Relief for Painful Feet Everybody loves a good story, especially one with a happy ending. Unfortunately for people with foot pain, the ending is not always so happy. Foot pain can go on for years, and there are many varying causes and symptoms. Some complain of burning or aching in their feet; for some, the pain is sharp, and in the heel only. Others have pain in the arch of the foot, or in the toes. It can be in one or both feet, and the symptoms can differ in each foot, with separate causes and problems for each. Recently, we had an interesting case when Andee Thompson of WCBC radio came to visit us for treatment here at TriState Hand & Occupational Therapy. I mention the name of our company only because more than one person with foot problems has entered my office asking, “Am I in the right place?” Yes, I know we are TriState “Hand” Therapy, but the name is misleading. Anyway, Andee came into our office and said, “My feet are killing me!” When people say this, they mean business; it usually means, “I’ve had pain in my feet for a while and I’m quite disgusted.” You learn to recognize this after a while. Andee complained of pain in both feet when she first got up to walk, saying that her feet felt tender and bruised. She also said that her left heel was very painful, and that it felt like a knife was sticking into her left heel and the arch of her right foot. The left foot was turned out somewhat, too. She reported that they swelled up at one point, and that the swelling cleared up but the pain lingered. She said she had difficulty sleeping due to the pain, and that at the end of the day, after being on her feet, she put them up and that’s when they really hurt. Ouch! Her goal was “relief, to walk without pain if possible, and to keep them from getting worse.” Andee worked 40+ hours a week and was on her feet a good bit. She had tried off-the-shelf orthotics, but they were no help. When I examined her, she had full range of motion and normal strength in her feet and ankles, and her sensory nerve test was normal as well, so we decided that the problem was inflammation of her feet. So, we tried to decrease her pain and inflammation with treatment including ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and Anodyne Infrared Light Therapy®. She also did stretches of the feet and calves as far as she was able, and got better at these with time. In addition, she saw a foot doctor and received treatments there as well. Afterwards, Andee was quite pleased with the results. She even wrote a success story, so don’t just take my word for it! “My feet were killing me. My left foot hurt so bad that I was limping, but my right foot hurt too. My schedule was so busy that I tried to just deal with the pain, but it got so bad that I had to do something. I went for a free consultation with Bryan. He listened to the problems, tested me, and found that the problem was different for each foot. I started therapy and immediately noticed improvement. The staff, from the front desk to the therapists, were so nice and caring. They worked around my schedule, and the whole experience was so positive, AND my feet don’t hurt. Thanks, Andee Thompson If you have pain, numbness in your feet, or difficulty walking, we can help. Give us a call at (301) 759-4263 and ask for an appointment, or ask your doctor for a referral. Try therapy first at TriState Hand & Occupational Therapy. Don’t make therapy an afterthought; make it your first thought. Then maybe you will be the one saying “If I would have known it was this easy, I would have done this a long time ago!” |
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