Conditions
Foot and ankle conditions
Plain-language guides to the problems we evaluate and treat — what they are, how they’re diagnosed, and the full range of options, including when surgery is and isn’t needed.
Understanding foot and ankle problems
Four broad kinds of problem
Deformity and alignment
The shape or alignment of the foot changes over time, altering how pressure is spread and how shoes fit.
Tendons, ligaments and overuse
Soft tissues that are strained, degenerate or tear, from a single injury or from repeated load.
Arthritis and joint wear
Cartilage in a joint wears down, causing pain and stiffness, often after an earlier injury.
Fractures and the diabetic foot
Broken bones that may need an operation, and the wounds, infections and bone changes that diabetes can cause.
Condition guides
Toes and forefoot
Condition
Tailor’s bunion
A bump on the outer edge of the foot at the base of the little toe, where the fifth metatarsal sticks out.
Condition
Hammertoes
A lesser toe that stays bent at one or more joints, causing corns, pain and problems with shoes.
Condition
Big-toe arthritis
Arthritis of the big toe joint that causes pain, stiffness and a bony bump on top of the joint.
Condition
Ball-of-foot pain and plantar plate tears
Pain under the ball of the foot from a torn or stretched ligament under a lesser toe joint, sometimes with a drifting toe.
Heel, arch and tendons
Condition
Heel pain and plantar fasciitis
Pain under the heel that is sharpest with the first steps after rest.
Condition
Achilles tendon injuries
Pain or thickening of the tendon behind the heel, or a partial or complete tear.
Condition
Haglund deformity
A bony bump on the back of the heel that rubs against the shoe and irritates the Achilles tendon.
Condition
Peroneal tendon injuries
Pain along the outer ankle from inflamed, torn or slipping peroneal tendons, often mistaken for a sprain.
Condition
Adult-acquired flatfoot
An arch that gradually collapses in adulthood, often with pain along the inner ankle and a heel that tilts outward.
Condition
Cavus foot (high arch)
A foot with a very high arch that overloads the heel and ball and often makes the ankle unstable.
Ankle
Condition
Chronic ankle instability
An ankle that repeatedly gives way or rolls, usually after a sprain that never fully recovered.
Condition
Ankle cartilage lesions
Damage to the cartilage and bone on top of the ankle bone, usually after a sprain or fracture.
Condition
Ankle arthritis
Wear of the cartilage in the ankle joint, most often after an earlier fracture or repeated sprains.
Fractures and the diabetic foot
Condition
Ankle and foot fractures
Breaks of the ankle and foot bones, from small cracks that heal in a boot to unstable injuries that need surgery.
Condition
Lisfranc (midfoot) injuries
A sprain, fracture or dislocation in the middle of the foot, often mistaken for an ankle sprain.
Condition
Diabetic foot ulcers
Open sores on the feet of people with diabetes, and the care that helps prevent and heal them.
Condition
Charcot foot
Weakening and collapse of the bones of a numb foot, most often in people with diabetes.
Symptom guides
Start with where and how it hurts, and see what it can mean and when to get help.
Symptom guide
Foot pain by location
Heel, arch, ball, toes, top of the foot and ankle: what the location of your pain can point to.
Symptom guide
Ankle pain and swelling
Sprain, fracture, tendon injury, instability or arthritis: what can cause ankle pain and swelling and when to get help.
Diagnosis guides
How problems are diagnosed, what imaging can and can’t show, and how to think about a second opinion.
Diagnosis guide
Foot and ankle imaging
What X-rays, weight-bearing imaging, CT, MRI and ultrasound show, and how the right test is chosen.
Diagnosis guide
Second opinions
When a second opinion is worth getting, when non-surgical care comes first, when surgery shouldn’t wait, and how to prepare.
Where you feel it matters
Regions of the foot
- Heel — plantar fasciitis, a stress fracture of the heel bone, a fat-pad problem
- Arch and midfoot — strain of the plantar fascia, flatfoot, midfoot arthritis
- Ball of the foot — overload of the forefoot, problems of the toe joints, stress fractures, nerve irritation
- Big toe — a bunion, or arthritis of the big toe joint (hallux rigidus)
- Lesser toes — hammertoes, mallet toes, claw toes, corns
- Top of the midfoot — a Lisfranc injury, a stress fracture, midfoot arthritis
- Outer edge — a fifth metatarsal fracture, a stress fracture
Looking for general foot and ankle care — nail problems, orthotics, wound care or sports medicine? Visit Ozturk Foot & Ankle. Nerve pain, numbness or tingling? See our sister practice, Lower Extremity Nerve Institute. Not sure where to start? Request an appointment.
Appointments
Talk with us about your foot or ankle
An evaluation can clarify what’s causing your symptoms and what your options are — starting with non-surgical care whenever that’s appropriate, and discussing surgery only when it makes sense for you.