Foot Pain: Check Your Symptoms and Signs With the Symptom Checker by MedicineNet.com

Foot Pain Symptoms

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Pain in the foot can involve any part of the foot. Abnormalities of the skin, nerves, bones, blood vessels, and soft tissues of the foot can result in foot pain. Evaluating the cause of foot pain can require an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of not only the foot, but also the ankle, lower extremity, and lower spine.

Because we expose our feet to potential injury in our daily lives by walking, we have all experienced pains in the feet at one time or another. There are many common causes of foot pains, such as blisters and corns. There are also less common causes of foot pain, such as sciatica and osteomyelitis. Treatments for foot pain depend on the particular cause.

Main Articles on Foot Pain

Causes of Foot Pain

Ankle Pain and Tendinitis Ankle pain is commonly due to a sprain or tendinitis. The severity of ankle sprains ranges from mild (which can resolve within...learn more »
Arthritis Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, warmth, swelling, redness...learn more »
Athlete's Foot Athlete's foot (tinea pedis) is a skin infection caused by the ringworm fungus. Symptoms include itching, burning, cracking,...learn more »
Bumps and Bruises A bruise, or contusion, is caused when blood vessels are damaged or broken as the result of a blow to the skin. The raised area...learn more »
Bunions The common bunion, an enlargement of the inner portion of the joint at the base of the big toe, primarily affects women. The...learn more »
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome And Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which irritation of the wrist's median nerve causes tingling and numbness of the thumb,...learn more »
Corns Corns and calluses are sometimes painful areas of thickened skin that appear between the toes and fingers or on the soles of the...learn more »
Fracture Fractures occur when bone cannot withstand the outside forces applied to the bone. Fractures can be open or closed. Types of...learn more »
Gout Gout is a condition that results from crystals of uric acid depositing in tissues of the body. Gout is a condition that can lead...learn more »
Heel Spurs Heel spurs, pointed, bony outgrowths of the heel, are caused by localized soft tissue inflammation and can be located at the back...learn more »
Ingrown Toenail Ingrown toenails are caused by the growth of the toenail into the surrounding nail fold. Symptoms include toe pain, swelling,...learn more »
Nail Fungus Fungal nails (onychomycosis) occur when microscopic fungus enters a fingernail or toenail. Symptoms and signs of onychomycosis...learn more »
Osteomyelitis Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone. Potential causes include injections around the bone, fractures that puncture the skin,...learn more »
Peripheral Neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy is a problem with the functioning of the nerves outside of the spinal cord. Symptoms may include numbness,...learn more »
Peripheral Vascular Disease Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) refers to diseases of the blood vessels (arteries and veins) located outside the heart and...learn more »
Raynaud's Phenomenon Raynaud's phenomenon is characterized by a pale-blue-red sequence of color changes of the digits, most commonly after exposure to...learn more »
Sciatica Sciatica pain, caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve, typically radiates from the low back to behind the thigh to below the...learn more »
Sprains and Strains An injury to a ligament is called a sprain, and an injury to muscle or tendon is called a strain. Sprains and strains may be...learn more »
Turf Toe Turf toe is a sprain to the ligaments around the big toe joint. Symptoms and signs include pain, swelling, a popping sound, and...learn more »
Vasculitis Vasculitis is a general term for a group of uncommon diseases which feature inflammation of the blood vessels. Each form of...learn more »
Warts (Common Warts) Common warts are skin growths causes by the human papillomavirus. There are many types of warts, including plantar warts, common...learn more »

Other Causes of Foot Pain

Examples of Medications for Foot Pain

Symptoms & Signs A-Z List