Category Archives: Foot Pain

Compression Garments For Lymphedema & Edema

Posted by tradrmick on September 7, 2011 Comments Off

Recently I was looking at all the different compression garments that are available for those who suffer from edema and lymphedema. There are specialized products for almost every imaginable place you could have swelling. It’s rather scary when you start reading about some of the problems people have with their bodies, it makes you want to take better care of yourself!


Two of the most common edema / lymphedema problems are in the foot / leg and in the arm. It seems that most of the arm problems are a side effect of having lymph nodes removed during breast cancer surgery. Damage done to the lymphatic system during aggressive surgery can cause persistent ongoing problems with swelling. One of the ways women manage the swelling is through the use of a compression sleeve that covers the entire arm. There are many different types of compression garments to choose from but for arm swelling this is a simple solution. It’s amazing how well a bit of tension works, most times it doesn’t take much pressure in fact I’ve found that less usually works better.

Over the past few months I’ve fallen in love with Compression Stockings, I can’t believe how much better my feet feel when I wear them all day. In the past I’ve used NSAIDs but for foot pain and swelling using a good pair of compression socks is a much better way to go. I can be on my feet all day long with very little pain whereas in the past I would’ve been in agony.

If you do a little online research you will see that there are customized compression products available for almost every part of your body. If you suffer from edema and swelling I recommend you give them a try!


Turbulence Training

Tips On The Best Compression Socks

Posted by tradrmick on August 29, 2011 Comments Off

When I first started having problems with my swollen foot I bought a compression bandage and wrapped around my foot. This helped to reduce the inflammation somewhat but the real benefit is the reduction of pain. I’m surprised how much compression helps with pain management, it’s more effective than anything else that I tried. Advil didn’t help my situation at all, taking Aleve at night when I went to bed was a little better. But overall, compression and elevating it were the two things that worked best.


Compression bandages work fine on your foot as long as you are going to be sitting or laying around. As soon as you start walking around the layers begin to move around and it’s hard to keep them in place. After using them for a couple days I found it necessary to find a different solution. That’s when I started doing some research on compression socks as there are quite a few different varieties to choose from. The ones I tried first were the Jobst compression socks which are actually dress socks. The toes don’t have any compression so since my toes were swollen I actually cut the toe section off and stitched them up. Since I’m not a fan of knee highs I cut the top section off as well. My wife and kids have been laughing at me all summer because I wear these little black socks all the time. Their favorite is when I wear them at the lake with my Orthotic Sandals, that really makes their day!

The other type of compression socks I found was the compression toe socks which have the individual toes in them.

I found that these worked extremely well at night, but they irritated my feet when I wore them with shoes. That’s why I stuck with my custom black beauties by day and wore the toe socks when I slept at night. I have also been using the toe socks for doing yoga as they had good enough grip whereas most socks are too slippery. Runners use these compression socks after running marathons to keep swelling to a minimum. I must say I like wearing them, they make your legs and feet feel pretty good.

So there you have it, my observations and thoughts regarding the best compression sock solutions for swollen feet and toes. During the day I found the custom crafted dress compression socks to be the most comfortable and effective when wearing shoes and at the compression toe socks were unbeatable.


Turbulence Training

Swollen Feet – Causes and Treatments

Posted by tradrmick on August 11, 2011 Comments Off

Last night I was talking with my neighbor whoi is a Physicians Assistant at the clinic I go to. I was telling her about the 2+ month ordeal I have been going through with my swollen left foot. Ironically, yesterday I woke up with pain in my sciatic nerve again (must’ve slept wrong) and by the end of the day my foot was aching. Her initial reaction was that it could possibly be a pinched nerve or something of that nature. My theory has always been that my sciatic nerve was causing the swelling and due to scar tissue from my snowmobile accident I’m having a hard time clearing out the excess fluid. She seemed to concur that this could be a possibility.


I also told her about all the information I found online regarding swollen feet and how much of it indicated rather serious diseases such as congestive heart failure, renal failure and cirrhosis of the liver. According to her these sites should make it clear that normally any of these would cause swelling in both feet as opposed to one. Swelling in one foot is normally a sign of a localized problem within that foot. The problem can either be vascular in nature causing poor blood circulation or an issue with the lymphatic system which causes lymph fluid to accumulate. Either of these problems can be chronic in nature and if the problem is vascular it may indicate that there are hidden risks elsewhere in the cardiovascular system.

At this point I’ve started to do some yoga as well as stretching exercises but I have to go at it quite lightly. If I try to do too much I immediately feel the pain in my leg and foot. I continue to manage the swelling by using compression socks and by using a liniment at night for my sore ligaments and tendons. I’m not sure exactly where to go from here so I think I will just continue my current course of action for the next several weeks. Light exercise and stretching along with elevating my feet as much as possible seems to be making progress.

If I don’t have a considerable improvement within the next couple months then I’m going to have to tap into our HSA Account and go through a battery of tests including an MRI to see if they can find exactly where the problem lies. If there is scar tissue it would seem to be a good idea to break up that scar tissue using aggressive massage techniques or something of that nature. But I guess until I know exactly what the problem is it’s kind of like fumbling around in the dark!


Turbulence Training