If you've been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in your foot or ankle, consider seeing a foot specialist for treatment. Osteoarthritis can be quite painful and make it difficult to stay active. A foot specialist can provide treatments and advise you on lifestyle changes so you can manage your pain and arthritis as best as possible. Here are some things the foot doctor might recommend.
Relieve Stress On Your Feet
If you're overweight, the doctor might help you find a way to lose weight so there is less pressure and stress on your feet. They may also recommend you get more exercise but avoid exercises such as jogging and do exercise such as swimming instead. You may even need to give up or limit certain activities if they always cause your pain to flare up.
Have A Foot Examination Done
Your foot specialist might want to do an exam that includes analyzing your gait and checking how you bear your weight. You might even have an X-ray of your feet taken while you're standing and bearing weight on your bones. The gait analysis helps the doctor learn how your gait is affected by your pain and how your gait might be making your pain worse. This helps them determine if you need orthotics and the right ones to recommend.
Wear Orthotics Or Prescription Shoes
Orthotics can be stiff or soft, and they're worn inside your shoes to provide cushioning for shock absorption, stability, and support. These can also be custom-made from a mold of your feet so they fit perfectly and provide each foot with the support it needs.
In addition, the shoes you wear when you have arthritis are important since they can offer support to your feet to help with stabilization and arch support. If necessary, the foot specialist can give you a prescription to have custom shoes made that provide you with the exact support you need for your foot condition.
Try Joint Injections
Besides taking oral anti-inflammatory medications to help with pain, your podiatrist might suggest corticosteroid injections into your joint to reduce swelling and relieve pain. Another injection to consider is hyaluronic acid. This is used to lubricate your affected joint and to provide cushioning that keeps your bones from rubbing together. Your doctor might even consider stem cell or platelet-rich plasma injections that work to regenerate tissues to help with the repair of your arthritic joint.
Consider Surgery
You might hear about hip, knee, and shoulder joint replacements the most, but you can also have joint replacement surgery for a foot or ankle joint. If other treatments don't provide the help you need so you can stay mobile and not be in constant pain, joint surgery may be the right choice.
Contact a local foot specialist to learn more.
Share30 March 2023
If you have chronic foot pain like I do, you probably use a lot of creams and medications to get rid of it. But if you're like me, the home treatments don't work for very long. My regular doctor suggested that I see a podiatrist for care. I didn't do it right away because I thought I could handle the pain with my home treatments. But after experiencing a serious foot infection last month, I decided to take my doctor's advice. I'm so happy I did. My podiatrist prescribed foot therapy for me, which relieves the stress and tenderness in my feet. I also wear special cushions in my shoes now. The cushions keep my feet from swelling up when I walk. If you need help, read my blog. My blog offers sound advice and information about podiatrists and their treatments. Good luck and please stay pain free.