Foot Pain Locations At Our Feet

Foot pain is very common pain. About 75% of people in the United States have foot pain at some time in their lives. Most foot pain is caused by shoes that do not fit properly or that force the feet into unnatural shapes (such as pointed-toe, high-heeled shoes).

The foot is a complex structure of 26 bones and 33 joints, layered with an intertwining web of more than 120 muscles, ligaments, and nerves. It serves the following functions:

* Supports weight
* Acts as a shock absorber
* Serves as a lever to propel the leg forward
* Helps maintain balance by adjusting the body to uneven surfaces

Because the feet are very small compared with the rest of the body, the impact of each step exerts tremendous force upon them. This force is about 50% greater than the person's body weight. During a typical day, people spend about 4 hours on their feet and take 8,000 - 10,000 steps. This means that the feet support a combined force equivalent to several hundred tons every day.

Foot pain generally starts in one of three places: the toes, the forefoot, and the hindfoot.

1) The Toes - Toe problems most often occur because of the pressure imposed by ill-fitting shoes.

2) The Forefoot - The forefoot is the front of the foot. Pain originating here usually involves one of the following bone groups:

* The metatarsal bones (five long bones that extend from the front of the arch to the bones in the toe)
* The sesamoid bones (two small bones embedded at the top of the first metatarsal bone, which connects to the big toe)

3) The Hindfoot - The hindfoot is the back of the foot. Pain originating here can extend from the heel, across the sole (known as the plantar surface), to the ball of the foot (the metatarsophalangeal joint).