Sore Feet

[TallFatSue]

Oh, these old bones of mine. I'm pushing 50, so some aches and pains are inevitable as I get older. For as long as I can remember, I sometimes have sore legs and feet at the end of a day, which is probably simply due to my weight. This is nothing new, and luckily my husband knows how to give me ecstatic foot massages, which makes everything fine and dandy.

However for the past couple months I've noticed a *new* kind of minor foot pain. When I first get out of bed in the morning and hobble into the bathroom, I have mildly sore feet for 10 or 15 minutes, mostly in the balls of my feet. The pain seems to fade after I flex my toes and walk around, and by the time I've finished my morning shower, my feet feel fine. Does anyone else experience this? Maybe I need to start wearing slippers or flipflops first thing in the morning instead of going around barefoot.

[Rainahblue]

Originally Posted by TallFatSue

Oh, these old bones of mine. I'm pushing 50, so some aches and pains are inevitable as I get older. For as long as I can remember, I sometimes have sore legs and feet at the end of a day, which is probably simply due to my weight. This is nothing new, and luckily my husband knows how to give me ecstatic foot massages, which makes everything fine and dandy.

However for the past couple months I've noticed a *new* kind of minor foot pain. When I first get out of bed in the morning and hobble into the bathroom, I have mildly sore feet for 10 or 15 minutes, mostly in the balls of my feet. The pain seems to fade after I flex my toes and walk around, and by the time I've finished my morning shower, my feet feel fine. Does anyone else experience this? Maybe I need to start wearing slippers or flipflops first thing in the morning instead of going around barefoot.

Sue, since you mentioned that stretching them makes them feel better, do you think it could possibly be the way you sleep? Sometimes I sleep with my feet curled and it does leave them a bit sore. If not, maybe it's similar to having a tight back and stretching it out to feel normal.

Aren't hubbies with great massaging capabilites just yummy?

[missaf]

Sounds like regular spur type pain to me. I spend 10-14 hours a day on my feet, and when I wake up in the morning, my heels are killing me. If I wear a cushioned shoe right as I step out of bed, the pain mostly goes away.

[Tina]

They say that as we age, the padding on the balls of our feet thin and can cause pain. Supposedly, foot pads help, dunno.

[HappyFatChick]

I posted a while back about a friend who had the same thing. She was agonizing in misery! She was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, got insoles from her foot doc and is now 100% ok.

She says to stretch your arches before you get out of bed and before you stand up even during the day. Stretch them real good. Step into cushy slippers/shoes in the a.m. preferably with an arch pad inside.

The spur is painful and can be cushioned but the arch is almost 100% of the problem. Get very good arch supports until you get to the doc.

[3CatsAnd1Fish]

From what it sounds like to me, it could be the onset to plantar fasciitis. It might be good to wear splints at night. And if you see a doctor, make sure you see one that isn't fat-biased. I had to wait 3 years for civilian medical insurance to kick in before I got fair treatment and by that time, I was in a wheelchair. Three surgeries and a year later, I'm almost better.

Do runner's stretches and wear good arch supports. And never walk around barefoot!

[EbonySSBBW]

It doesn't sound like plantar fasciitis to me because that's heel pain, not pain in the ball of the foot. Been there, done that...
I think that Tina might be on to something though.

[fatgirlflyin]

Originally Posted by TallFatSue

Oh, these old bones of mine. I'm pushing 50, so some aches and pains are inevitable as I get older. For as long as I can remember, I sometimes have sore legs and feet at the end of a day, which is probably simply due to my weight. This is nothing new, and luckily my husband knows how to give me ecstatic foot massages, which makes everything fine and dandy.

However for the past couple months I've noticed a *new* kind of minor foot pain. When I first get out of bed in the morning and hobble into the bathroom, I have mildly sore feet for 10 or 15 minutes, mostly in the balls of my feet. The pain seems to fade after I flex my toes and walk around, and by the time I've finished my morning shower, my feet feel fine. Does anyone else experience this? Maybe I need to start wearing slippers or flipflops first thing in the morning instead of going around barefoot.

