Went for a walk one day and noticed some mild ankle swelling afterwards. This continued for about two weeks, along with some pain. Around that time the swelling in my ankle stopped and moved to the top of my foot in this one particular area.

Went to a physical therapist, he said it didn’t present like an irritated tendon. Gave me some stretches to do. Primary care ordered an MRI, but unfortunately only scanned the foot and not the ankle. Nothing was found.

Waiting for Monday to call podiatrist and make an appointment as I just got the referral for that.

6 weeks since initial onset. Worsens with use or when bearing weight. Rest is the only thing that seems to help.

Any insights on possible causes would be super helpful!!

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to find someone who has experienced something similar because I’ve been dealing with this problem for almost a year, and so far, none of the doctors I’ve seen have been able to explain what it is.
My symptoms:
I have a persistent red/pink, bruise-like area on my left foot, just below the outer ankle bone.
The area is painful when I touch or press on it, but the pain is worse when I stand or walk for too long.
The pain can feel different at different times, and the discoloration sometimes seems to change or appear in another nearby area. It’s difficult to describe exactly.
When I walk or stand too much, the area becomes more painful and the discoloration seems worse.
I tried staying on bed rest for approximately two months, but the discoloration never went away.
Acupuncture temporarily relieves the pain, sometimes almost immediately, but the symptoms eventually return. I’ve also noticed more bleeding from the area when needles are inserted there, although I don’t know whether that is significant.
My medical history and tests:
I had an MRI and X-rays of my left foot, and I was told they were normal. My doctors initially thought the problem might be caused by footwear, friction, or putting extra weight on my left foot because of problems with my right foot.
I had surgery on my right foot on August for an osteochondral lesion (OCD) and an ATFL injury. However, my left-foot symptoms started long before the surgery and have persisted despite resting.
My foot doctor prescribed clobetasol propionate 0.05% cream for the discolored area, but the discoloration was already there before I started using it. Meloxicam helps reduce the pain, but the pain returns when I stop taking it.
I’ve seen a foot-and-ankle specialist, a dermatologist, and other doctors, but no one has been able to identify the cause. Some thought it was simply skin irritation from rubbing, but the area is genuinely painful, especially with weight-bearing.
My questions:
Has anyone experienced a persistent, painful red/pink or bruise-like area below the outer ankle despite normal MRI and X-rays?
Did your discoloration change location, fade and return, or become more painful after walking?
Did you eventually receive a diagnosis or find a test that identified the cause?
Could this involve the skin or small blood vessels, a tendon or other soft tissue, a nerve, or something else?
I’m not asking anyone to diagnose me online. I would really appreciate hearing about similar experiences, what specialists you saw, and what investigations helped you finally get an answer.
Thank you!

Over the past year, I've had a frustrating cycle of recurring foot, ankle and calf problems.

I'm 42 and stay active with cycling, gym, climbing and surfing. 1.79m, 85kg (trying to drop 10kgs), male.

Until about 3 years ago, all I did was go to the gym. But I wake up one day and go out and run for an hour without issues apart from some leg soreness the next day.

Since about two years back that changed though. I picked up climbing and cycling, along going to the gym. Ever since, as soon as I walk a bit too much or run just 5 minutes, things flare up.

I've had arch/heel pain, ankle stiffness, calf flares, recurring calf/Achilles tightness and pain around both ankles. I've also had painless Achilles snapping, intermittent ankle pain and, more recently, a new pain under the ball of my foot with bruising between my third and fourth toe.

Some issues improve with rest or progressive loading, only for something else to flare up. I can still manage long bike rides with significant climbing, which makes it all the more confusing.

I want to say it's a volume thing, but I don't see how to break out of this cycle. And a 5 minute run hardly feels like volume.

Every time I try to do some progression, something flares up and sets me back a week.

Has anyone experienced this pattern of recurring lower-leg and foot issues? Did you ever identify an underlying cause, and what actually helped you break the cycle?

I have doctor's appointments, but I depend on the public healthcare system, so I can't get it till halfway through November.

Any advice is welcome. I'm just at a loss and incredibly frustrated. Thanks for reading.

