What are the main causes of foot pain?

The main causes of foot pain include gravity, weight gain, the aging process, genetics, and even gender. Podiatrist Suzanne Levine, DPM, explains the factors that cause foot pain, and why women tend to experience it more than men.

Transcript

00:00

The only part of the body that you lose cushioning and fat is the ball of the foot. Instead of losing it here, you lose it

00:06

under the ball of the foot. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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Some of the causes of foot pain are gravity. Gravity causes the foot to actually sag.

00:21

The arch sags. You end up with heel problems, plantar fasciitis, calluses,

00:28

dead cells on the skin, as well as bunion pain, the bony bump on the side of the foot with the

00:35

with the toe sticking out, corns, hammertoes, a lack of cushioning under the ball of the foot.

00:41

Believe it or not, the only part of the body that you lose cushioning and fat is the ball of the foot. Instead of losing it here, you lose it

00:48

under the ball of the foot. And other problems that develop due to gravity is fissures, cracks, those very cracks that you have

00:58

that are so painful back at the heel. Another problem is weight gain. With every pound that you gain, you're

01:06

putting two to three times the body weight onto the ball of the foot. So if you gain 10 pounds, which is so easy to do,

01:12

you're going to end up putting 30 pounds onto the ball of the foot. And you can develop stress fractures, ligamentous injuries, all kinds of pain--

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neuromas, hammertoes, bunions, you name it, just by that extra weight gain. Also, aging-- aging, as we age, we

01:30

lose circulation to the toes. The capillaries constrict. It's hard for the fluids to go back toward the heart.

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The valves become incompetent. Your metabolism slows down. So you naturally gain 10 pounds every 10 years, just about.

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It is so easy, then, to put extra weight on the foot. The aging process will also reduce

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some of the soft tissue, the collagen formation at the ball of the foot, the heel. And you'll develop all those calluses.

01:59

You definitely have more calluses when you're in your 60s versus somebody that's in their teens or 20s.

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In fact, most of the time, our feet don't hurt until we hit age 30. And it's important to take care of your feet.

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That's key. Genes play a role, too. Women are more prone to bunions, hammertoes, all kinds of foot problems.

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Why? Because they have a lighter bone structure. Also, hormones play a role. When they're pregnant, you gain a lot of weight

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over short periods of time. There, too, you're going to challenge the foot. You're going to have some challenging foot problems.

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And women love their high-heeled shoes. But the shoes will cause a problem. Put your foot in an abnormal position

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and further aggravate bunions, corns, calluses, neuroma pain,

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bruising, bone bruising, all kinds of issues that make it so difficult to go from point A to point B.

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Our foot is so delicate. We really have to pamper our foot and treat our feet the way we treat our face.

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That's really key. [AUDIO LOGO]