Seven Everyday Causes of Foot Pain You May Not Realize

If you are encountering foot pain, it can come from one of many different causes. You are probably trying to think of a time in which you have fallen or walked into a wall, door, or furniture, but if you haven’t, your foot pain might have come from something simpler.

There are in fact many things that you can do to harm your feet and not even realize it. Here are the most common causes of non-injury foot pain courtesy of the best podiatrists Houston has to offer.

Wearing High Heels

It’s not recommended to wear high heels every day. They have no arch support, narrow space for your toes, and you are walking on your tiptoes with your feet stretched out. Over time, your feet will change because of these heels and become worse. To avoid costly foot problems, wear your high heels only once in a while.

Wearing Flip Flops

Some quality backed sandals can provide arch support, but the majority of flip flops do not. There is no arch support and minimal support for your heels and bunions. Wearing flip flops continuously will cause your feet’s natural cushioning to cave into your tissue which will cause pain that requires treatment to undo.

Wearing Wide Shoes

When we are young, we would be given shoes that are a size too big so that our feet grow into them. While feet stop growing at adulthood, the habit often sticks with many consumers, and they still do this by wearing shoes that are a size too large for their feet. Instead, we need to wear snug shoes that have a quarter inch of clearance between the big toe and the front of our shoe.

Wearing Narrow Shoes

Shoes that are too narrow will cause your toes to have limited space inside. This will lead to one or more major problems with them in the future. This includes hammertoe, bunions, and Morton’s Neuroma, where not only your feet will look abnormal, but they will hurt indefinitely until you have surgery or another form of treatment.

Not Exercising

Inactivity for a long period of time can lead to some nagging problems with the feet. As you gain weight, your feet may develop plantar fasciitis and flattened arches. To avoid these detriments, you need to exercise regularly involving movement of your feet and body. Losing weight will also relieve pressure from your feet, as they won’t have a lot of weight to deal with in the first place.

Not Wearing Socks

Many people don’t see the point in wearing socks, but they are extremely important. First, socks protect the feet from unnecessary friction. Socks can also help your feet breathe by filtering moisture from sweat, rain, and snow. Without socks, you can end up getting blisters on your feet, as well as getting more bacteria on your feet that can lead to athlete’s foot and fungi. To put it simply, socks save your feet from a lot of trouble.

Smoking

Smoking will cause your arteries to be blocked, in which your feet will not receive as much oxygen and blood. Your feet need proper circulation in order to avoid nerve damage among other problems. Smoking also causes many other problems, like lung cancer, but by quitting, your feet will continue to be healthy due to proper circulation.