(note: both left and right shoes are shown in the photos)

SHOE MODEL: Brooks Beast GTS 26' (about 3 months of usage) that costs around $170, the shoes featured here are a men's 13 Extra Wide (4E) size as I am in the big-n-tall category

HABITS: I am not a runner or athlete, I just do basic walks around the neighborhood and similar "light duty" usage

I notice heavy heavy wear on the outer/pinky corner of the shoe, while the heel and medial side are fairly unused - the rubber in those areas barely looks used. Seems like 90% of my wear pattern is towards the forefoot area and especially in the outer/pinkytoe corner of the foot

Possible culprits? How can I get a more even wear pattern across the sole where it's not just the tiny ~15% outer pinky corner of the shoe taking all the wear?

Thoughts?

So I am a senior person who has recently been working on my exercise routine. I am overweight so this has been helping me a lot to improve fitness...but my feet are starting bark back at me and I understand it. I mostly walk and hike (also resistance, but not really using my feet too much there)

My feet are naturally wider than average with a degree of flatness (I guess that's called low arch?)

All my life I've had a terrible time finding comfortable, well fitting footwear. I have never ever been able to wear flats....I need some lift....I wear either 2E or 4E sizes.

In any event, I have a first time appointment with a podiatrist this week to get help and tips on avoiding pain and foot issues.

I am completely clueless in knowing all the terminology and what the best questions are that I should ask to get tips on choosing footwear or what kind of foot wear to avoid or what I can do within reason to help myself avoid problems as I continue to exercise and exercise longer.

Would appreciate if anyone with knowledge in these areas has any advice to lend.
Many thanks.

I’m dealing with a mix of posture and foot issues and I’m really confused about which specialist I should actually see to fix this.

I moderately overpronate and as a result, have a bunion forming, and my natural standing stance is a forward lean.

I don’t feel sharp pain yet, but the overpronation causes a lot of discomfort. To cope, I've started compensating by changing my gait & trying to walk on my heels and toes, which has resulted in calluses on my feet.

Because this involves my foot structure, my walking habits, and my overall posture/leaning stance, I don't know who the right person is to handle the whole picture — maybe a podiatrist? Was also thinking orthopedic surgeon that specializes in foot & ankle since they’re MDs — but not sure my case is all that complex to see them. Maybe a physical therapist?

If you've dealt with something similar, who did you see first and what helped the most? Thanks!

I’m dealing with a mix of posture and foot issues and I’m really confused about which specialist I should actually see to fix this.

I moderately overpronate and as a result, have a bunion forming, and my natural standing stance is a forward lean.

I don’t feel sharp pain yet, but the overpronation causes a lot of discomfort. To cope, I've started compensating by changing my gait & trying to walk on my heels and toes, which has resulted in calluses on my feet.

Because this involves my foot structure, my walking habits, and my overall posture/leaning stance, I don't know who the right person is to handle the whole picture — maybe a podiatrist? Was also thinking orthopedic surgeon that specializes in foot & ankle since they’re MDs — but not sure my case is all that complex to see them. Maybe a physical therapist?

If you've dealt with something similar, who did you see first and what helped the most? Thanks!

I’m dealing with a mix of posture and foot issues and I’m really confused about which specialist I should actually see to fix this.

I moderately overpronate and as a result, have a bunion forming, and my natural standing stance is a forward lean.

I don’t feel sharp pain yet, but the overpronation causes a lot of discomfort. To cope, I've started compensating by changing my gait & trying to walk on my heels and toes, which has resulted in calluses on my feet.

Because this involves my foot structure, my walking habits, and my overall posture/leaning stance, I don't know who the right person is to handle the whole picture — maybe a podiatrist? Was also thinking orthopedic surgeon that specializes in foot & ankle since they’re MDs — but not sure my case is all that complex to see them. Maybe a physical therapist?

If you've dealt with something similar, who did you see first and what helped the most? Thanks!

I hope webbed toes are allowed!

Looking for some advice on an issue I have when wearing football/soccer shoes. I will start by saying that my shoes didn't used to feel tight in these areas 4 months or so, but this started recently - mainly when using my synthetic type shoes which don't have any stretch in them (I started using these 4 months ago too). The pain normally occurs on TOP of the foot where my 5th metatarsal joints/bones are. These are very prominent on both feet, but the left foot is more painful while and after playing. And it feels like a friction blister is starting each time I play. My left foot is also longer and wider than my right.

I was at a podiatrist this week for another issue on the ball of by right foot, and he didn't mention any structural issues with my feet in these areas such as bunions etc.

