Foot Problems and Injuries

• Preventing Foot Problems: Training Techniques

  You can help prevent foot injuries and problems. Wear good athletic shoes, such as shoes with cushioned soles (especially heels) and good arch support. Physical therapists, orthopedists, podiatrists, and sports medicine health professionals can...

• Finding Good Footwear

  The following tips on good footwear may prevent toe, foot, or ankle problems or injuries. Have your feet measured regularly. The size of your feet may change as you grow older. Have both feet measured. Often one foot is larger than the other. The shoes should be fitted to the larger foot. Don't...

• Preventing Foot Cramps

  Tips to prevent foot cramps include the following: Take a warm bath and do some stretching exercises before you go to bed if cramps wake you at night. Avoid pointing your toes while you stretch. Try not to sleep with your toes pointed. Keep your...

• Toe, Foot, and Ankle Injuries

  Discusses common toe, foot, and ankle injuries. Covers home treatment and basic foot care. Offers injury prevention tips.

• Roomy Shoes

  Many foot problems—such as bunions, calluses and corns, or hammer, claw, or mallet toes—will not become severely painful or disabling if you wear shoes with a wide toe box that gives your toes and the ball of your foot more room. Try to wear shoes that: Have low heels. Avoid high-heeled, narrow, or...

• Foot Problems: Finding the Right Shoes

  Footwear plays a large role in the development of foot and toe problems such as bunions, calluses and corns, and hammer, claw, and mallet toes. Shoes that don't fit properly make these conditions worse and more painful. But wearing the right shoes may help keep foot problems from becoming worse. A comfortable...

• Age-Related Foot Changes

  Normal changes occur in your feet as you age. Feet tend to spread, possibly causing shoe size to change. Have your feet measured each time you buy shoes. Do not assume that your shoe size has not changed. The bottoms of the feet lose the fatty pads...

• Clubfoot

  Describes clubfoot and what causes it. Covers symptoms and diagnosis. Also covers treatment, including surgery and nonsurgical methods. Offers info on when clubfoot might point to a more serious problem.

• Flatfoot (Pes Planus)

  Defines flatfoot, its causes, and who is affected by the condition. Lists symptoms and discusses treatment options. Offers pictures of exercises that may help.

• Small Joint Surgery for Osteoarthritis

  If osteoarthritis in the joints of the hands or feet is so severe that function is impossible (rare with osteoarthritis), surgery may allow some pain-free motion. In the hands, the goal is enough pain-free motion to allow the person to do basic...