ehealthyland.com

There are many wide and varied causes of foot pain that should be correctly diagnosed before beginning any type of treatment. For instance, a pain in the foot that you believe to be a sprained ankle could, in fact, be a chipped bone. Another example, would be a constant ache in your foot caused by high blood pressure, but you believe to be related to standing on your feet at work. In some severe cases, a wrong foot pain diagnosis can result in more severe medical complications.

Foot pain is diagnosed with the help of a qualified physician. This will start with the doctor asking you many different questions that pertain to your foot pain. This can be when the pain started, when the pain hurts the worse, or if you have done anything to make the pain worse. A thorough examination will be done on both feet to help diagnose something that might be wrong in just one of them.

The muscles, joints, tendons, and skin will be looked at for any tenderness, swelling, skin fungus, or any other abnormalities that might be present. Once a careful examination is made, an x-ray could be ordered to see of any internal problems.

Once a correct foot pain diagnosis has been made then there are several different ways that you can treat the foot pain to help relieve the pain either temporarily or permanently.

Besides a physical examination, an x-ray MRI or an ultrasound study may be obtained to assess the soft tissues and blood vessels.

1.An X-ray, MRI, or bone scan of the foot and arch may be taken to determine if there are abnormalities of the bone.

2.The nerves in the foot will be tested to make sure no injury has occurred there.

3.The medical practitioner will examine how the muscles of your foot function. These tests may involve holding or moving your foot and ankle against resistance, you may also asked to stand, walk, or even run.

4.Both feet will be physically and visually examined by the medical practitioner. The foot and arch will be touched and manipulated possibly with a lot of pressure and inspected to identify obvious deformities, tender spots, or any differences in the bones of the foot and arch.

Diagnosing foot pain is a fairly straight-forward affair. A podiatrist, is a foot specialist, and goes to school for a lot of years to be able to hold someone’s foot in their hands and listen to the type of pain you’re suffering from and be able to tell you what the problem is. You should expect your doctor to ask you about the types of shoes you wear and what physical activity you engage in that might have resulted in the foot pain. If the doctor is unable to diagnose your condition by touch, medical science has equipped the intrepid doctor with several tools that might just do the job.

X rays are used to take a picture of the inside of your foot using low doses of radiation. While excessive exposure to x-rays has proven to be bad for you, getting an x-ray once in a while won’t hurt. The x-ray can tell the doctor if there are small breaks, fractures or fissures that could be causing your foot pain.

MRI machines (magnetic resonance imaging) can be used in the same way as the x-ray to see inside your foot without having to cut you open. The MRI machine uses magnets to make images on a computer screen. The doctor can then tell if there are any problems with the bones and the soft tissue inside the foot. It can also help pinpoint small fractures that might not be clear on the x-ray.

If the doctor thinks it’s arthritis that’s causing your foot pain, he can request a synovial fluid analysis. Don’t let the big medical name fool you, it’s a straight forward procedure where the doctor takes fluid samples from the joints in the foot and tests them to see if the surrounding joint is arthritic.

A proper diagnosis is extremely important to ensure that you are properly treating and curing your type of foot pain.