I had foot pain that started out similiar to this. It finally became so painful that I had to go to the Dr and I was diagnosed with Plantar Faciitis (sp?).

My feet feel like I'm walking on broken glass when I step out of bed in the morning. I got some excersizes that I'm supposed to do and if I actually take the time to do them then I dont notice so much pain.

[Miss Vickie]

It seems less typical for PF than heel pain, but if you look at the diagram below, you'll see that that band of connective tissue connects under the ball of the foot. The fact that it's worse in the beginning of the day is typical of PF.

[EbonySSBBW]

When I had plantar fasciitis, I didn't have any pain in the balls of my feet. It was more like this: "When your first few steps out of bed in the morning cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis (fashee-EYE-tiss). It's an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface (plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes."



Edited to say: I just found this info and, Sue, your pain sounds more like this. I don't know if this is what it is but I hope the info helps.

METATARSALGIA

(Pain in the ball of the foot)


Metatarsalgia is a general term used to denote a painful foot condition in the metatarsal region of the foot (the area just before the toes, more commonly referred to as the ball of the foot). This is a common foot disorder that can affect the bones and joints at the ball-of-the-foot. Metatarsalgia (ball of foot pain) is often located under the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsal heads, or more isolated at the first metatarsal head (near the big toe).


With this condition one or more of the metatarsal heads become painful and/or inflamed, usually due to excessive pressure over a long period of time. It is common to experience acute, recurrent, or chronic pain with this common foot condition. Ball of foot pain is often caused due to improper fitting footwear, most frequently in women’s dress shoes and other restrictive footwear. Footwear with a narrow toe box (toe area) causes the ball of foot area to be forced into a minimal amount of space. This can inhibit the walking process and lead to extreme discomfort in the forefoot.

Other factors can cause excessive pressure in the ball of foot area that can result in metatarsalgia. These include shoes with heels that are too high or participating in high impact activities without proper footwear and/or orthotics. Also as we get older, the fat pad in our foot tends to thin out, making us much more susceptible to pain in the ball of the foot.
The first step in treating metatarsalgia is to determine the cause of the pain. If improper fitting footwear is the cause of the pain, the footwear must be changed. Footwear designed with a high, wide toe box (toe area) and a rocker sole are ideal for treating metatarsalgia. The high, wide toe box allows the foot to spread out while the rocker sole reduces stress on the ball of the foot.

Unloading pressure to the ball of the foot can be accomplished with a variety of foot care products. Orthotics designed to relieve ball of foot pain usually feature a metatarsal pad. The orthotic is constructed with the pad placed behind the ball of the foot to relieve pressure, and redistribute weight from the painful area to more tolerant areas. Other products often recommended include gel metatarsal cushions and metatarsal bandages. When these products are used with appropriate footwear, you should experience significant relief.

[wtchmel]

Another I feel ya thread for me,lol. I've been having the morning gimpiness for ages and I'm only 40. I've always been fat and I've always been working on my feet(restaurant business for 24 years) I'm not sure what it can be, I do have some wicked bone spurs by the achilles tendon which makes it impossible to wear anything that touches the back of the heel( i live in mule/clog type of shoes and sandals). Good luck with this, and count your lucky stars that your man loves to rub those feet. I have to pay the child to do it!

[bigsexy920]

I use to get this pain when I was heavier and when my job required me to be on my feet for 8 hours a day or more. I lost some weight and changed jobs and it went away,

[TallFatSue]

Originally Posted by Tina

They say that as we age, the padding on the balls of our feet thin and can cause pain. Supposedly, foot pads help, dunno.

Originally Posted by EbonySSBBW

It doesn't sound like plantar fasciitis to me because that's heel pain, not pain in the ball of the foot. Been there, done that...
I think that Tina might be on to something though.

