Assessing Your Own Feet

Whether you have an asymptomatic foot problem, or one that is giving you symptoms, the first step in correcting the problem is self-assessment.

The first question to ask about a foot problem is how it happened or what caused the problem. If it was trauma—a twisted ankle on a trail run, a bike crash, dropping a weight on it at the gym—that answers one big question. If the problem began soon after you started wearing a new pair of shoes, it may mean the obvious: that those shoes may not properly match your foot. Or perhaps the problem coincided with a new step or modification in your training routine.

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If your foot problem feels better with movement, it’s generally a good indication that it’s a less serious problem. As we move our muscles, they get warmed up and are able to function better. Sometimes an adequate warm-up takes twenty minutes, and some problems may feel better only after this period of time. But don’t push yourself if the pain persists.

If a problem worsens during activity, especially after you’ve had time to warm up, it usually means you should be resting to give the body a chance to heal. It may mean there’s a more serious problem, but it could simply be the body needs more recovery time because of muscle inhibition. Pushing yourself in this situation often makes the problem worse and could lead to a chronic, recurring type of problem.

Generally, if your problem feels worse at the end of the day, activity and weight bearing made it worse. Your foot may need more rest. In some cases, you may have accumulated fluid in your foot, ankle, and lower leg. This may be caused by ongoing inflammation, or because you’re not able to circulate this fluid back through the veins. The retention of fluid is called edema, and is often associated with a body-wide problem.

Even wearing the wrong kind of nonrunning shoes throughout the day can make an existing problem worse.

After being off your feet all night, most mechanical problems will feel better because your foot has had time to recover without mechanical stress. Certain problems may not follow this pattern. Plantar pain and the joint pain of arthritis may feel worse as soon as you start walking and gradually feel better after some movement. This may indicate a biochemical component to your problem (sometimes dietary or nutritional), and may be associated with too much calcium being deposited in the area during the night.

The wear pattern on your shoes can depict an accurate picture regarding foot balance. Shoe wear on the back of the heels, along the outside of the shoe, and near the ball of the foot should be similar in both shoes. If it’s not, there may be muscle imbalance not allowing normal foot movement.

Another clue that the feet are not balanced is your footprints. If you walk in the sand, dirt, or other area where you can see your footprints, they should show very similar patterns. The same is true for your shoe prints. Look for the prints to be facing slightly outward rather than straight. Prints that are facing straight forward or are pointed outward too much may indicate a muscle imbalance in the pelvis that effects how the feet hit the ground. If you use this assessment, be sure the ground is relatively flat; otherwise you will see a normal deviation in prints.

Finally, most foot problems occur on one side or the other, and rarely are there problems with identical patterns in both feet. When this does happen, it may be simple muscle imbalance but could point to a more serious systemic condition, such as a spinal or circulatory problem, or arthritis.

In many situations, however, general foot discomfort at the end of the day is simply due to wearing shoes not meant for your feet. This becomes obvious when you take your shoes off and move around a bit, only to find significant relief.

Once you have assessed your feet, you will have a better idea of the nature of your foot problem and be better able to decide on what to do next. Often, a foot problem is selflimiting, meaning the body will correct the problem without any other help. The healthier you are, the better and quicker this can happen. If you’re allowing your body to fix your feet, give the process some time. However, if the problem is not beginning to improve in a reasonable period, more help may be needed. An acute foot problem, one involving trauma that does not start to feel better within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, may require some assistance. For more chronic problems, such as the non-traumatic type, one or two weeks should be sufficient time for at least some improvement to be seen. In allowing your body to fix itself, rest may be the key. One of the most powerful therapies, rest can be a doubleedged sword if overused. The key with rest is knowing when and when not to use it.

Many athletes have trouble resting when they should. Most foot pain will improve with rest. Rest is the best way for the body to recover from training and competition. Recovery is essential for the body to build up the muscles allowing them to return to normal function. Finding a health-care practitioner for your foot problem may be necessary.

The next chapter takes a closer look at how to fix your feet and how ill-fitting shoes are usually the main culprit.