Foot pain is fairly common, but your chronic aching and discomfort seems to be concentrated on the ten digits at the end of your feet. It makes exercises where pivoting and jumping are important quite painful, but even day to day movements in shoes, boots, sandals, and flip flops can be troublesome. And if sore without footwear, you know that something must be amiss with your phalanges– the 14 bones that make up the toes – and/or the interconnected tendons. Your toes have tendons attached that bend them down and straighten them. The anterior tibial tendon allows you to raise your foot, while the two tendons that run behind the outer bump of the ankle (lateral malleolus) are responsible for turning the foot outward. If these tendons are compromised by injury, you will likely experience soreness. Consequently, you desire physiotherapy for toe pain. If located in the Greater Vancouver area you can schedule your assessment right here, or read ahead first for more information.
How Physiotherapy Can be Beneficial for Chronic Toe Pain
Diagnosing and Treating the Problem with Your Toes
A physiotherapy assessment will get to the root of the problem. Footwear could simply be the issue, which a physiotherapist can identify. In some cases, toe strain or sprain could be due to your wearing of pointy boots (etc.) and will be alleviated by giving them away to the Salvation Army. However, your assessment may uncover that you may have one of the following conditions that are commonly associated with pain in more than one toe:
- Arthritis
- Bunions
- Fracture or sprains/strains (to more than one digit)
- Gout
- Hallux rigidus
- Metatarsalgia
- Metatarsophalangeal joint sprain
- Misalignment
- Morton’s neuroma
- Osteoarthritis
- Plantar plate tears
- Sesamoiditis
- Toe contusion
All of the above can be effectively addressed by a physiotherapist. In addition to manual therapy, physiotherapists may use modalities such as ultrasound and electrical current to assist with any pain that you are feeling as a result of a toe-related condition. Acupuncture is another alternative treatment that could correct issues with your feet that refer pain to your toes. In many cases, a full service physiotherapy clinic will provide a gait (manner of walking or running) assessment and prescribe custom foot orthotics which can have a very direct and immediate positive impact.
Note: Assessment may remove footwear issues and the above injuries/conditions from the equation, which may infer an underlying issue such as diabetes, for which medical interventions (with your physician) will be required.