Diseases of the foot generally are not limited, that is they are related to or manifest elsewhere in the body. However, the foot is often the first place some of these diseases or a sign or symptom of others appear. This is because of the foot's distance from the central circulation, the heart and its constant exposure to pressures from the ground and the weight of the body. The foot may look simple but is a complex structure with 26 bones, 33 joints, numerous

muscles Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of musc ...

, nerves and different ligament types. Any part of the foot can be affected. Some foot disorders may present with just a mild ache, but other foot disorders can be very serious and limit ability to walk or bear weight. Most minor cases of foot pain respond to home care treatments except when severe pain is present as it is a disabling condition and usually needs some type of medical attention. If foot pain is not treated in time, it can lead to long term disability and continuing damage to the foot.

Causes

The most common cause of foot pain is wearing ill fitting shoes. Women often wear tight shoes that are narrow and constrictive, and thus are most prone to foot problems. Tight shoes often cause overcrowding of toes and result in a variety of structural defects. The next most common cause of foot disease is overuse or traumatic injuries.

Diagnosis

Besides a physical examination, an

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

MRI or an

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies ...

study may be obtained to assess the soft tissues and blood vessels. Standardized questionnaires and scoring systems, like the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) foot and ankle questionnaires, can help elicit the history and physical exam necessary to make and accurate diagnosis of foot and ankle conditions.

Skin and nails

Often there is a distinction made between conditions of the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

skin and

plantar Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

skin. Common examples include

callus A callus is an area of thickened and sometimes hardened skin that forms as a response to repeated friction, pressure, or other irritation. Since repeated contact is required, calluses are most often found on the feet and hands, but they may o ...

thickened skin, fungal infections of the skin (

athlete's foot Athlete's foot, known medically as ''tinea pedis'', is a common skin infection of the feet caused by a fungus. Signs and symptoms often include itching, scaling, cracking and redness. In rare cases the skin may blister. Athlete's foot fungus ...

) or nails (

onychomycosis Onychomycosis, also known as tinea unguium, is a fungal infection of the nail. Symptoms may include white or yellow nail discoloration, thickening of the nail, and separation of the nail from the nail bed. Toenails or fingernails may be affected, ...

), viral infection of verrucae, and ingrowing toenails that may cause bacterial nail infections (

paronychia Paronychia is an inflammation of the skin around the nail, which can occur suddenly, when it is usually due to the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', or gradually when it is commonly caused by the fungus ''Candida albicans''. The term is fro ...

). Corns and calluses are chunky tough layers of skin that develop on the foot to protect underlying skin from pressure and friction. Corns and calluses are very common and do not look pleasant. Corns and calluses generally need treatment only if they cause problems. For most people, the best treatment of corns and calluses is to eliminate the source of friction or pressure. Ingrown toe nail is a disorder where the nail starts to grow into the soft fleshy area of the

toe Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plan ...

. It causes intense redness, pain and swelling. Ingrown toe nails often affect the big toe. The best treatment for ingrown toe nails is to get the

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

partially or completely removed.

Arthritic foot conditions

Arthritic Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In s ...

foot conditions often present differently from arthritis other areas of the body. Achilles tendinitis results from

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

on calf muscles and Achilles tendon. This strong

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

often gets inflamed while playing sports like basketball. The tendon gets irritated and does cause moderate pain . When treated promptly, the tendinitis is relieved. Sometimes, the Achilles tendon can rupture if it is overstretched. When the Achilles tendon ruptures, one may feel a sudden pop followed by sharp pain. Rupture of the Achilles tendon makes it impossible to walk.

Bunion A bunion, also known as hallux valgus, is a deformity of the joint connecting the big toe to the foot. The big toe often bends towards the other toes and the joint becomes red and painful. The onset of bunions is typically gradual. Complicatio ...

is an abnormal bony mass that forms on the big toe and points outwards. This deformity is unsightly and painful. When the big toe enlarges at the base, it can force the other toes to crowd against each other. Over time, the big toe pushes outwards and alters the normal outline of the foot. Bunions occur for many reasons but the most common is not wearing proper shoes, arthritis and different inherited structural defects.

