Foot Pain in Fibromyalgia and its Relief
Is it a symptom or something else??
Does fibromyalgia cause pain?? The answer is yes; with fibromyalgia pain can hit anywhere, at any part of the body, anytime with any intensity. Several researches show that people suffering from fibromyalgia have more foot pain than other normal people.
All kinds of pains have unpleasant sensation, but some pains have bigger impact on life. The most important among them is foot pain because walking is essential function. Some readers have said:
>>>The bottoms of my feet felt like they were on fire. These pains come and go and sometimes last for even months.
>>>I can’t wear a flip flop or any kind of shoe.
>>>I can’t stand to touch my bare feet to the floor. I have to wear memory foam slippers around the house.
You may experience that by just putting your feet on the floor you experience a burning pain, during a pain flare. Shoes can hurt the soles of your feet as well as the top. Walking?? Agony if you step on something like an electrical cord you feel like you are being cut by a razor blade. Walking up with feel and feel like you have been walking for hours is a common complaint.
Foot pain is a major problem. When every step is agony it makes it hard to do much of anything. When you are already because of fibromyalgia, you hardly need one more thing to keep you from doing what you want or need to do.
What causes foot pain??
We will start to look on research specifically on foot pain in fibromyalgia. So far we are not what cause it, but we are starting to get support for some likely suspects.
A study published in arthritis research and therapy found that about 50 % of people with fibromyalgia report pain in one or both feet. That seems like a lot of us, but the same study showed that 91% have neck pain, 79% experience hip pain. If fact the feet were among the least likely place to get hurt.
Your ability to walk has a big impact on how functional you can be so it’s important to look about pain in feet in fibromyalgia patients. Foot pain can make you walk differently that can lead to hip, back and knee problems.
Research led by Ginevra Liptan, M.D, may explain one possible cause of foot pain. It states that fibromyalgia involves inflammation of fascia, which is a thin layer of connective tissue that runs through your entire body. If the word fascia reminds you of “plantar fasciitis” there is a good reason.
Plantar fasciitis is the common cause of foot pain involving a band of fascia that runs along the bottom of your foot, helping support the arch. Some people claim that plantar fasciitis is a common symptom or common overlapping condition with fibromyalgia, but we are not sure about this.
Myofascial pain syndrome is the other common condition in which involves the fascia. It involves small, ropy nodules in the fascia called trigger points, which can be painful and may also cause what is called referred pain, which is felt away from the trigger point.
In a 2016 study published in “Pain Medicine” researchers say that pushing on trigger points reproduced foot pain in participants.
They also found high sensitivity to pressure in plantar region of foot. However a 2017 study, in foot found no abnormalities in the joints of the feet, ankles, or legs of 50 people in fibromyalgia. More research is needed in this area to know whether joint problem is the cause of foot pain.
It is also in some people fibromyalgia is the pure cause of foot pain. Our nerves are highly sensitive, and few areas take a beating like our feet. They could hurt just because the nerves get riled up, it stands to this reason.
Foot pain may also come from some overlapping pain conditions such as:
>>Rheumatoid Arthritis
>>Lupus
>>Reynaud’s syndrome
A lot of other sources that have nothing to do with fibromyalgia may be the cause of foot pain. Be sure to talk to your doctor about it if you have foot pain that limits your functional abilities or you have pain that is persistent. Do not assume its part of your fibromyalgia; openly talk to doctor about it.
No matter what is the cause of foot pain, fibromyalgia amplifies it, just as it does with all pain.
How to Ease your foot pain
Your doctor can help you find the right treatment, it the foot pain is caused by any injury or overlapping condition.
Otherwise you need to find the ways to manage it. Some things have helped people to ease their foot pain, following is the list of those things, but keep in mind that they are personal experiences and they might not work for everyone.
>>>soft well-cushioned slippers
>>>thick socks or diabetic socks
>>>soft-soled shoes
>>>soaking in hot water and Epsom salt
>>>gentle stretching
>>extremely gentle massage
>>>cooling lotion
>>>orthotics
A 2012 study on custom orthotics that they may help people with fibromyalgia to help function better overall.
It can some time and experimentation to find the best ways to reduce your foot pain.
Sources:
Friend R, Bennett RM. Distinguishing fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus in clinical questionnaires: an analysis of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and its variant, the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQR), along with pain locations.Arthritis research and therapy. 2011 Apr 8;13(2):R58.
Liptan, GL. Fascia: A missing link in our understanding of the pathology of fibromyalgia.Journal of bodywork and movement therapies. 2010 Jan;14(1):3-12.
Padin Galea JM, Fernandez-Acenero MJ, de la Fuente JLM. Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia. Foot. 2017 Apr 4;32:27-29. doi: 10.1016/j.foot.2017.04.001.
Silva AP, Chagas DD, Cavaliere ML, et al. Kinematic analysis of subtalar eversion during gait in women with fibromyalgia. Foot. 2016 Aug;28:42-46. doi: 10.1016/j.foot.2016.09.010.
For reference:By Adrienne Dellwo via Verywell
Tornero-Caballero MC, Salom-Moreno J, Cigaran-Mendez M, et al. Musicle trigger points and pressure pain sensitivity maps of the feet in women with fibromyalgia syndrome. Pain medicine. 2016 Oct;17(10):1923-1932.
