Upper Foot Pain: A Symptom of Arthritis

Upper foot pain is usually caused by arthritis. I have been hearing these complaints to people in varying ages, but these are often heard from the elderly. As commonly known, this medical condition involves the cartilage and the lining of the body’s joints where it gets inflamed and eventually causes pain and discomfort. There are times that it comes with redness, swelling of the foot and warmth. According the statistics, there are about forty million people suffering from arthritis all over the United States. There are however several types of arthritis which I will be briefly discussing in this article, which will hopefully give you an idea on what you are experiencing. Read on.

The first type of arthritis is the Osteoarthritis, which is also characterized by upper foot pain. This kind of disease is mainly due to the wearing out of the cartilage in the joints of our foot. When this happens, movement becomes painful and a bit difficult and worsens when we walk and stand. Sometimes, we would feel some stiffness after several periods of rest.

The next one is called Gout. This is another form of arthritis which is mainly caused by the overproduction of uric acid in our body. When there is too much uric acid, crystals are formed and are collected in our joints, causing us to feel upper foot pain, especially if the uric acid crystals are formed on that area of our foot. According to medical statistics, men are likely to develop this condition than women.

Another common type is the Rheumatoid Arthritis, which can be developed at any age. There were no reported causes for this condition. What is more troublesome is that this kind of arthritis is the most crippling kind, since it can cause joint deformities. People who have this kind of condition develop upper foot pain and other severe forefoot problems such as claw toes, hammer toes, bunions, and many others.

Arthritis is triggered by several causes, but I learned that heredity plays a chief role on this disease. So, the moment you feel upper foot pain, make no delay in seeing your doctor to have it checked immediately.