Foot and ankle injuries and conditions

From standing and walking to running and dancing, your feet and ankles bear your body weight. Your ankle has the smallest surface area of the body's three major weight-bearing joints — the knees, hips and ankles.

Your ankle also has the greatest amount of force placed on it. When walking, the force on your ankle can be two and a half times your body weight. That force increases with impact when you're running or exercising.

With so much pressure put on such a small part of the body, it's no surprise that the feet and ankles are prone to painful injuries like sprains, fractures and dislocations. The degenerative effects of arthritis, infections and even structural characteristics like high arches or flat feet can take a toll on your feet and ankles.

Our focus at HonorHealth is to provide you with in-depth care and expert advice for your specific injury or condition. Our team of foot and ankle specialists understand how unique your needs are. They will partner with you to determine the best treatment plan to get you back to your normal activities.

Tony’s story: Bouncing back from a foot fracture

After years of service on the battlefield and at the firehouse, he was used to putting others first. But when a foot fracture brought everything to a halt, Tony faced a challenge unlike any before.

That’s when he turned to someone he trusted — board-certified orthopedic surgeon John Nassar, MD. With Dr. Nassar and the HonorHealth Orthopedics team by his side, Tony found the expert care and support he needed to keep moving forward.

Causes of foot and ankle pain

Among the most notable causes of acute and chronic foot and ankle pain, instability and weakness are:

  • Fractures: A complete or partial fracture or break of a bone in your foot or ankle.
  • Dislocations: A complete separation of the bones in a joint. For example, the bones of your toe can become dislocated by jamming your toe.
  • Arthritis: A condition that impacts the joints and causes pain, stiffness and swelling.
  • Bursitis: A result of inflammation around the joint.
  • Tendonitis: An issue resulting from inflammation of a tendon or tendon covering.
  • Sprains and strains: These injuries occur when the ligaments stretch or tear, usually caused by rolling or twisting the ankle.
  • Overuse: Repetitive stress to the foot or ankle.

Foot and ankle conditions

Along with health and hereditary factors, these issues can lead to many different foot and ankle conditions, including:

  • Achilles tendonitis: This condition results from overuse of the Achilles tendon and can cause heel pain, swelling, stiffness and weakness.
  • Achilles tendon ruptures: This occurs when the tendon that connects the calf and the heel ruptures from injury, overuse or degeneration.
  • Bunion: This condition is a protrusion of bone or tissue around the joint. Bunions can occur at the base of the big toe or the little toe and often happen when the joint is stressed over a period of time. They can also be a result of arthritis which most often affects the big toe joint.
  • Cavus foot (high arch): These issues occur when the foot has a higher-than-normal arch. This can lead to excessive pressure on the ball and heel of the foot which can cause pain and instability and also other foot issues such as hammertoes and calluses.
  • Charcot arthropathy: This is a chronic and destructive disease of the bone structure and joints in patients with neuropathy. It most commonly affects the foot and/or ankle.
  • Corns: These yellowish callus growths can develop on the top of the toes. Corns usually occur because of stress which is commonly caused when a toe rubs against a shoe or another toe.
  • Flatfoot: This happens when the arch on the inside of the foot becomes flat when the foot makes complete contact with the ground when standing or walking. This condition can occur when the arches don’t develop correctly during childhood and can also happen later in life following an injury or aging.
  • Heel spur: A bone growth on the heel bone that is usually located on the underside of the heel where it attaches to the plantar facia.
  • Lesser toe deformities: This causes pain and/or poor flexibility in the smaller four toes and can be caused by muscle, tendon or ligament imbalance that leads to hammertoe or mallet toe, among others. Lesser toe deformities also can be the result of the structure of your foot, injury, disease or even the types of shoes you wear.
  • Morton neuroma: This condition is caused by the build-up of benign (noncancerous) tissue in the nerves running between the long bones of the foot. Morton neuroma occurs when the two bones rub together and squeeze the nerve between them. It most commonly develops between the third and fourth toe, and causes swelling, tenderness and pain.
  • Peripheral neuropathy: This condition involves pain, weakness or numbness in the foot caused by damage to the peripheral nerves located outside the brain or spinal cord. Damage can result from an injury, infection, genetics or toxin exposure.
  • Plantar fasciitis: You will experience heel pain resulting from chronic inflammation. It may result from repeated trauma, such as running in unsupportive shoes, or for no specific reason.

Other issues that could cause foot or ankle problems can result from a traumatic event or surgery such as:

  • Deformity to the foot or ankle
  • Tendon ruptures
  • Dislocations
  • Abnormal positioning
  • Infection

Need help managing a foot or ankle condition?

Make an appointment with one of our specialists today.

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