Pain when walking

When walking, the feet can hurt due to shoes that are too tight. In general, one should pay attention to suitable footwear and especially women should not constantly walk in high shoes. Foot pain when walking is aggravated by being overweight because the weight presses on the feet.

This can also lead to flat feet, where the longitudinal arch flattens. Overloading due to a lot of walking and standing puts a strain on the feet. Malpositions such as splayed, bent or flat feet can also cause pain, but can often be corrected with insoles.

In adults, changes to the feet often occur, such as hammer toes, claw toes and a hallux valgus, in which the big toe bends towards the other toes, resulting in a thick pad. They are often accompanied by splayfeet. Corns and calluses can also develop.

But blistering, warts, ingrown toenails, athlete’s foot and foreign bodies such as splinters can also cause pain. In addition, an infection can develop on it, which is accompanied by swelling, redness and overheating. In some people, an increase in uric acid can also lead to an attack of gout, which can particularly affect the thumb and big toe.

Here swellings and overheating occur. Differential-diagnostically also rheumatic illnesses must be clarified. Arthrosis can also develop in the foot, e.g. after an injury, but the cause is often unknown.

Circulatory disorders such as those that occur in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (pAVK) can have serious consequences on the feet. Patients report pain in the calves when walking and tingling and numbness in the feet. It is important to note that even the smallest wounds will not heal due to the lack of blood circulation and lead to tissue loss (necrosis).

If the affected person is also a diabetic, his nerves can be so affected by the high sugar levels that he hardly feels any pain and notices the necrosis too late. The diabetes itself leads to a circulatory disorder even without peripheral arterial occlusive disease (pAVK). In Germany, the diabetic foot syndrome is one of the most common reasons for foot amputations.

A heel spur or irritation of the Achilles tendon (med. Achillodynia) also causes foot pain when walking. In particular, the lower heel spur, which develops on the sole of the foot due to overloading, hurts the affected person when it occurs.

This is where calcification of the tendon attachment of the sole of the foot tendon, the plantar fascia, occurs. This plantar aponeurosis can also become inflamed (plantar fasciitis) and cause pain when the foot moves. This is also promoted by foot malpositions and overweight.

In tarsal tunnel syndrome, the nerve that innervates the sole of the foot and the inner edge of the foot (tibialis nerve) is trapped. This runs in a channel behind the inner ankle, along the tarsal tunnel. Compression can be caused by footwear, swelling, after ankle injuries or tissue changes.

Compression of the nerve results in burning pain and numbness in the area being treated, similar to the hand in carpal tunnel syndrome. A herniated disc in the lumbar spine can also lead to burning pain and numbness due to the herniated disc in the foot area. Nerve pain is also caused by alcohol consumption and can also lead to foot pain.

Many children complain about tired legs and feet and pain in them while walking.Almost all children do this because their shorter legs mean they cover more steps than an adult and tire earlier. Normally this is not a bad thing, but if a child says after just a few steps that his feet hurt, or the pain does not subside and is also present at rest, there may be other causes behind it. Foot pain in children can have many different causes.

First of all, you should check for yourself if there is a banal explanation for the pain. This could be a stone in the shoe or a shoe that is too tight, which presses the child’s foot. Whether the shoe is too tight can also be checked by looking at pressure points on the child’s foot.

Red painful spots or welts, as well as blisters, indicate this. A splinter when walking barefoot could also be the cause of pain in the foot. Warts can also become very painful and often have to be treated.

Nail bed inflammation or ingrown toenails are frequent and very painful. This can be recognized by reddening and possibly white purulent melts next to the nail in the nail bed. A relief of the pus is often purposeful, rarely the whole nail must be pulled.

Changes in the arch of the foot, such as buckling and flat feet, are often standard variations that usually do not require therapy because they grow out again. Occasionally, however, insoles can be useful. A malpositioning of the big toe (hallux valgus) can also manifest itself in childhood and be accompanied by pain in the ball of the big toe.

A hallux valgus can occur in childhood, for example, with a splayfoot. Malpositioning of the hip and pelvic bones as well as knock-knees (genu valgum) and bow legs (genu varum) can also cause foot pain. Rarely are more serious diseases behind foot pain in children.

Theoretically possible are bone or soft tissue tumors such as Ewing’s sarcoma or an osteoid osteoma. In the context of circulatory disorders (aseptic bone necrosis), bones or bone parts can perish due to the reduced oxygen supply. In children, this is called Köhler’s disease (M. Köhler 1: The scaphoid bone (Os naviculare) is affected, M. Köhler 2: A metatarsal head is affected).

Similarly, overexertion due to a lot of running and jumping or strains and torn ligaments when bending over can lead to pain in the feet. If the ankles are swollen, red-blue discolored, overheated and painful, a doctor should be consulted. Often an X-ray of the foot must be taken to rule out a fracture.

Another common cause is the so-called growth pain in children. These are said to affect up to a third of all children in the growth phase, occur several times a year and last for several weeks. Why these occur is not yet clear.

It is suspected that ligaments and tendons do not grow at the same rate as bones and are therefore stretched. Mostly growth pains are observed at night when the child is at rest. The pain can be so strong that the child cries or even wakes up due to the pain.

However, the pain usually disappears the next morning. Especially regions of the arms and legs close to the joints are affected, such as the knees and the calf, but foot pain is also possible in the child. A hot-water bottle on the region or a warm bath can relieve the pain.

Painkillers may also be necessary. Rheumatic diseases can also occur in children and lead to foot pain. An inflammation of the bone marrow, osteomyelitis, or the whole bone (osteitis) is also a conceivable explanation for leg/foot pain.

This can occur after an open injury (e.g. to the shinbone) or bacterial infections such as respiratory tract or palatine tonsils (tonsils). Inflammation is usually accompanied by redness, swelling and fever, however, and the suspicion can be strengthened by taking a blood sample. Here, a quick antibiotic therapy must be administered, as the disease can be life-threatening.