You remember the old childhood rhyme: “the foot bone connected to the—leg bone…” The song isn’t accurate in any way, but it does teach a valuable point about our health and bodies. Everything is connected. An ailment at one end of your body can easily cause a problem at the other end. This is especially the case when it comes to carrying around excess weight. After all, what part of your body is responsible for shuffling you around all day, extra weight or not? If you are experiencing a great deal of foot pain being overweight may be to blame.
Conditions like heel spurs and other forms of foot and toe pain often develop due to the combination of a number of factors. A disposition to foot problems, poor footwear, and excess weight can all work together to cause some serious pain in the feet. If you are overweight, then losing weight can significantly reduce the amount of foot pain that you are experiencing.
Here are a few quick facts about obesity and foot pain:
- Excess weight leads to inflammation of the plantar fascia and tendons in the foot.
- Obesity increases your risk of osteoarthritis, a common cause of foot pain.
- Even 25 extra pounds can increase your risk of foot pain.
- Obesity can cause pain to develop in the arches of your feet.
- Obesity can make it difficult to find proper footwear, potentially worsening existing foot problems.
The feet aren’t the only parts of your body that obesity can impact. Obesity can wreak havoc on your health, leading to heart disease, high blood pressure, and a long list of other health conditions if not addressed. Of course, a number of obesity-related conditions can cause even more trouble for your feet. Gout once dubbed the “rich man’s disease” for its association with gluttony and overindulgence, is now more common than it ever has been. This condition develops when uric acid builds in your joints causing crystals to form. It usually leads to severe toe pain, but can also cause pain and swelling in the foot and ankle.
Reduced blood circulation as a result of obesity can also spell trouble for the feet, as is found in patients with type-2 diabetes and those who develop peripheral artery disease, another condition highly associated with obesity and foot pain.
If you are experiencing foot pain, then it is time to talk with your doctor. Losing weight can help you improve your health and may even reduce the amount of pain you are experiencing day after day.
