Foot Arch Pain

[Izzy20]

Has anyone had pain in the arch of their foot? Lately its been really sore after dance. I'm not sure if its the abrupt change from heels to flats or if it's just a sore muscle. For the past few weeks its been sore for like 2-3 days after my lesson but today I woke up with it much more sore than normal.

Anybody have experiance with this?

[ThisIsNotMe]

Well, I don't have any advice that can help, but I have experienced pain in the arch of one foot fairly frequently for about a year now, but not after dancing, only after walking for long periods of time. It's been happening ever since I stepped on my own foot (the arch) in my Latin heels.

[pruthe]

Might want to get it checked out to make sure not something serious. Don't want to have things get worse for lack of attention. I had arch/heel pain some years ago. Turned out to be Plantar Fasciitis and it took a number of months to get better under doctor's care. Also got orthotics to wear in my dance shoes all the time. Provides good support in arch area while dancing. Good Luck and hope get better soon.

p.s. I also wear Birkenstock basic sandals around the house all the time. Have great arch support. Really helped when I had plantar problem.

[Chris Stratton]

Depending on the issue, perhaps stairs could be your friend. Stand with your toes on one, and stretch your heels down below it. Used to have to do this within 5 minutes of putting on latin shoes, fortunately the studio had a seating area one step above the floor.

[skwiggy]

I had pain like this twice in my life. The first time I went to see an orthopedic. He was insistent that it was tendonitis caused by a pair of shoes. He told me to think about how my feet feel before, during and after wearing every pair of shoes I owned. It took me about a week to pinpoint the pair. Once I figured it out, I threw them out, and the pain disappeared in a few days.

Years later the same pain returned. So instead of going to the Dr, I thought about my shoes. Again, I pinpointed the pair, threw them out, and the pain disappeared in days.

[nucat78]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm having some pain today in my right arch and I haven't danced since Tuesday night. This happens occasionally at random or so it seems and doesn't feel at all like plantar fasciitis to me.

I suspect that I somehow stretch my arches too much either walking in street shoes or while I sleep. When in doubt, it pays to see your doctor. Also bear in mind that soft tissue injuries can take a long time to resolve.

[Kassia]

Yes in can be serious.. You probably need to the the podiatrist and get yourself a pair of good orthotics made.. It is likely plantars fascitis and will never really go away.. I've had it for years, since i worked in an office with a cement floor..

[jerseydancer]

I have had arch pain recently and few things did help:

1. Arch support; I have little inserts in all my shoes even dancing shoes and slippers
2. Plantar Fasciitis Stretching Exercises: check this link, I do not have Plantar Fasciitis, but the exersises did help a lot.

http://orthopedics.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=orthopedics&cdn=health&tm=12&gps=141_448_1020_609&f=00&su=p726.2.152.ip_p284.8.150.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.plantarfasciitisbraces.com/plantar_fasciitis_stretching_exercises.html

[LatinDancer006]

More like muscle spasm for me. I experience this on both feet and only after a lot of dancing. It's improved a lot since I change my diet a little to including bananas and calcium supplements. I also noticed wearing tight clothing esp. around the waist area constricts circulation which restrict the delivery of O2 to the muscle. hence, causing lactic acid build up quicker.

[Tigerlilly]

If the pain is related to poor arch support, plantar fasciitis, or heel spur pain you might try Dr. Roth's Arch Support Bands. The Support Bands were originally designed for dancers and athletes. They wrap around your foot with velcro and have a arch support pad in them that lifts and supports your arch directly. They come in 2 varieties - one is the regular one and the other one comes with a medical grade magnet that's supposed to reduce inflammation in the arch. You can order them online. The regular ones cost about $26 and the ones with the magnet are about $32. The only thing about using them is you need to make sure you're positioning them on your foot correctly. Otherwise, they won't work properly and may add to your discomfort.

My partner started using the regular ones about a month ago, and it's made a HUGE difference for him. He's suffered from a severely pronated foot for about the past 2-3 years, which has caused chronic pain in his ankle and knee. He'd previously seen multiple specialists and sports medicine docs for it and had received different assessments and advice, none of which worked. Regular arch supports only provided him with temporary relief. So far, these have been amazing. He can walk long distances and practice for hours with no pain. (He used to only be able to practice for 20 minutes tops on bad days.)

Hope this helps!

[Tigerlilly]

One more thing about Dr. Roth's Arch Support Bands... if you go to discountdance dot com and navigate to accessories and then health/fitness, you can find customers' reviews on them. You can also purchase them there as well.