Originally Posted by EbonySSBBW

Edited to say: I just found this info and, Sue, your pain sounds more like this. I don't know if this is what it is but I hope the info helps.
[snip]
Other factors can cause excessive pressure in the ball of foot area that can result in metatarsalgia. These include shoes with heels that are too high or participating in high impact activities without proper footwear and/or orthotics. Also as we get older, the fat pad in our foot tends to thin out, making us much more susceptible to pain in the ball of the foot.

Thank you all for the info. Methinx Tina and EbonySSBBW are on the right track. As my engineer husband (a.k.a. Mr. Logic) said, if something has been all right for a while but then starts to go out of kilter, and several logical explanations are possible, the simpler explanations tend to be right. I wear good comfy shoes, so I can probably eliminate that as a cause. However I do like to go barefoot whenever possible, which is probably fine on our plush carpets at home. The problem is probably the hard floors in our kitchen and bathrooms, and the utilitarian office carpeting at work (yes I tend to go barefoot in the office -- it's *good* to be the boss ).

So ... yesterday I wore firm but comfy and cushy flipflops instead of going barefoot at home, and I wore sandals all day at work. My goodness what an improvement! This morning my feet felt pretty good, with only a slight hint of soreness. Bingo! I'll try this for a few days and feel what happens.

Oky doky, I'll accept that as I get older the fat pads in my feet tend to thin out (sheesh ... the only fat pads in my entire body that are thinning out). So it's probably flipflops or sandals for me from now on, instead of barefoot. There go my dreams of being a flamenco dancer!

PS. Just to gauge his reaction, I also asked my engineer husband if it might also be logical for me to lose weight and thereby reduce the pressure on my feet. Art said we don't want a solution that solves one problem by creating one or more other problems (like a thinner but crabby wife who isn't as much fun to massage). Damn that Mr. Logic! Engineers can be smooth talkers when they want to be.

[JerseyGirl07093]

Just My 2 cents.............

Have you tried the Crocs shoes?
They are all the rage lately.
They are supposedly the most comfortable shoes you'll ever wear.
I bought a knock off pair and even they are extremely comfy.
I have neuropathy and am going to order the special pair they have for people with neuropathy and diabetes.
They even have a special pair for people who have foot pain or are on their feet a lot.
It's worth checking out the website.
Good Luck!

-Lisa

[Mercedes]

Hey since cushy flip flops gave you much improvement you could check out heel pads, the ones that are worn in a shoe.

Because you can't wear flip flops all the time, you'd need them if you have to wear shoes.

There are some made of rubber, others of gel...

Hope you'll be sorting it out!
Hugs.

[Rainahblue]

Originally Posted by TallFatSue

...Engineers can be smooth talkers when they want to be.

That was cute.

[TallFatSue]

Wearing flipflops instead of going barefoot around the house has sure made a difference. I also got me some of those gel shoe inserts that Dr. Scholl makes and my feet sure feel good. Looks like I've identified and solved the problem of my sore feet. Now then, if most of my other aches and pains will be equally easy to solve as I get older, then everything will be dandy.

[sophie44]

One answer that will REALLY hlp your sore feet~get a pair pf Birkenstocks. I swear by these shoes, they cost a it more than other shoes, but once you wear em, you will never go back to other shoes. Hope you feet feel better

[TallFatSue]

Originally Posted by sophie44

One answer that will REALLY hlp your sore feet~get a pair pf Birkenstocks. I swear by these shoes, they cost a it more than other shoes, but once you wear em, you will never go back to other shoes. Hope you feet feel better

Yesterday I forgot all about my new policy to wear sandals or flipflops around the house instead of going barefoot. Sure enough, halfway through the day my feet started getting sore again. Then after my "D'oh!" moment I quickly put on my flipflops, and today my feet are just fine. So methinks the padding from sandals or flipflops is just what I need. As I push 50, barefoot isn't an option for me anymore, except maybe on plush carpet or at the beach.

I've considered Birkenstocks but they're soooo expensive, and so far I don't really need them. When I'm not wearing sandals or flipflops I generally wear men's shoes and they're just about right for me.