Rare Foot Conditions That Need Immediate Attention
Most foot problems are quite simple and with timely help they can be treated quite easily. But sometimes, foot conditions that look mild may actually be quite complicated. These conditions may also be difficult to diagnose or comprehend and may cause considerable pain and discomfort.
Many of these unusual lower limb conditions can cause pain, mobility issues and even deformities, thus compromising quality of life. It is important that these conditions are diagnosed and treated early so that they don’t cause further complications.
Rare Foot Disorders
Kohler’s Disease – This condition occurs when the tarsal navicular bone, the bone in a child’s foot arch, breaks down. It can cause swelling, redness, tenderness, limping and pain under pressure. It usually affects young boys and can be very painful.
Freiberg’s Disease - In this condition, the metatarsal heads in the ball of the feet deteriorate and flatten, causing pain while walking, stiffness in the affected toe, swelling and even limping. This condition can affect people of any age, but it affects pre-teen to teenage girls more often.
Read also: Common Foot Problems in Children
Maffucci Syndrome - The long bones in a child’s feet develop abnormal bone growths called enchondromas. These are benign growths that develop in early childhood but they make the affected bones more prone to breaks.
Buerger’s Disease - This is a very unusual and unique disease that manifests allergy like symptoms when the weather gets cold. It is quite often misdiagnosed as Raynaud’s disease as the symptoms are very similar.
These rare conditions could be mistakenly diagnosed as common foot ailments but a good podiatrist will know the difference. X-rays or an MRI, will show if there are any signs of bone damage and this will be helpful in diagnosing these conditions and getting early treatment. The kind of treatment will depend on the specific problem.
A good podiatrist will be able to help diagnose these rare foot conditions and come up with an effective strategy for treating these rare foot conditions.
- Aug 26, 2022