One of the most common reasons why you may be feeling foot pain is due to an injury, however, this isn’t the only reason why your foot may be experiencing symptoms. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. If your foot is hurting without a specific incident or injury happening, it means another variable caused it. Here are some non-injury-related reasons why you may be experiencing foot pain.
The Wrong Footwear
Foot pain can be caused by improper foot function, which can result from wearing the wrong footwear. Your shoes could be too small, too big, worn out, or just lack good support. While evaluating your condition, your doctor will analyze your footwear. The outer skin and connective tissues in your feet can become irritated and inflamed with the wrong shoes. Improper footwear can even cause pain symptoms that reach up to your legs and lower back. As such, wearing supportive footwear is critical to your foot health.
Skin Growths
Abnormal skin growths on your feet can also cause foot pain. Redness, itchy skin, abnormal growths, and blistering can all cause pain, tenderness, and discomfort in the feet. Examples of some skin growths include:
- Corns and Calluses. Corns usually develop on your toes, while calluses develop on the bottom of your heel. Both are unattractive to look at and can become painful over time.
- Plantar Warts. Plantar warts are flesh-colored growths at the bottom of the feet caused by an HPV infection, which can cause pain and tenderness when walking.
- Athlete’s Foot. Red and scaly rashes that turn into blisters and ulcers are signs of Athlete’s foot, which is a type of fungal infection.
Joint Problems
Joint problems can also cause foot pain for many people. Such issues are not necessarily injury or specific incident related. Examples of joint-related issues include:
- Gout. Pain, swelling, or tenderness in the big toe may be caused by gout, which is a type of arthritis. It is caused by the accumulation of uric acid in the joints, often in the big toe joint.
- Hammertoe. A hammertoe is another foot condition that causes the middle toe to bend downward and take on the shape of a hammer. It is very painful and is caused by an imbalance in muscles, tendons, and ligaments due to ill-fitting shoes.
- Arthritis can affect any of the 30 joints in the foot. Osteoarthritis usually starts in the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTP), which connects the big toe to the foot. Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the joints of both feet at the same time.
Flat Foot or High Arches
Flat feet can also cause foot pain and swelling, especially after a long period of standing. If your foot lacks a developed arch, it means the tendons that hold the joints in your feet are loose, and your soles completely touch the ground when you stand or walk. Conversely, arches that are too high can also cause foot pain as the weight is distributed on the heel and ball of the feet, which can cause pain and discomfort with prolonged standing, walking, or running.
Orthopedic Care for Foot Pain in Dover, NJ
If you’re experiencing foot pain without obvious injury, have the orthopedic surgeons of Orthopedic Associates of West Jersey (OAWJ) evaluate your condition. We will diagnose your problem and discuss each treatment option available to you. To schedule an appointment, call (973) 989-0888 or fill out our online form.
