From your lower spine, a number of spinal nerves flow down your legs and end in your feet. Foot pain can arise when the nerve roots (the component of the nerve that exits the spine) of certain spinal nerves are inflamed or compressed. If a nerve near your hip, knee, or foot is crushed, it might cause foot discomfort.
This blog gives a list of typical causes of foot pain as well as useful hints to assist you figure out what’s causing your discomfort.
A spinal condition causes foot pain.
Sciatica pain can travel down your leg and into your foot due to nerve root irritation or compression in the lumbar or sacral spine (lower back).
1 Compression of the S1 nerve root, often known as typical sciatica, causes discomfort on the outer side of the foot.A variety of factors can cause nerve roots to be crushed or inflamed. Common instances include3:A herniated disc in the lower back refers to the inner contents of an intervertebral disc leaking out.Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine: The disc narrows and shrinks as a result of age-related changes.
Spondylolisthesis: A vertebra slips over the one below it.
Narrowing of the bone apertures for spinal nerves and/or the spinal cord is known as lumbar spinal stenosis.Foot drop is a condition that causes difficulty to elevate the front part of your foot or frequent stumbling when walking. Compression of the L5 nerve root is the most common cause of this disease. Foot drop can also be caused by compression of the L4 and/or S1 nerve roots.Compression of nerves in the hip, knee, or leg causes foot discomfort.
Nerve compression or injury along the course of nerves in the hip, knee, or leg can cause foot pain. Consider the following scenario:
When you try to move your foot, peroneal neuropathy, a disorder in which the peroneal nerve is pinched or injured near the knee, can produce foot pain and foot drop.
Sciatic neuropathy, or injury to the sciatic nerve in the pelvic region (hip), can cause foot discomfort and weakness along the top of your foot.
A sharp, shooting pain in the ankle area and along the sole of your foot can be caused by tarsal tunnel syndrome, or malfunction of the tibial nerve within the tarsal tunnel of the inner ankle.
Sural nerve entrapment can happen in the leg or around the ankle, causing shooting pain on the outside of your ankle and/or foot.
A corn may form on the skin around your toes as well. Corns form as a result of excessive friction and can compress surrounding nerves, resulting in discomfort and other symptoms. Morton’s neuroma, which is a thickening of the tissue around a nerve in the foot, is another probable cause of nerve discomfort in the foot.How do you figure out what’s causing your foot pain?
It can be difficult to establish the specific underlying cause of nerve pain in the foot because there are so many possibilities. Here are a few clues to assist you figure out what’s causing your foot pain:
Foot discomfort that occurs after a recent injury to the lower back, hip, knee, or ankle could indicate nerve damage.
Nerve root compression or sciatica can cause foot discomfort as well as other symptoms like pain, numbness, and/or weakness in the buttock, thigh, and leg; and it usually affects one leg at a time.Foot pain caused by tight boots or shoes could be a sign of peroneal or sural nerve compression at the knee or ankle.
Sciatic neuropathy may be indicated by foot pain that arises after a hip injection or surgery.
Nerve damage from systemic illnesses like diabetes or multiple sclerosis can also cause nerve discomfort in the foot.
Foot discomfort can be caused by twisting, bending, or a direct strike to the ankle and/or foot, which can hurt the foot bones, ankle joint, blood vessels, muscles, and/or tendons.