What causes chronic foot pain?
There are lots of reasons for foot pain. It can be due to a lack of movement, improper footwear, an underlying illness, or an injury. Foot pain can appear at any age and, depending on severity, affect the rest of your body, like your ankles, knees, hips, and back. Some common causes are:
- Bone spurs
- Broken foot or toe
- Bunions
- Gout
- Plantar fasciitis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Stress fractures
This is not an exhaustive list. In fact, this isn’t even the half of it. Chronic foot pain can be difficult to diagnose if you don’t know where the pain is coming from.
Keeping up with everyday life can be a significant challenge when your feet are hurting. Chronic foot pain can interfere with activities you enjoy and affect your overall health by making it difficult to exercise. Having sore feet after a long day of walking or standing is to be expected, but when your pain is persistent and doesn’t improve with home treatment (e.g., rest, ice, compression, and elevation), it’s time to see a doctor.
- Achilles tendonitis may be caused by overuse or repeated stress to the Achilles tendon at the back of the leg just above the heel.
- Arthritis causes pain and inflammation in the joints and is common in the small joints of the foot and ankle.
- Osteoarthritis is degenerative and caused by wear-and-tear of the cartilage in the foot and ankle.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition affecting joints throughout the body, including the feet. Non-healing wounds are also common in rheumatoid arthritis.
- Complex regional pain syndrome is a chronic pain condition that affects one limb usually after an injury. You may experience prolonged severe pain and changes in skin temperature, skin color, or swelling of the affected limb.
- A gout is a form of arthritis that causes sudden and severe pain, swelling, redness, and tenderness in the joints, often at the base of the big toe.
- Neuroma (Morton’s neuroma) is a thickening of the tissue around a nerve that connects your toes to the rest of your foot. It causes pain in the toes and ball of the foot and may feel as though you’re walking on a marble.
- Peripheral neuropathy (diabetic neuropathy) is a form of nerve damage related to diabetes that causes tingling, numbness, or burning in the affected areas, and may lead to a loss of sensation in your limbs.
- Plantar fasciitis (heel pain) is caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, a band of tissue that runs along the length of your foot.
- Sesamoiditis is a form of tendinitis that occurs on the underside of the forefoot near the big toe. It is common among ballet dancers, runners, and baseball catchers who put a lot of stress on the bones and tendons of the forefoot.
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the nerve that runs from the inside of the ankle to the foot.
Planning and recovery
A podiatric specialist can determine the cause of your pain and develop a treatment plan. During your visit, he or she will examine your feet and order an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan, if needed, to view the structures of the foot. Your podiatric surgeon will determine which treatment options are best for you depending on your age, the severity of symptoms, recovery time, and other factors.