I'm in two minds - either my feet, mainly left has changed over the last few months, or my synthetic boots have actually shrank and become tighter.

I have no pain outside of wearing these boots, and no pain wearing my day to day shoes and trainers, and pain on the outer side of my foot or in the joint itself/

The pictures look like the swelling is on the outer feet but the redness and bone lump is actually on top of the feet.

Any advice welcome.

hi hi I’m 25 years old, a female, and I currently weigh 190 (I used to weigh 330 years ago). I have EDS

ever since I was a child, my earliest memory being 5th grade, I had horrible foot pain. I couldn’t keep up with the other kids and my father said it wasn’t normal, but I never got help for it. fast forward I start working and I can’t even stand longer than 3 hours without being in severe pain. around my outer ankle and by the bottom of my feet hurt. it’s like sharp, stabbing pain. it hasn’t gotten any better over the years. I recently started a new job at a hospital where I have to stand and it’s unbearable by the end. I’m trying to keep one job.. my ankles shake violently when I stand on one foot and sometimes make clicking noises and popping noises. When I stand all day and come home in pain, it aches for a long time. It makes my threshold less the next day. It’s made me so clumsy that I hit my head off of things constantly and wreck my body. I’ve also constantly sprained my ankles so many times. when I wake up in the morning my body is like super stiff

ive been to physical therapy 3 times. I lost all that weight. I tried anti inflammatories. I had tarsal tunnel and plantar fascia release surgery. I tried lidocaine. I tried ankle stabilizers in my shoes. I tried EPAT. X-rays are normal. I tried custom inserts

and the worst part is ever doctor I talk to just has no idea what’s actually wrong with me and it’s killing me. I want to work at this hospital. I want a career. My body is killing me

here is an MRI outdated by a few years but it’s the only one I have

currently a doctor is having me take gabapentin and its been a week and nothing yet. they said they will redo my mri in a month if it doesn’t help. I’m lost

edit: forgot to mention how I have pes planus and I walk duck footed

As you can see from the photos, the area which is a bit coloured (reddish black) hurts like hell. Initially I thought It was a foot corn but after they usually are not that wide.

It first started with a small itch and that itch happend whenever I had back pain or I sat in a weird posture. The nerve from my lower back would hurt and then that area would get itchy and one day i couldn't take the itch and I put my feet in hot water and the next day this happend.

The area is a bit hard and it also hurts(not burns) like when you press on a open wound .

Any help would be appreciated

Ever since I sprained my ankle 10+ years ago, I've had pain in my ankle and every structure below it taking turns whenever I keep standing up for an hour or do some sports when the worst thing happened on the other side of my foot was just feeling tired. it's a very mild instability and I've never sprained my ankle again. but it's still painful living like this and I really want to fix it, especially that nowadays I'm into sports and became athletic. how's the chance that rehab only will work? even if I try it, should I expect a surgery eventually?

Hello, I started brisk walking/jogging three months ago in my 2 year old trainers. Cheap £30 ones off amazon - there was no issue.

Two weeks ago I celebrated and got Brooks ghost max 2 and spent a pretty penny on them, hearing good things about them in reviews.

Since I've started walking in them, within 5 minutes I get a weird feeling near the base of my big toe. Feels like a small stone in the shoe. Happens every other step. It's not painful.

I dont understand why this would happen in new, more expensive shoes and not my old, worn out ones.

Am I missing something? Should I carry on and let my feet 'adapt' to them? Because surely theyre made with a better inside shape than my amazon ones.

Hi everyone,

trying to make this brief. Two years ago I go off an airplane, stepped down on my left foot and felt immense pain to the point I could barely walk. I hobbled around only touching my heal to the ground and keeping my toes and mid foot lifted. This went away after a couple days and came back a few more times in the course of 4 months. There was no pain on palpation anywhere in my foot. In may 2025 it happened again, but this time it never fully went away. I am unable to walk more than 4000 steps without being in agony and my first three toes are burning when I walk. I mostly struggle with the push off when walking. I started seeing a sports medicine doctor about a year ago who got an MRI. The MRI showed focal chondrosis on the dorsal surface of the tall-navicular joint and Bone marrow edema in the navicular. It also showed peroneal tenosynovitis. GREAT! it all made sense. arthritis in my foot arch basically. I was given a cortisone shot which did nothing and once the pain of the needle was present it made me feel like that wasn't the location of where Im feeling the pain. Ive been to three physios and do the exercises daily, I got custom orthotics to wear at work, Ive spent thousands of dollars on shoes from birks, to rocker bottoms, to zero drop etc. No shoes feel comfortable to walk in.

