Orthopedics-Online

Diseases of the foot

There are a multitude of clinical pictures around the foot, which can have various causes. Restrictions in the area of the foot can arise, for example, due to injuries or age-related wear, or be congenital.

Here you will find an overview of the most common foot diseases and their causes.

Below is an overview of the most common diseases of the foot in:

Traumatic diseases of the foot
Inflammatory diseases of the foot
Degenerative diseases of the foot
Misaligned feet

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My name is dr. Nicolas Gumpert. I am a specialist in orthopedics and the founder of .
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Athletes (joggers, soccer players, etc.) are particularly often affected by diseases of the foot. In some cases, the cause of the foot discomfort cannot be identified at first.
Therefore, the treatment of the foot (e.g. Achilles tendonitis, heel spurs, etc.) requires a lot of experience.
I focus on a wide variety of foot diseases.
The aim of every treatment is treatment without surgery with a complete recovery of performance.

Which therapy achieves the best results in the long term can only be determined after looking at all of the information (Examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) be assessed.

You can find me in:

Lumedis - your orthopedic surgeon
Kaiserstrasse 14
60311 Frankfurt am Main

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Further information about myself can be found at Dr. Nicolas Gumpert

Traumatic diseases of the foot

Broken foot

Fractures (fractures) of the foot can affect many different bones (toe bones, metatarsals, or tarsal bones).

Depending on the cause of the break, which bones are involved and how severe the break appears, different symptoms can occur and different treatments are necessary.

In addition to fractures caused by external forces, fatigue fractures occur in the metatarsal area with very frequent overloads (e.g. in competitive athletes).

Here you will find further information on the following topics:

broken foot
Broken bone in the foot

Sprained foot

A sprain (distortion) is a common injury to the joint capsule or ligamentous apparatus of a joint. The collagen fibers of these structures are overstretched. It occurs mainly in athletes and very physically active people. The foot in the upper ankle is particularly at risk. Treatment with a tape dressing is possible.

Buckled foot

The twisting of the foot is the most common cause of ligament overstretching, ligament strain or a torn ligament on the foot. Here the foot kinks inwards and the outer ligament is overloaded. An outward kinking and thus an injury to the inner ligament is very rare compared to an inward kinking. A possible cause of an injury to the inner ligament can be a hard kick on the ankle from the front.

It is important that the patient see a doctor as soon as possible after a painful twist, even if the pain has improved again after a while. If a torn ligament is not treated, there is a risk of serious long-term consequences such as permanent instability of the joint; the probability of a new twist is also significantly increased. Also, the presence of instability over the years encourages the development of degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis).

Inflammatory diseases of the foot

Here is a selection of the most important inflammatory diseases of the foot:

Inflammation of the foot
Tendinitis in the foot
Tendonitis in the metatarsus
Inflammation in the ankle
Tendonitis on the sole of the foot
Inflammation of the ball of the foot
Inflammation of the plantar tendon

Degenerative diseases

Heel spur

The heel spur refers to a bony protrusion or extension. Heel spur is a common, degenerative (wear-related) Illness. The incidence of heel spur disease consequently increases with age.

You can find more information on this topic here:

Heel spur - what is it?
Treatment of a calcaneal spur
Duration of a calcaneal spur
Insoles for a calcaneal spur
Symptoms of a calcaneal spur
Therapy of a calcaneal spur
Shock wave therapy for a calcaneal spur
Taping a heel spur
Haglund exostosis
Haglund heel

Misaligned feet

Here you will find detailed information on various foot deformities:

Arches foot
Buckle foot
Flat foot
Splay feet
Clubfoot

Further topics related to the foot

Köhler's disease I and II

Two very similar diseases are summarized as Köhler's disease. Köhler's disease is the death of the scaphoid bone on the foot. The scaphoid bone is a tarsus bone.
Köhler's disease, on the other hand, refers to the death of metatarsal bones.

Typically, a child with Koehler's disease is first noticed by pain when the affected foot is put under pressure, without any external injury. In addition, pain occurs when pressure is applied to the corresponding bone.

Further information can be found here: Köhler's disease I and II

Ledderhose's disease

Ledderhose's disease is a benign disease of the connective tissue of the feet. It occurs in the area of the tendon plate of the sole of the foot. The nodes on the soles of the feet usually grow very slowly and are almost always centered on the plantar fascia (sole of the foot). Occasionally the nodes will slow down and stop enlarging. Then suddenly they can grow rapidly and unexpectedly again.
Surgical intervention is only necessary for painful lumps that impede walking.

You can find out more about the topic here: Ledderhose's disease

Achilles tendon

Here you will find a list of important diseases of the Achilles tendon:

Achilles tendon strength
Achilles tendonitis
Achilles tendon tear
Achillodynia

Asleep foot

If someone says that their foot has "fallen asleep", it is a feeling of numbness and tingling in the affected foot, which are caused by an unfavorable posture.
The nerve supplying it is pinched off and this is the result of this discomfort. However, if you change your posture, the symptom will quickly subside. However, if extremities fall asleep more frequently, i.e. if this numbness and discomfort occur more frequently and for a longer period of time, this can be an indication of a more serious illness, such as polyneuropathy. Risk factors for this are alcohol abuse, diabetes mellitus and infections. These then require drug therapy.

Pain in the foot

Since the foot is one of the most complex locomotor organs in humans, foot pain is a common but difficult to classify clinical picture.

Pain in the foot can have many different causes, depending on the type of pain, its location, radiation, previous illnesses or an accident that has just taken place.

Mention should be made here of pain caused by bone injuries or broken bones (fractures) after an accident event (trauma), which are described as stabbing; However, fractures due to permanent overload (fatigue fracture) can also occur. In addition, stabbing, sharp pain can also be caused by twisting the foot or tearing a ligament (Ligament rupture) develop and also show swelling and bruising.

Other causes of foot pain include inflammation of the muscle tendons e.g. the Achilles tendon (Achillodynia) or the tendon attachments as in the heel spur (Tendon insertion tendinopathy), which have a rather stabbing character and can cause typical initial pain. Start-up pain can also be found in degenerative joint diseases of the ankles (osteoarthritis).

Misalignments of the foot (e.g. splayfoot or flat arched feet) or the arch of the foot, as well as incorrect or excessive strain, can lead to pain in the foot.

In addition, tissue collapse (infarcts) can occur within the foot bones, which is known as osteonecrosis. The pain is described as very deep and dull.

When a nerve innervating the foot (nerve compression) constricts (e.g. as a result of herniated discs in the lumbar spine), burning pain, abnormal sensations and numbness or tingling sensations (polyneuropathy) can occur.

Circulatory disorders of the foot, e.g. Intermittent claudication (peripheral arterial occlusive disease, PAD) can be possible causes of foot pain.

In addition, metabolic diseases such as gout (a uric acid metabolism disorder), diabetes (diabetes mellitus) or rheumatic diseases should also be mentioned, which tend to cause chronic stabbing but also tingling pain in the area of the foot.

Also concerning the skin (dermatological) Diseases (such as athlete's foot or ingrown toenails) can cause foot pain.

You might also be interested in: Growing pains in the foot