If you are experiencing pain in the top of your foot then you know just how much it can affect your daily life. From standing still to running, the pain you are feeling can really make it difficult to complete normal daily tasks. Your feet are perhaps one of the most hard working parts of your body and with each step that you take, 1.5 times your body weight is forced through your foot. It is no surprise then that a lot of us will get some sort of foot pain throughout our lives.
The biggest challenge facing doctors when it comes to foot pain is identifying the cause. There are a number of causes that can affect the top of your foot and so pinpointing the exact one and recommending the correct treatment can be a journey in itself.
As there are so many different causes to the pain in the top of your foot, it would be impossible to go through all of them. Instead, we are going to tell you about 3 of the most common causes that could be affecting the top of your foot. This is just an overview of the most common causes and if you feel that you may have one of these causes then please make an appointment with your GP. They may be able to diagnose you themselves or recommend you to a specialist.
3 of the most common causes for pain in the top of your foot
1. Sinus Tarsi Syndrome.
This condition causes a localised pain around the top of your foot, towards the outside of your ankle. Although this is one of the least common of the top 3, it is worth a mention. The Sinus Tarsi area will become inflamed and irritated. The Sinus Tarsi is a small channel that is between your heel and your ankle that blood vessels, nerves and ligaments pass through. The most common cause for Sinus Tarsi Syndrome is an ankle sprain or anything else that can cause you to be unstable.
2. Claw/mallet/hammer toe.
One of the more common causes of foot pain, this is the deformity of the toes. It can affect any of the toes as this condition affects the small bones in your foot. The causes are likely to be wearing ill fitting footwear. They can also be a result of an injury to one of your toes, arthritis, vascular or neural problems.
3. Stress Fractures.
This is the most common cause of pain in the top of your foot without a specific injury being noted. A stress fracture is a small break in one of the foot bones, it is most commonly found in one of the metatarsals. The most common cause for stress fractures is a repetitive overloading of your foot. This could be running, jumping or kicking. You are more likely to have a stress fracture if you have muscle weakness or tightness in your foot.
As we said above, this is just an overview of some of the more common causes of pain in the top of your foot. There are many other causes that could be affecting your feet so if you do have pain in the top of your foot then get yourself down to your GP.
We hope that this article has given you a little more of an understanding as to what could be causing the pain in your foot. If you found this article helpful then please explore our blog further where you can find even more articles on common causes of foot pain.