Flat feet Flat feet (also called pes planus or fallen arches) is a postural deformity in which the arches of the foot collapse, with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with the ground. Sometimes children are born ...

(

Pes planus Flat feet (also called pes planus or fallen arches) is a postural deformity in which the arches of the foot collapse, with the entire sole of the foot coming into complete or near-complete contact with the ground. Sometimes children are born ...

foot) essentially means that the arch inside the foot is flat. This very common painless disorder may occur at birth or after pregnancy. Flat feet generally do not cause problems but may sometimes cause the foot to rotate inwards (pronation). There are orthotic shoe insoles (foot orthotics) that help correct flat feet. Surgery does not correct flat feet and should be avoided.

Hammer toe A hammer toe or contracted toe is a deformity of the muscles and ligaments of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the second, third, fourth, or fifth toe causing it to be bent, resembling a hammer. In the early stage a flexible hammertoe is ...

s are unsightly and reveal a toe that is curled due to a bend in the middle joint of the toe. A hammer toe occur chiefly because the shoe is too tight at the front or the heels are too high. In such situations, the toe is strained against the front of the shoe and results in an abnormal twist. Relieving pain, pressure, changing shoe wear or wearing a type of

shoe insert A removable shoe insert, otherwise known as a foot orthosis, insole or inner sole accomplishes many purposes, including daily wear comfort, height enhancement, plantar fasciitis treatment, arch support, foot and joint pain relief from arthritis, ...

is adequate for most people.

Gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

often presents with pain and tenderness at the base of the big toe. Generally women are more prone to gout after menopause. An acute attack of gout is intensely painful and walking on the foot is impossible. Gout is essentially a disorder caused by precipitation of

uric acid Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates, such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is a product of the metabolic breakdown ...

crystals in the joint.

Plantar fasciitis Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain (PHP) is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and bottom of the foot that is usually most severe with the fi ...

is a very common cause of heel pain. The thick fibrous bands at the bottom of the heel get inflamed and cause excruciating pain. The pain occurs the moment you step out of bed. After a few hours, the pain does subside but can return after prolonged periods of standing.

is most common in runners, obese individuals, women who are pregnant and those who wear shoes with inadequate heel support. The treatment of this agonizing disorder involves pain control, steroid injections, proper foot wear and rest.

Pain relief

In some cases, foot diseases and painful conditions can be treated. Synovium hydrates the cartilage in the heel and can bring pain relief quickly. Synovium gel looks as well as strongly smells like urine, straying some consumers away. However this only occurs after expiration.

Blood thinner Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some of them occur naturally in blood-eating animals such as leeches and mosquitoes, where th ...

s can also work however are deemed as bad relievers by medical practitioners due to the fact that they can contribute to headaches and in some cases increase foot pain afterwards.

Vascular disorders

Atherosclerotic Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no ...

restriction to the arterial supply in

peripheral artery occlusive disease Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an abnormal narrowing of arteries other than those that supply the heart or brain. When narrowing occurs in the heart, it is called coronary artery disease, and in the brain, it is called cerebrovascular diseas ...

may result in painful arterial ulcers of the ankle and foot, or give rise of gangrene of the toes and foot. Immobility of a person may result in prolonged pressure applied to the heels causing

pressure sore Pressure ulcers, also known as pressure sores, bed sores or pressure injuries, are localised damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue that usually occur over a bony prominence as a result of usually long-term pressure, or pressure in combi ...

s. Impaired venous drainage from the foot in

varicose veins Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Varicose veins usually cause few symptoms. However, some indiv ...

may sequentially result in brown

haemosiderin Hemosiderin image of a kidney viewed under a microscope. The brown areas represent hemosiderin Hemosiderin or haemosiderin is an iron-storage complex that is composed of partially digested ferritin and lysosomes. The breakdown of heme gives rise ...

discolouration to the ankle and foot, varicose stasis dermatitis and finally venous ulcers. Other disorders of the foot include osteoarthritis of the joints, peripheral neuropathy and plantar warts.Foot Pain
Retrieved on 2010-01-20

References

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