Foot injuries are quite common, especially because we ask a lot of our feet each and every day, and oftentimes it’s pretty easy to identify what caused your feet to start hurting. If you rolled your ankle playing basketball or you stubbed your toe on a table, you know why your foot is hurting, even if you don’t know the full extent of your injuries. But what happens if your feet or toes start hurting and you have no idea what caused the pain in the first place?
In today’s blog, we take a closer look at why your feet might be hurting if you didn’t suffer an obvious injury.
Feet Hurt Without Injury
If your feet are in pain and there is no acute moment of trauma that led to this discomfort, a number of different conditions could be the underlying cause. We won’t know for certain until you receive a diagnosis from an orthopedic specialist like Dr. Silverman, but here’s a look at some common foot and ankle conditions that can develop slowly over time and lead to significant pain.
Bunions – A bunion develops when your big toe joint shifts and becomes misaligned, causing it to protrude outwards and causing a visible bump on the side of your foot by the joint. This joint shifting doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, it takes months or even years of wearing poor footwear to cause the abnormal stress on the joint to shift it out of place. This can oftentimes be self-diagnosed by looking for a visible bump on the side of your foot near the base of your big toe joint. If there’s a bump, but it’s not painful, it still warrants attention because it likely will become symptomatic in the near future, and treating it before this point typically yields much better results.
Plantar Fasciitis – Plantar fasciitis is a condition we’ve talked about on this blog many times in the past, so you can head over to those blogs for more information on the condition, but repetitive stress on the feet can oftentimes lead to inflammation of the thick band of tissue that runs on the underside of your foot from your heel to your toes. Rest, activity modification, physical therapy and footwear changes can help to put an end to your plantar fasciitis.
Hammertoes – Hammertoes are similar to bunions in that abnormal pressure, oftentimes caused by overly tight shoes, causes problems for toes at the joint. Shoes that are too tight can force the smaller toes upwards, damaging the connective tissues in the joint. This can lead to a flexible or rigid bend in the toes that can also become painful. Make comfort your top priority when choosing shoes, and you can avoid hammertoes.
Achilles Tendonitis – Tendonitis is classified as an overuse injury, so if you’re on your feet all day, even if you don’t specifically injure your feet, tendonitis can develop. Being overweight or older can also put you at a higher risk for tendonitis, so work to manage your weight and wear the right shoes for the job to help ensure stress is dispersed as it should be throughout your feet.
Ingrown Toenail – And although this is hardly a comprehensive list, the last condition we’ll spotlight is an ingrown toenail. This is also brought on by tight-fitting shoes, which is why they can be prevalent among soccer players, dancers or others who rely on a tight shoe during athletic movements. Ingrown toenails can also routinely return unless they are cared for correctly, which is why it’s so important to connect with a foot and ankle specialist.