Dr. Jacoby discusses what it can mean if a woman experiences pain in the arches of her feet.
It’s very common for women to feel pain in the arch of their feet, but more specifically when a patient comes in to me and asks about the pain in her foot, they will say arch. But upon further investigation, they really mean the heal pain, and that’s because the arch, the ligament that runs from the front of the foot back to the heel, is a ligament called the plantar fascia, and that’s what usually becomes inflamed.
So let’s talk about heel pain because that is a very important issue. Probably the number one issue that I see in my practice is heel pain, which people refer to as arch pain. It’s a mechanical problem for the most part, and again, it’s related to shoes and activity—the wrong shoe for the wrong activity. Weight is another big factor in heel pain. Obviously, the more weight on the shoe that is not conducive to that activity will produce mechanical problems with the foot.
We call this condition, for the most, part plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is a kind of a funny word because it has two i’s in it, and there’s not that many words that have that, but it really means inflammation. But it’s really not inflammation; it’s really a misnomer using this word. It should be called plantar fasciosis, and “osis” means it’s a degeneration of the fascia.
So what are the issues? Again, diabetes is a very common and very prevalent problem in America today. It’s associated with obesity, and it’s associated with diet. Diet is probably the number one problem for feet other than shoes and surfaces, and what do I mean by diet? The things that we eat in a Western diet are not conducive to keeping thin, and we could go on and on. I don’t know how deep you want to go into this subject, but you got to look at your diet first.
Omega-3 fatty acids, which I am sure most women are hearing about, is probably just as important for heel pain. Omega-3 fatty acids means that it’s an anti-inflammatory mechanism whereas Omega-6 is inflammatory, and we get that from our diet.
Fish oil. I think fish oil–the pure type of fish oil has the highest amount of Omega-3 fatty acids and is good for just about any kind of skin condition, foot condition or soft tissue condition, and it’s also good for the interior lining of your blood vessels as well, and it’s the perfect thing for people who have diabetes, which brings us to the next subject that I think is probably the most important subject is neuropathy, and how does neuropathy relate to heal pain and to diabetes.
About Dr. Jacoby, D.P.M.:
Dr. Richard Jacoby, D.P.M., graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine. He completed his residency at Parkview Hospital, Philadelphia, specializing in foot and ankle surgery. Board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Foot and Ankle Surgeons, he is currently president of Valley Foot Surgeons in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition, Dr. Jacoby is chairman of the board of Healthcare Networks of America.
Dr. Jacoby has been named the 2010 President of The Association of Extremity Nerve Surgeons.