Do you occasionally experience the stinging sensation under your foot or the feeling of being tightly constrained or twisted without knowing what to do? Everyone occasionally has mild foot cramps. To prevent it from occurring too frequently and ensure that it is not concealing a serious health issue. In this article, we will describe what cramps under the foot are, why they occur, and a few easy gestures you may do to treat them.
Cramp under the foot: what is a cramp?
A cramp is a rapid, involuntary contraction of one or more muscles that typically affects the foot or calf and causes pain or stiffness. More specifically, the cramp under the foot can happen at various times, including when the limb is at rest, during the night, or during periods of intensive physical activity.
Even though cramps under the foot are typically brief and harmless, they can occasionally be a sign of other underlying issues, especially if they happen frequently.
Causes of a foot cramp
Foot cramps can affect anyone, but they are more common in the elderly, pregnant women, and athletes.
They might appear for a number of reasons. They can result from excessive physical exertion (sports cramps), the body being dehydrated (metabolic cramps), or the growth phenomenon in children. They may occasionally be brought on by medical conditions like diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, etc. We refer to the latter as pathological cramping. Finally, a foot deformity or a previous injury that was not appropriately addressed can also explain orthopedic cramping.
It is recommended to drink enough water (at least one liter per day) to stay hydrated, prepare thoroughly for physical activity, limit the consumption of products like alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, to choose shoes that are appropriate for both your morphology and your activity, and to avoid wearing high heels in order to prevent the most common foot cramps (cramps that are not caused by a pathology, injury, or deformity).
Treating a cramp under the foot
What should you do if you get cramps under your foot? You may do a few easy things to help reduce cramps and the pain that goes along with them. Start by sitting down and raising your toes for a brief period of time to stretch the tight muscle gently. Next, use your thumbs to give the painful area a thorough massage. Feel free to move your muscles once the pain has subsided to prevent the cramp from coming again. Another method for releasing tension is to apply a warm compress to the painful area. Last but not least, give your foot the rest it requires.
Other pains under the foot
To better understand how to treat it and, if required, whether or not you should seek medical assistance, it is essential to identify the type of pain you are feeling under your foot. The aforementioned procedures will help alleviate the discomfort if it is just a basic cramp, but it could also be the result of another condition. It could be plantar fasciitis, which frequently causes pain in the heel region, a stress fracture that affects the forefoot or outside of the foot, or an inflammation of the fat pad that causes pain in the heel region. Finally, certain deformities of the foot can cause pain, as is sometimes the case with flat feet or cavus feet.
The importance of keeping an eye on cramps in the foot
As long as they only happen infrequently, cramps under the foot are not dangerous. But it is crucial to pay attention to your body. Regular cramps or consistent pain in your foot’s arch may be a clue that something is wrong. In this case, speak with a podiatrist right away by contacting the FootNetwork clinic closest to you.