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Orthotics can provide many people with foot pain support and relief, and it may just be one of the methods you use when you suffer an injury to your foot. However, before you decide if orthotic inserts are for you, it is important that you first know how to treat your particular foot injury.

Most foot injuries involving the toe, foot or ankle that are caused from sports, work, or falling - and are not fractures - will heal naturally with proper home treatment. These injuries are usually characterized by symptoms including: bruising, swelling, inflammation (heat), throbbing and pain in the affected area.

Treating your foot injury at home ' First and foremost, you should treat your injury with R.I.C.E -

Rest ' Stay off your foot whenever you can.

Ice ' For the first two day following the injury, apply ice to the injured area for 20 minutes, wait for 40 minutes, and repeat the cycle. Ice should be wrapped in a cloth before being applied.

Compression ' Use an ACE' bandage to provide compression and support to your injured foot. Wrap the bandage lightly (not tightly) around your foot.

Elevation - keep your injured foot elevated above your chest. This can be achieved by propping your foot up on pillows.

In addition to R.I.C.E, effective ways to treat your foot injury include -

Heating pad ' After the first two days, a heating pad or warm compress may provide relief and help sooth aching joints. Follow the same method applied to ice.

Over-the-counter pain relievers ' NSAIDs (Non-sterodial anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen can help relieve pain and reduce inflammation.

Take baths ' Take tepid baths, especially during the few days following the injury. Keep your injured foot rested on the side of the tub and this will help you avoid getting it wet and keep pressure off.

Walk with support ' When walking, you should take someone's arm for support, or walk with a cane, crutch or walker to keep pressure off your injured foot.

Avoid exercises and massages ' Unless recommended by your doctor, do not use exercises or massages to help heal your injury. These methods will only aggravate the issue and likely cause more inflammation, prolonging healing.

Check toenails for blanching ' Every day, press your thumb into the nail bed of your big toe (as long as it's not injured) on the injured foot. When you apply pressure, your nail will turn white. If after you remove your thumb your toenail stays white longer than 6 seconds, your foot is not receiving proper circulation. This is a serious concern, and you should visit your doctor right away.

By following the above treatment, starting with R.I.C.E, you should notice a reduction in swelling within 48 hours. However, keep in mind that it can take as long as 6 weeks before your foot is fully recovered from an injury. Therefore, you need to keep pressure off it as often as possible.

When to seek medical assistance ' You need to determine whether or not your injury might be a fracture. If you have broken a bone you need the assistance of a doctor. The following are fracture symptoms:

- Pain
- Swelling
- Warmth, redness or bruising
- Obvious deformity
- Difficulty using or moving normally

Since many of these symptoms are similar to foot injuries such as sprains, torn muscles, tendons or ligaments, it may be difficult to determine if you have a broken bone, as you may have only suffered a mild fracture.

Therefore, it's always best to consult your doctor about your injury if you are unsure of its seriousness, have a high fever (99.6' F or higher, lasting longer than 24 hours), your foot pain becomes worse, or you are not seeing an improvement after a significant period of time.