The foot is a complex area of the body and can often be a source of pain.
There are 3 main arches in the foot:
1. Lateral Longitudinal Arch – shown on diagram as point B to C
The lateral arch is not normally as pronounced and is made up of your calcaneous (heel bone), cuboid and the outer 2 metatarsal bones (long bones in your foot).
2. Medial Longitudinal Arch – shown on diagram as point A to C
This one is more commonly known, the medial arch of the foot is formed by the calcaneous, talus, navicular, the 3 cuneiforms and the first 3 metatarsal bones.
3. Transverse Arch – shown on diagram as point A to B
The transverse arch runs from the inside to the outside of the foot and is comprised of the 3 cuneiform bones and the cuboid.
The most common arch that people present to physios with is the medial arch.
As you can see from the descriptions of the arches above, it involves more bony structures as well and muscular attachments.
It is an area that can cause a lot of issues not only in athletes, but also in the general public.
One such case was a footballer in his mid 20s who started developing inside foot arch pain from the mid portion.
He played in the midfield so he would need to cover a large area of the field and found that the more he was running or pushing off, the more the pain in his foot increased.
He described the pain as an “annoying ache” to begin with but when he was running, it developed to be a sharp, stabbing pain with every step.
When looking at his foot, there were several issues:
– the muscular structures which help support the medial arch of the foot, were very tight on presentation
– he also had pain with hopping and landing
– and several spots on the inside of his foot were very tender
Treatment included:
– releasing the tightness within the muscles structures of his foot
– balance exercises and strength training for his foot and ankle
– Self massage when at home
– and strapping his foot with tape for training.
Not all taping methods work for all people, so we had to try a few different variations before finding which one would provide him with enough support for his foot but without being too restrictive.
I also recommended that he see a podiatrist to evaluate his foot. The podiatrist prescribed a custom orthodic to wear during the day for a 4-6 week period.
After all of those treatment methods, the pain was settling down and he was able to train without any restrictions
I am pleased to report that he does not struggle with foot pain anymore.
I recommended that he attend appointments with me on a semi-regular basis, just to continue some maintenance and address any issues before they escalate to the larger issues he was having.
If this sounds like issues that you have been having, treatment for foot pain can be addressed by your physiotherapist. We can also recommended referrals to a podiatrist if needed, but treating the pain and providing you with exercises you can do at home to build up your strength is a proven strategy to help you walk or run pain free again.
David Wilson, myPhysioSA Physiotherapist
