partly because they’re out of view when I see my reflection, but also because feet are…feet. Furthest from my mind both figuratively and literally. 

Feet keep us from falling over…for the most part. We dress them up in fancy, stiff, uncomfortable shoes. Some of us are nice enough to pamper them with warm soaks and massages, even adorning them with paint and jewelry. But do we do it for us or for the benefit of the feet?

Until recently, I’ve taken my feet for granted. I’ve stuffed them into poor-fitting shoes, pounded the ground with them for miles and miles, and sometimes I’ve sat at a desk with them slanted and pointed awkwardly for hours. My poor, poor feet. 

They tried to let me know I was neglecting them…grumbling in the form of minor aches and pains. I ignored them. I’ve always found the further a pain is from the head, the easier it is to deal with. I had too many other things to going on. Plus, I didn’t even know what I could do for them. But when the pain goes from a dull annoyance to a raging scream, you just can’t pretend it away anymore. 

Overuse and Underuse

A symphony of awesomeness, a supercomputer still well beyond our complete comprehension, our bodies are simply amazing. The musculoskeletal system—ligaments, tendons, muscles, and bone work seamlessly together allowing us to jump, run, walk, swim, and contort. But, a kink in one can lead to problems in the others, and through overuse and/or underuse, we might find ourselves moving with pain and/or restriction. 

Just in the foot, there are 26 joints, 30 bones, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments connecting to each other and up the lower leg as high as the knee. This interconnectedness makes it hard to determine what causes what pain and where it originates. 

A good deal of foot pain is the result of genetics, improper footwear, overuse, and even underuse.  Underuse? you might think. The saying “If you don’t use it, you lose it,” applies here. If you don’t focus on or use a part of your body (which works in concert), this weak part tends to make other parts work harder (overuse) and then bingo—it will let you know with pain or an injury. 

My pain came from all of the reasons listed above: genetics nearly flat feet, footwear heels and pointed shoes, overuse running—lots, and underuse absolutely no footwork, all of which contributed to me getting plantar fasciitis (intense heel pain) and Morton’s neuroma (crazy bad toe pain). 

Support or Strengthen

During a training stretch, the pain for my Morton’s Neuroma got so bad I was holding my breath whenever my left foot would meet the pavement. If it were my back or my knee, I would usually rest, attend to my form/posture, and work on strengthening exercises to do the trick. But what can you even do for a foot? I made an appointment with a podiatrist. 

The podiatrist gave me an insert, steroids, and told me to rest. I did what they said except for the drugs. The insert added arch pain to the list and only slightly lessened the pain in the other parts of my feet. Maybe if I had taken the drugs I would’ve had a different outcome, but overall I felt this wasn’t the right course of action for me.

After tons of research, I boiled it down to this: some professionals focus on giving structural support for areas of weakness while others emphasize strengthening weak parts (which is what my second podiatrist has encouraged me to do). It’s not so much that one is right over the other, but for me, the strengthening and stretching worked over supports.

I can happily report I don’t have plantar fasciitis (or at least anywhere to the same degree) since I started paying attention to my footwork and stretching. Plus, the Morton’s neuroma is a shadow of its previous pain. 

Stretches and Strengthening

What helped the most were the arch strengthening and calf rolling. Who would have thought working my arches and calves would be the key to helping my toes and heel? Like I said, a symphony.

Here are links to several of the exercises, stretches, and rolls:

Hackey Sack Toe Grip and Short Foot (about 1:45 in) for plantar fasciitis and Morton’s neuroma. Bonus: it has been shown to improve cognitive function as well. 

Calf Rolling for plantar fasciitis

Foot Rolling for plantar fasciitis (lacrosse balls work well)

Exercises for Morton’s Neuroma includes the use of a toe separator and lacrosse ball work

For an in-depth explanation of what’s going on with your foot and how to use a lacrosse ball to release tension, watch this longer video. 

Footwear

Genetics are outside our control, but footwear is another factor we should consider when attending to foot pain. 

No high heels My Morton’s neuroma first reared its ugly head when I was training for an ultra marathon in the fall of 2019. After wearing slides and sandals all summer, I took one step in my heeled brown knee-high boots…my last step in heels for two years. 

The position of a foot when it’s in a heeled shoe is not unnatural, but its prolonged state puts stress on certain muscles and tendons (watch the in-depth video above for more). It’s not to say heeled shoes can’t ever be worn again, but knowing the pain it causes, I’m more likely to stick with a better shoe choice, opting for heels only on special occasions.

Shoe drop It’s something I didn’t know until my Morton’s neuroma and realized my footwear needed an adjustment. The drop is the distance, usually measured in mm, from your heel to your foot. The higher the number, the more your shoe takes on the shape of a heeled shoe.

It was recommended to me that I change to a zero to low drop shoe to help with my foot issues. If you’re used to running and walking in something from the high drop range (for me it was 10 mm before I switched), you need to transition slowly so your muscles and tendons aren’t shocked. 

In addition to the lower drop, I was advised to find shoes with a wide toe box so my foot can splay naturally, preventing the pinching of my plantar nerves. I ended up getting a pair of Altras, wearing them with toe socks. In addition to its contribution to the near elimination of pain, my running posture felt more natural and upright. 

House shoes Wearing supportive footwear in the house was another recommendation I received. After looking around, I settled on a nice pair of Birkenstocks. Now that my Morton’s neuroma is under control, it isn’t necessary for every footstep, but after a ridiculously long day of running, hiking, standing—they’re perfect. 

My foot failings reminded me of a few things. For one, the human body is complex. Whether it be muscles and tendons or disease, it’s hard to nail down the cause, but at least I feel like I’m making headway. Another is that positive change takes time. It took time for the problems with my feet to get to the point where I couldn’t stand it anymore. There were warnings, but I didn’t listen. So, it’s fair to expect that the recovery would as well. And it did. Months. I did it, and it was worth it. 

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a line. If you have any foot pain, I hope the above helps, but please also see a reputable podiatrist. I only touched on a few of the problems a foot could have. An up to date podiatrist will be able to guide you much better than I could.