Foot Pain: 13 Common Foot Conditions & Treatment Tips

What are the different types of foot pain?

Here are some common conditions that are diagnosed in the cases of having foot or ankle pain are elaborated:

1. Gout

This type of foot pain is associated with sudden and intense pain. You will feel swelling, redness, and tenderness around your joints, particularly your big toe. It occurs due to specific arthritis termed gouty arthritis.

Gout is a condition caused by crystals of urate (formed after a uric acid breakdown) get deposited around the joint line or within joints causing inflammation around joints which causes arthritis.

Treatment Tips for Gout:

Gout is generally treated with:

• pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medications
• lifestyle and dietary modifications
• physiotherapy exercises

However, some severe conditions require surgical interventions or intra-articular steroidal injections.

2. Metatarsalgia:

This condition causes pain and inflammation in the ball of your foot. The pain arises at the metatarsals (bones connecting ankle to toes) which lie at the forefoot. You may also feel intermittent numbness and a tingling sensation in your toes.

The cause of this pain involves high impact sports (ie. activities that put stress on weight-bearing joints like your hips, knees, and ankles); high arched foot, and use of heels. People having gout or severe arthritis can also contribute causing metatarsalgia.

Treatment Tips for Metatarsalgia

The treatment for metatarsalgia generally includes pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medicines, footwear modifications, foot baths, and physiotherapy exercises. In some cases, the patient may require surgical interventions or intra-articular steroidal injections.

3. Morton’s Neuroma:

Morton’s neuroma includes a sharp burning type of pain between the third and fourth toe. It might feel like you’re standing on marble pebble in your shoe. It causes the thickening of the tissue around the nerve leading into your toes. The pain gets worsened by tight-fitting shoes or high-heeled footwear.

Treatment Tips for Morton’s neuroma:

• pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medicines
• footwear modifications
• foot baths or
• steroidal injections

5. Heel spur or Calcaneal spur:

Heel spurs occur when calcium deposits build up on the underside of the heel bone. Bony outgrowth at the base of the heel bone is called a heel spur. Heel spurs can be painless or the pain could occur at the base of the heel if the tissue associated with the bone is inflamed due to overpressure or overstretched as plantar fasciitis. Some predisposing factors that cause painful spurs are obesity, diabetes, flat feet, standing jobs, high-impact sports, or improper footwear.

Treatment Tips for Heel Spur or calcaneal spur:

• excision of the bone (removal of a portion or growth of bone)
• steroidal injections
• physiotherapy exercises and modalities to control associated symptoms

6. Turf toe:

It is a common sports injury caused by the stretch or tear of the ligaments around the big toe joint. The injury is caused due to repetitive stress injury due to rigid big toe which lacks mobility while walking uphill; running or sudden injury can occur while pushing off the foot from the ground. It can also cause inflammation and pain while walking.

Treatment Tips for Turf Toe:

Physiotherapists use therapeutic treatment that includes icing on injury, ultrasound therapy, taping, and splinting.

Related Reading: How to Relieve Foot Pain? Home Remedies and Preventive Tips

7. Peroneal Tendonitis:

It’s a condition where the tendons on the outer aspect of the foot become inflamed, which is termed peroneal tendonitis. Peroneal tendonitis can be painful outside the foot, or lower leg while walking or running. You might feel tenderness at the ankle bone which is behind the foot, and foot pain in the morning can be a prominent symptom.

People who take part in repetitive running over slopes and long-distance walking; or who have weak ankle muscles, high arched feet, and tight calf muscles are some of the factors that cause peroneal tendonitis.

Treatment Tips for Peroneal Tendonitis:

The treatment for peroneal tendonitis includes RICE, splinting, and physiotherapy

Related Reading: Calf Muscle Pain

8.  Posterior tibial tendonitis / dysfunction (PTT):

Posterior tibial tendonitis is a condition that results in pain in the inner part of your foot or ankle due to inflammation; that connects the calf muscle to the bones on the inside of the foot.

The pain of PTT limits the ability to walk or run normally, and the foot rolls inward are reduced. It causes instability around the foot and ankle which can lead to imbalance.

Treatment Tips for PTT:

PTT treatment includes inflammation and pain control, foot muscle strengthening, and balance training.

9.  Heel Pain:

Heel pain is a common condition of the foot. It could be due to any of the following conditions and treated accordingly:

• Achilles tendinitis:

Achilles tendinitis is a common condition that occurs when the large tendon that runs down the back of your lower leg becomes irritated and inflamed. You tend to feel the pain of Achilles tendinitis in the back of your heel, just above the heel bone.

• Plantar fasciitis:

The repetitive plantar fasciitis can cause pull on heel bone causing spurs. Its pain is severe, especially in the morning.

[Related Reading: Read more about heel pain and its causes: https://reliva.in/heel-pain/]

10. Bursitis of foot:

Bursitis (Bursae) are fluid-filled sacs like cushions that serve the purpose of shock-absorbing and reducing the friction of tendons in the foot. There are about three-four such sacs in between the tendons of the foot; inflammation of this sac can cause pain in foot functioning. The pain is elicited on walking, which depends on the location where the bursa is situated.

Treatment Tips for Bursitis:

Usually, its treatment includes gentle massaging, ultrasound, laser therapies, rest, use of proper footwear and insoles.

11. Foot arch pain:

Arch pain is a foot-related condition that commonly affects runners, athletes, or people who are less active.

Here are some foot arch related conditions:

• Flat feet

Flat feet are already present by birth. Its arches of the feet develop as the bone and joints depending on the stresses on the feet, and genetic predisposing factors arches may fail to develop completely. This causes landing of the foot unevenly and flat on the ground.

Treatment Tips for Flat Feet:

• High arch or medial insoles with proper fitting shoes are required while walking or running.
• Exercises like foot rolls, calf stretch are helpful to control complications caused due to flat feet

• High arch feet

A high arch is when the sole of the foot is distinctly raised or hollow in appearance when bearing weight. It can be a result of a hereditary condition or can be a symptom of an underlying neurological, orthopedic, or neuromuscular condition.

The pain arises due to the compression of the midfoot bones – and it can lead to limited function.

Treatment Tips for High arch Feet:

Physiotherapy is all that is required to manage high arch pain. However, if the symptoms are severe, surgery may be required.

• Claw toe

Downward bending of the toes with reduced mobility of toes is called clawing of toes. It can occur due to aging, neurological disorders, or tight-fitting shoes.

Treatment Tips for Claw Toes:

It is recommended to use metatarsal or midfoot bars within footwear to correct it. Remember, tight-fitting shoes must be avoided.