3 Consequences of Leaving Foot Problems Untreated
Thousands of people suffer from foot ailments such as hammer toe, bunions, and ingrown toenails. While these ailments may seem rather minor compared to health issues like cancer and heart disease, they are not ailments that you should leave untreated. Healthy feet are the foundation of a healthy body—and when your feet are not healthy, you put yourself at risk for a number of more serious health problems.
Infections
Ingrown toenails can easily become infected, as can hammer toes or bunions that rub on your shoe, damaging the skin. An infection that starts in your foot can easily spread to other areas of the body, especially if you have diabetes or another condition that inhibits circulation in your feet. An infection may spread to the bone in your toe, eventually leading to the need for amputation of that toe, or it may spread into the blood, causing a dangerous and often deadly condition known as sepsis.
It's easier to treat an ingrown toenail or other minor foot issue than it is to treat a raging infection, so visit your podiatrist for treatment while the issue is still a minor one. If you are a diabetic and you notice signs of infection in your foot, such as redness, swelling, or pus, treat this as an emergency situation. Call your doctor or podiatrist, and if you can't get in to the doctor's office immediately, head to the emergency room.
Weight Gain
When your feet are uncomfortable, you are less likely to partake in exercise. If even walking hurts, there's a good chance you're not getting enough physical activity to keep your weight under control. Excessive weight gain, in turn, increases your risk of a number of health ailments, including type II diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Foot pain and weight gain tend to occur in a vicious cycle. The more you weigh, the more your feet hurt, and the less you walk—leading to more weight gain.
A lot of people who are overweight with foot pain assume there's nothing they can do about the pain, so they might as well live with it. This is not generally true. A podiatrist can fit you with orthotics and shoes that make walking more comfortable, so you can start exercising more regularly and break the ugly cycle between weight gain and foot pain.
Yes, you will probably have to lose weight for your foot pain to go away completely, but in the meantime, exercises and procedures prescribed by your podiatrist can treat any underlying issues like bunions and corns, getting you off to a good start.
Joint Pain and Arthritis
If you're experiencing pain in a part of your foot, chances are good that you walk with an altered gait. For instance, if you have hammertoes that hurt when you put pressure on your toe region, you may shift your weight towards the back of the foot as you walk. Altering your gait in such a way puts excessive strain on the joints in your feet and legs. Over time, this strain can lead to joint pain and arthritis, not to mention back pain.
It's generally a lot easier to treat a foot problem when it is first beginning than to deal with arthritis, an incurable ailment, several years down the road. One of your podiatrist's treatment goals, regardless of what specific foot ailment you're suffering from, will be to get you walking with as natural a gait as possible so that you do not develop arthritis or cause any existing arthritis to worsen.
Even if a foot ailment seems like a minor issue, it's worth your time to have it checked out and treated by a foot specialist. Doing so could save you from infection, weight-related issues, and arthritis down the road.
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