Medical Conditions That Can Cause Foot Pain

Are your feet killing you, but you’re not sure why? If you haven’t expressly injured or overworked your feet, the cause of your foot pain may seem mysterious. The answer to the mystery may be this: you’ve got an underlying medical condition that’s causing your feet to swell, tingle, or hurt.

• Diabetes
  Diabetes is, of course, one of the biggest medical causes of foot problems. As our patients with diabetes well know, high blood sugar affects peripheral arteries and nerves. As a result, your feet can become painful, numb, or tingling. Wounds don’t heal quickly, which puts you at a higher risk of infections and amputations.
• Pregnancy
  Many aspects of being pregnant result in foot problems. Fluid retention is normal and causes feet to swell. Hormonal changes can loosen joints in your feet, making you feel unstable or somewhat off-balance. Even a moderate weight gain can cause arch flattening and general foot pain.
• Medications
  Foot swelling is a side effect of some medications, including those you take to lower your blood pressure. Ask our podiatrists or your primary care physician to review your list of medications to see if they could be the cause of your foot issues.
• Arthritis
  If you’ve been walking around the planet for 50 years or more, you may have osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of protective tissue within a joint. With 33 joints in each foot, that’s a lot of opportunity for joint pain.
• Obesity
  The higher your body mass index (BMI), the higher your chances of having foot problems. Simply put, being overweight puts a lot of pressure on your feet. Obesity puts you at a higher risk for tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, arch pain, and arthritis.

Our experienced podiatric surgeons, Dr. Craig B. Frey, Dr. Megan L. Oltmann, and Dr. Jim Swienconek, can identify the underlying causes of your foot pain and recommend effective treatments. Call Foot & Ankle Associates of Cleveland in Solon, Ohio at (440) 903-1041 or contact us online to schedule a consultation. We offer a modern office with the latest technology for podiatric patients in Portage, Geauga, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties, proudly serving our patients from Solon, Aurora, Bedford, Chagrin Falls, Hudson, Macedonia, and Twinsburg.