The foot is an incredible part of the body. It's made up of 33 joints, 25 bones, and 42 different muscles, and it has the strength to support your body and your motion on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the amount of work our feet do on a daily basis can end up causing a variety of injuries, from blisters to bunions, to heel spurs and ingrown toenails. Here, we'll take a look at the 10 most common foot problems in adults.
1. Athlete's Foot
Caused by fungus, athlete's foot results in a scaly white rash with a red base, and it can also lead to itching, peeling, burning, and a strange odor. The infection from athlete's foot can also migrate to other parts of the body.
2. Hammertoes
If your fourth, third, or second toe is bent at the joint, or it's pointing outwards at a strange angle, then you might have a hammertoe. This condition is often caused by ill-fitting shoes, and correcting the shoes you wear early can help to fix this condition, which is one of the 10 most common foot problems in adults.
3. Blisters
If your shoes fit perfectly, then you're unlikely to have blisters on your feet. Blisters happen when the material of your shoe rubs against a certain part of your foot, causing a soft pocket of skin to rise, filled with clear fluid.
4. Bunions
A bunion is a condition that causes the big toe to bend abnormally towards the rest of the toes. Bunions can have various causes including trauma, arthritis, and congenital deformities. Bunions are often painful, and may require surgery.
5. Calluses and Corns
Calluses and corns occur after repeated rubbing against the bone area of the foot. Corns will appear most commonly at the sides and tops of the toes, as well as between the toes. Alternatively, calluses appear in the heels and bottoms of the feet.
6. Heel Spurs
Heel spurs and plantar fasciitis are two conditions that are frequently confused with each other when a patient goes to a doctor with pain in their heels. Heel spurs are found in around 70 percent of all people with plantar fasciitis, however, the two conditions are very different.
7. Mallet and Claw Toes
Claw or mallet toes are when all of the toes besides the big toe curl downwards from the middle joint, and curl up where the toes and feet meet. Corns and calluses often form when someone suffers from mallet or claw toes, and these conditions are often linked to diabetes and badly-fitting shoes.
8. Gout
Gout is an obvious addition to our list of the 10 most common foot problems in adults. It's a type of arthritis caused by a built up of uric acid around the joint and joint tissues.
9. Ingrown Toenails
Ingrown toenails can happen when the toenails are improperly cut, or they're exposed to frequent problems such as fungal infections, shoe pressure, and even the strange or poor structure of the foot.
10. Toenail Fungus
The last item on our 10 most common foot problems in adults, toenail fungus, can give your nails a deformed appearance. Fungus is often picked up by walking through wet areas where other people have walked bare-foot.