Foot pain is common in society and can be due to many different conditions that vary from acute traumas to chronic conditions. As we need to walk around on our feet any pain in the feet can impact the quality of one’s life and potentially interfere with a lot of activities. Foot pain is more common in older people and more active people but can a problem at any age from a new child just starting to walk to an older person with a disability.

One of the more common causes of foot pain is a pain in the heel called plantar fasciitis which is an inflammation of a strong ligament that supports the arch of the foot. This can be quite disabling when you first get up from rest, especially first thing in the morning. Plantar fasciitis is most commonly caused by overuse such as higher levels of activity or being overweight. Combined with biomechanical problems like flat feet, this just puts too much pressure on the plantar fascia and it becomes inflamed. The treatment is commonly the use of foot orthotics and stretching.

Bunions are also a common cause of foot pain. This is an enlargement of the big toe joint combined with the deviation of the big toe that can become pain and never looks very good. The most common cause is the use of tight-fitting shoes, especially in females that cramps up the toes of the foot. The treatment of bunions is to use better fitting shoes and braces that may be able to correct the angle of the toe. The only ways to get rid of bunions is with surgery. The tight-fitting shoes can also cause other problems with the feet such as hammer toes and corns may develop on those toe deformities. The best way to deal with these is to do anything to get the pressure of the toes, such as better fitting shoes, the uses of padding to get pressure of the toe and even consider surgery to correct the toe deformity.

The most common cause of foot pain in children is easily a condition of the growing heel bone called Severs disease. This is an overuse problem of the back of the heel bone that the child will always grow out of, but can be quite disabling in the meantime, so there does need to be some restriction of activity levels and maybe a cushioned heel pad.

All causes of foot pain really do need to be treated early to prevent them becoming chronic and having long term impacts on quality life and interfering with the ability to carry out the usually daily activities.