Dr Maxwell Adeyemi
YOUR FEET can be a guide to your health. Your feet most times are treated with scant courtesy compared to other parts of your body. But your feet do the most challenging job, taking you to all places you go, and without which you find it hard to function. So, they should be treated better, as they can also be a guide to what goes on with your overall health.
The following are pointers that your feet can indicate about your general health:
Cold feet
If your toes are always cold, one reason could be poor blood flow - a circulatory problem sometimes linked to smoking, high blood pressure, or heart disease. The nerve damage of uncontrolled diabetes can also make your feet feel cold. Other possible causes include hypothyroidism and anaemia.
Foot pain
When feet ache after a long day, you might blame your shoes. But pain may come from a stress fracture, a small crack in a bone. Also, weakened bones due to osteoporosis increases the risk.
Dragging your feet
Sometimes the first sign of a problem is a change in the way you walk. A wider gait or slight foot dragging can be linked to diabetes, nerve damage, vitamin deficiency and alcoholism. Foot dragging can also be caused by problems with the brain, spinal cord or muscles.
Clubbed toes
In clubbing, the shape of the toes (and often the fingers) changes. The nails are more rounded on top and curve downward. Lung disease is the most common underlying cause, but it also can be caused by heart disease, liver and digestive disorders, or certain infections. Sometimes, clubbing runs in families without any underlying disease.
Swollen feet
This is usually a temporary nuisance caused by standing too long or a long flight - especially if you are pregnant. In contrast, feet that stay swollen can be a sign of a serious medical condition. The cause may be poor circulation, a problem with the lymphatic system, or a blood clot. A kidney disorder or underactive thyroid can also cause swelling. If you have persistent swelling of your feet, see a physician.
Burning feet
A burning sensation in the feet is common among diabetics with peripheral nerve damage. It can also be caused by a vitamin B deficiency, athlete's foot, chronic kidney disease, poor circulation in the legs and feet (peripheral arterial disease), or hypothyroidism.
Pain in the big toe
Gout is a notorious cause of sudden pain in the big toe joint, along with redness and swelling. Osteoarthritis is another culprit that causes pain and swelling. If the joint is rigid, it may be hallux rigidus, a complication of arthritis where a bone spur develops. Injury to ligaments surrounding the joint is another cause.
Pain in the
smaller toes
If you feel like you're walking on a marble, or if pain burns in the ball of your foot and radiates to the toes, you may have Morton's neuroma, a thickening of tissue around a nerve, usually between the third and fourth toes. It is eight to ten times more common in women than in men. It
