Foot Pain

Heel Pain / Plantar Fascitis / Plantar Fasciosis

The most common cause of foot pain in the heel and foot pain in the arch. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the thick fibrous band of tissue that connects from your heel to your toes (plantar facsia) becomes weak, irritated or swollen. Foot muscle imbalance can also cut off the blood supply to tendons causing cell death or plantar fasciosis. It has been reported that plantar fasciitis occurs in two million Americans a year and 10% of the population over a lifetime.

Cause: Foot muscle weakness and imbalance. Several causes including wearing shoes that don’t fit well or are worn out.

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Bunions

A pathological bump on the side of the big toe caused by an enlargement of bone or tissue around the joint. With a bunion, you may experience irritated skin around the bunion, pain when walking, joint redness and pain, and possible shift of the big toe toward the other toes. Blisters may form more easily around the site of the bunion as well.

Cause: Weak abductor and adductor muscles on the inside and outside of the foot. Depending on factors such as duration of wearing constraining footwear, skeletal maturity, and individual factors, the toes can become adapted to the new position and lead to the deformity we know as a bunion. Genetics can also play a role in developing bunions.

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Hammer toes

An imbalance of the tendons (either above or below the toe) causing toe(s) to curl. Also called a mallet toe.

Cause: Weakness of the transverse arch (knuckles) of the foot.  Wearing improper footwear — shoes that are too tight in the toe box or shoes that have high heels. Genetics can also play a role in developing a hammertoe.

Metatarsalgia

An imbalance in the long bones of the foot that can cause extreme foot pain in the ball of feet.

Cause: Sports that place tremendous pounding on the ball of the foot; shoes with small toe boxes that cramp your toes.

Most, if not all, of the above foot pain issues can arise by not wearing proper shoes and not using preventative steps in foot care.

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Corns & Callouses

Areas of thick, hard skin. Corns are hard, thick skin that forms on your toe, while a callous is thick, hard skin that has forms elsewhere on your foot.

Cause: Usually caused by rubbing or irritation over a boney prominence. A boney prominence is often due to muscle weakness and malposition of foot bones.

Ingrown Toenail

The sides or corners of the toenail usually curve down and put pressure on the skin. Sometimes the toenail pierces the skin and then continues to grow into the skin. This may cause redness, swelling, pain and sometimes infection.

Cause: Many factors can cause ingrown toenails, one being tight or narrow shoes (poorly fitted shoes)