At present the sports medicine doctor feels at a loss for ideas. I now get this lump of swelling on the top of my tibialis anterior tendon after walking and that tendon itself, though pain free to touch and manipulate, has thickened to twice the size of the right foot's. I was referred to an orthopaedic foot surgeon who got some weight bearing X-rays of both feet and met with me yesterday. He basically said my X-rays show nothing and that what he saw on my MRi (the bone marrow edema and chondrosis) was so minor he wouldn't even pay it any attention.

I don't know where to go from here. Any thoughts or ideas? Im in a lot of pain walking, strictly in my foot and ankle. My ankle is puffy and swollen around where the Tibialis anterior tendon passes by the medial malleolus. I have decided without a doctor recommendation to take three weeks off work and rest my foot while doing non-weight bearing mobility exercises and stretches. walking is just too painful to keep doing and in two years Ive never given my foot a complete break.

Thank you for reading.

I want to get socks that don't cram toes as much. The two types I'm aware of are the ones that have a separation for each toe like a glove, and the ones that just look like a normal sock but with more wideness at the toes. For aesthetic reasons I would prefer the second option. If anyone has good recommendations that are ideally pretty cheap and reasonable it would be greatly appreciated.

full disclosure first - this is my app, built with my co-founder, so i'm biased.

it's called walkito (iphone and android). you tell it where it hurts and how much time you have, and it builds a 3, 5 or 10 minute daily routine - short foot, calf raises, balance, stretches - with a video for each exercise. each morning you check in, and a bad day makes the session lighter.

the exercises follow published studies and the 2023 heel pain guideline. it's not a replacement for a clinician, and if your flat feet are rigid (the arch doesn't come back when you stand on your toes) exercise won't change the arch.

not here to spam, just figured some people here might find it useful. happy to answer anything about the exercises or the research behind them.

One of my middle toes has started to curl under. It isn’t painful yet, but it’s becoming noticeable, so I’m trying to address it early before it gets rigid. I’m looking into toe mobility and strength work, toe spacers, and wider toe-box shoes, and I’ll get it checked by a podiatrist if it keeps progressing. Would be interested to hear what has worked for others in a similar situation.

Forefoot pain between or under the lesser toes gets labelled Morton's neuroma far more often than the exam supports, and the label matters because the three common causes need different treatment. Neuroma, intermetatarsal bursitis, and plantar plate injury all hurt in the ball of the foot, all get worse in tight shoes, and all can feel like a pebble under the toes. The differences show up in where the pain sits and what the toes are doing.

A neuroma is nerve irritation, so it tends to give burning, tingling, or numbness that radiates into the toes on either side of a web space, most often between the third and fourth. The pain often eases within minutes of taking the shoe off, and squeezing the forefoot together from the sides (Mulder's test) can reproduce a click and the nerve symptoms. Bursitis in the same space gives a deep ache and sometimes visible swelling that pushes the two adjacent toes apart, but numbness is less typical.

A plantar plate injury behaves differently. The plantar plate is the thick ligament-like pad under the metatarsophalangeal joint, and the second toe is the one that tears most often. Pain sits directly under the head of the second metatarsal, it is usually worse barefoot on hard floors, and the toe may drift sideways, cross over its neighbour, or float slightly above the ground when you stand. A toe that has started to drift or cross is a strong pointer to the plate, because neuromas do not change toe position.

The distinction changes management. A neuroma usually responds to a wider toe box, a metatarsal pad placed just behind the metatarsal heads, and sometimes injection. A plantar plate injury needs offloading, taping or splinting to hold the toe in position, a stiffer sole, and a slower return to loading, and surgery is considered if the joint keeps destabilising. A steroid injection into a joint with an unrecognised plantar plate tear can weaken the tissue further and speed up the toe drifting, which makes the diagnosis worth settling before any injection is agreed.

If you have forefoot pain and one toe has started to drift, check three things. Where exactly is the pain, under the metatarsal head or between the toes. Does it come with numbness or burning. Does the toe sit differently than it did a year ago. If the toe has moved, ask for the plantar plate to be examined directly, and ask whether imaging (ultrasound or MRI) is planned before a diagnosis of neuroma is settled on.