Definition
Your foot is an intricate network of bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Strong enough to bear your body weight, your foot can be prone to injury and pain.
Foot pain can affect any part of your foot, from your toes to your Achilles tendon at the back of your heel.
Although mild foot pain often responds well to home treatments, it can take time to resolve. Your doctor should evaluate severe foot pain, especially if it follows an injury.
Causes
Injury, overuse or conditions causing inflammation involving any of the bones, ligaments or tendons in the foot can cause foot pain. Arthritis is a common cause of foot pain. Injury to the nerves of the feet may result in intense burning pain, numbness or tingling (peripheral neuropathy).
Some common causes of foot pain include:
1. Achilles tendinitis
2. Achilles tendon rupture
3. Avulsion fracture
4. Bone spurs
5. Broken foot
6. Broken toe
7. Bunions
8. Bursitis (joint inflammation)
9. Corns and calluses
10. Diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage caused by diabetes)
11. Flatfeet
12. Gout (arthritis related to excess uric acid)
13. Haglund's deformity
14. Hammertoe and mallet toe
15. High heels or poorly fitting shoes
16. Ingrown toenails
17. Metatarsalgia
18. Morton's neuroma
19. Osteoarthritis (disease causing the breakdown of joints)
20. Osteomyelitis (a bone infection)
21. Paget's disease of bone
22. Peripheral neuropathy
23. Plantar fasciitis
24. Plantar warts
25. Psoriatic arthritis
26. Raynaud's disease
27. Reactive arthritis
28. Retrocalcaneal bursitis
29. Rheumatoid arthritis (inflammatory joint disease)
30. Septic arthritis
31. Stress fractures
32. Tarsal tunnel syndrome
33. Tendinitis
34. Tumors
Seeking Medical Care
Make an appointment to see a doctor if you
• Have swelling that doesn't improve in two to five days
• Feel pain that persists or worsens
• Struggle to work or do daily tasks
• Experience numbness, burning, or tingling
See a doctor immediately if you
• Have an open wound or obvious deformity
• Experience severe pain or swelling
• Can't bear any weight on your foot
• Show signs of infection, such as redness or fever
• Have a wound that isn't healing
Physical Therapy for Your Feet: What You Should Know
Foot and ankle injuries are some of the most common, especially among athletes. In addition to being fairly common injuries, they are also incredibly debilitating, as we need our feet and ankles in order to walk and perform everyday activities. Thankfully, there are numerous helpful rehabilitation programs in place that are designed specifically to remedy foot and ankle issues.
Physical therapy is one of the most widely used and respected types of rehabilitation for foot and ankle injuries and ailments, such as plantar fasciitis, turf toe, and foot/ankle stress fractures. These programs emphasize the use of therapeutic, focused exercises that are designed to restore joint range of motion, muscle strength, neuromuscular coordination, and gait mechanics, to name a few.
Over the years, physical therapy has proven to be a very effective form of rehabilitation and has helped millions of patients suffering from foot and ankle issues get back on their feet, quite literally. For numerous different reasons, the foot and ankle are a couple of the most common areas that see both chronic and acute pain in athletes and physically active people. When an injury occurs to the foot or ankle, the individual undoubtedly experiences limits to how well they can run, jump, and even walk.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
