What is the foot?
The extremities of the legs, made up of a structure of bones, joints, muscles and other components, are known as the foot. Thanks to the feet, people can stand and walk.
It is possible to recognize different regions in the foot:
- Sole: lower part of the foot
- Forefoot: upper part of the foot
As for its bony components, the phalanges (toe bones), metatarsus and tarsus can be distinguished.
Function of the foot
The foot fulfills the essential function of support in order to be able to move around bipedally (two feet). Our feet must fulfill 4 basic functions:
- Adapt to uneven surfaces
- To function as a rigid lever that creates the propulsive force necessary for walking.
- Transfer the rotational forces produced by the hips
- Absorb the constant impact
Muscles and tendons work together with bones, ligaments and joints to enable the feet to perform these functions. If any one of these components is not functioning properly, all others will be affected.
The foot is prone to many injuries and diseases.
Pathologies that the foot can suffer from
Given that the human foot has 33 joints, 26 bones and more than a hundred tendons, ligaments and muscles, it is easy to understand that it is prone to many injuries and diseases, among which are:
- Bunions
- Corns
- Plantar warts
- Flat feet (also known as arch drop)
- Pes cavus
- Clubfoot
- Claw toes or hammer toes
- Ingrown toenail
- Little toe problems
- Metatarsalgia
- Morton’s neuroma
- Freiberg’s disease
- Congenital deformities
- Rheumatic foot
- Heel spur
- Plantar fasciitis
- Sever’s disease
- Haglund’s disease
- Scaphoid necrosis
- Metatarsal stress
Treatments for foot pathologies
- Percutaneous foot surgery: the most important pathologies treated by surgery are bunions and metatarsalgia, that is, pain at the base of the toes. It can also treat claw toes or hammer toes, tailor’s bunion, calcaneal spur or Morton’s neuroma.
- Ozone therapy: Its application produces a series of changes and reactions in the patient’s cells, largely a huge production of antioxidants. Thus, by stimulating the body’s defenses with oxygen, an antioxidant effect is created, which is a useful way to treat many diseases.
- Open foot surgery: shortening and/or elevation osteotomies of the metatarsals.
- Growth factors: Direct infiltration of the lesion is performed. This treatment is very useful for acute plantar fasciitis.
- Shock waves: In Spain it has been used for more than 15 years with very successful results. It can treat tendon injuries, such as plantar fasciitis, and bone injuries, such as foot fractures.
- Percutaneous Intratisular Electrolysis (PIE®)
Specialist who treats foot pathologies
The traumatologist is the one who works in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. The purpose of the traumatologist is to surgically and orthopedically treat injuries or fractures of the bones, muscles, joints and ligaments.
More specifically, the podiatrist is in charge of treating foot problems, and is concerned with the care of the foot and its relationship to the rest of the body.