Foot Ache - General
Often times you have a symptom where the foot is aching. This may be difficult to diagnose and can be triggered by many different things.
If you break the foot down into two basic categories, the first category would be a mechanical category. That relates to bone alignment, bone positioning, and how the bones function within the foot.
The second category we will refer to as an ìelectrical categoryî. In this category, we have the soft tissue areas of the foot. These include the tendons. The tendons start out as part of the belly of a muscle and they become long, narrow or wide, very strong strands that attach to the bone. Then we have the ligaments, which are very much like belt loops. They have some spring tension that is built into them. They attach from bone to bone. We have the arteries that bring the foot blood. We have the veins that take the blood out of the foot to circulate it back through the body to the heart. We have the nerves that come down through the foot, which feed the foot the impulses from the brain and take messages from the foot back to the brain. They give us feeling in the foot (the aches, the pains, the burning sensations).
This ìelectrical sideî, also includes the blood chemistry, blood sugars and mystery foot aches. Mystery foot aches may appear to be triggered by a mechanical situation; and then as we start to learn more about the foot, or diagnose it, we find out it is not necessarily a mechanical or a bone alignment positioning that is creating the foot ache. It could be the electrical side of things, such as gout, where the toes become swollen and enflamed due to an imbalance of acids within the bladder. Soft tissue diseases and other diseases like diabetes, which have a huge effect on foot discomfort and the foot aching can be attributed to the ìelectrical sideî as well.
There are many situations relating to the soft tissue side and electrical side of the foot that can create foot pain. As well, there are many situations on the mechanical side of the bone structure that can create foot pain. The important thing is to have foot pain properly diagnosed by a qualified medical specialist.
The footbeds will generally help to treat mechanical misalignments within the foot. However, they have a very limited ability in helping the electrical side of the foot.
In some situations, footbeds can help to reposition the foot to take stresses and strains off some of the soft tissue and some of the nerves. By trying to alleviate some of the pressure points within and around the foot, a footbed can be of some help. Nevertheless, the primary function of the footbed is to help control the foot from a mechanical point of view.
In regards to general foot ache: Yes, you can certainly use a footbed to start with and get into a proper fitting shoe to help alleviate that foot discomfort. Certainly have it properly diagnosed so you are not wasting your time, energy and money on something that is not going to treat the cause.
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