Foot pain is something that many people have to endure. There are many different types of foot pain as well as many different causes of them, but one of the more prevalent types of foot pain is the pain in the bridge, or the arch, of the foot.

Causes

There are many different possible causes for pain in the foot ranging from pain or issues with the bones, ligaments, muscles, toes, nerves, blood vessels, or even the skin.

Also, possible causes can include poor posturing or shoes that cause pain in the foot the more we walk.

Heel and Bridge Pain

Sometimes the pain in the bridge of our foot is directly related to the pain we develop in the heel of our foot.

The pains in our foot heel most often result from the tissues that run from our foot’s heel to our toes (and through the bridge of the foot) become inflamed or swell.

The best way to treat this condition is to rest often, like laying down on the couch to relax our feet; to stretch our calves and feet as often as we can; to find better shoes that are better cushioned and offer better arch support; to consult with our doctor to see if there are any injections or pain relievers we can take.

Another problem that can result in the heel of our feet is the growth of bone at the heel that is due to improper posture or uncomfortable shoes.

This type of condition is referred to as heel spurs, and as many as five percents of people in America suffer from pain resulting from heel spurs.

The best way to treat heel spurs is to go to physical therapy, to rest and relax your foot, to see if there are any pain relievers that could help, and if none of the other treatments work, then to turn to surgery.

Bone Fracture

One of the most common ways to suffer from pain in the bridge of your foot is to fracture a foot bone.

A bone fracture can happen when you fall from a great height, are involved in an accident during physical activity or exercise, or trip and fall.

Symptoms of a bone fracture include pain in your foot that causes you to limp when you walk and swelling in your foot.

Treatment of a bone fracture is best done when you use crutches to avoid putting pressure on your foot, to put a thorough cushion on the affected area of your foot (or around your entire foot), going to a physical therapist, taking prescribed pain relievers or injections from your doctor, or if none of the above work, then to see if surgery is an option.

Another type of bone fracture is where fractures of bones become stuck in the tendons that are connected to the toes.

Symptoms of this kind of pain include major pains in your toe that can also cause stress and irritability in the bridge of your foot.

The best treatments for this kind of fracture include applying ice to the toes and affected areas, laying down and then raising your foot up, and taking any pain relievers that you can. Your doctor will guide you through the process of treating this fracture.

Arthritis

Arthritis is another major cause of pain in the bridge of the foot, though it also causes pain in the toes.

Arthritis in the toes can lead to stiffness of the joints, and will only get worse over time as the symptoms start to become more and more obvious.

The best treatments for arthritis are largely the same ones that you use for other painful foot conditions, such as rest, stretching, medicine (including pain relievers) or seeing a physical therapist.

Again, surgery is an option, but it should only be used as a last resort if none of the other treatments appear to be working.

Toes

You may not have guessed it, but the pain in the toes can also relate to pain in the bridge of your foot.

One such example is a hammer toe, which is when the joint near the toe is bent, or a claw toe, which is where the joint near a toe, cannot straighten out, meaning that your toe can only point up or down.

Not only does this obviously cause pain to your toes themselves, it can also put stress on the bridge of your foot, eventually causing pain and perhaps even swelling.

Turf toes are where you can develop pain in your big toes as a result of physical activities, and most often results from things such as jumping or running.

A final example of pain in the toe is toe sprain, which happens when you stub or injure your toe to the point that the tissues are damaged.

A toe sprain can be differentiated from a fracture if no damage was done to the bone of the toe.

Treatments for painful toes include wearing better shoes and footwear, such as shoes that don’t have very high heels and that are better cushioned (especially around the painful areas of your foot), devoting some time each day to exercises for your feet, taking prescribed medication or pain relievers

Skin

Pain in the bridge of your toe can also be the result of skin irritation on your foot.

Common types of skin pain include where there are build-ups of tough skin on your foot that can cause irritation and swelling.

People often react to this skin pain by applying more pressure to the painful area, but this will only make the affected area worse and cause it to spread on the foot.

It also spreads faster when one wears shoes that lack proper cushioning or have a bad arch.

Therefore, the obvious way to treat this kind of skin pain is to wear better shoes with that good cushioning and arches.

You can also consult with your doctor to see if there are any medical treatments you can try as well.