If you’re like me, you’ve most likely had problems with your feet hurting or aching. Mine are especially bad after a long day of walking or even standing. I just assumed that my foot and leg pain came from being overweight, but I wanted to know for sure.
I’m no expert myself, so I decided to see what the experts have to say about it. I did some research and read what articles from places like Johns Hopkins Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the National Library of Medicine had to say.
By the way, I’ve found a few things over the years that have helped me. I’ll talk about them a little later, but first I want to tell you what I found.
What Are The Types of Foot Problems
Johns Hopkins Medicine published an article called Foot Pain and Problems. In it, they say “foot pain is oftern caused by improper foot funtion”. They explain that foot problems can affect the heels, toes, nerves, tendons, ligaments, and joints of the foot.
They go on to explain many foot ailments and many different causes. Some of these were heel spurs, corns, bunions, Morton neuroma, hammer toes, ankle sprain, and more.
The symptoms of foot problems may look like other medical conditions and problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Foot Pain and Problems
It should go without saying, but I just want to directly quote the experts here. Johns Hopkins Medicine specifically calls out that “The symptoms of foot problems may look like other medical conditions and problems. Always see your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
So, How Does Weight Affect Foot Pain?
As I wrote earlier, I’ve had a lot of foot pain over the years. I figured that my weight didn’t help, but I didn’t know exactly why. Harvard Medical School’s article, Why weight matters when it comes to joint pain explains it. I’ll try to relate what I learned from it.
I learned during my reading that the human foot has 26 bones. That’s quite a few for such a small area of the body, but when you think about how they work together and how much weight they hold, it gets easier to see how they can become sore. Harvard’s article said “…excess weight puts extra weight on weight bearing joints”, further explaining the how weight affects joints.
I was suprised when I read that when you walk, the force on your knees increases to one and a half times your body weight. For a 200 lb man, that’s 300 lbs of pressure, but for a 400 lb man, that’s 600 lbs of pressure. If you add in incline the force is 2-3 times your body weight on each knee and 4-5 times your weight when you squat. This is regarding pressure on knees, but it’s still a good reminder of the amount of pressure your joints are under and how weight affects them.
Being overweight affect pain in a second way too. Every article mentioned the effects that obesity had on the inflammatory state of our bodies. An article called Obesity and Pain, found at the National Library of Medicine discusses Obese patients and their higher levels of inflammation. Inflammation is linked to heart disease, cancer, and other diseases as well as general discomfort and higher levels of pain.
What To Do Next For Foot Pain
First, if this interests you, please go read each of the articles I’ve linked. I know most of us understand the extra stresses being overweight can put on our bodies, but losing weight is hard and takes a lot of time. I hope this article helped to give my view and give you resources to learn more.
One thing I learned from the Johns Hopkins article was how important proper fitting shoes are to foot health. And this goes along with what I’ve learned in my own experience. For years I wouldn’t spend a lot of money on shoes and I would just pick something that seemed to fit. Around 5 years ago I went to get fitted at a running shoe store and bought a better shoe. It was literally lifechanging. If you want to read more about my experience and my pick of shoes, go see our article, Finding the Perfect Running Shoe for Big Guys: A Complete Guide!
