Nothing on this page is a diagnosis. Several of these conditions produce near-identical symptoms and are distinguished by examination, not by description. Use this to orient yourself, and read when a foot problem needs professional care before deciding to wait anything out.
Pain under or behind the heel
Plantar heel pain, plantar fasciitis and heel spurs — the commonest cause of heel pain in adults, classically worst on the first steps in the morning and after sitting. Covered in full, including why the spur is usually irrelevant.
Achilles tendinopathy — pain and thickening at the back of the heel or a few centimetres above it, worse after activity and stiff in the morning. Load-related, and managed primarily with a progressive loading programme rather than rest.
Heel stress fracture and fat pad problems — deeper, more diffuse heel pain that does not follow the classic first-step pattern, particularly after a sharp increase in running or in older people with thinned heel padding. The OrthoInfo summary of foot and ankle stress fractures covers this group.
General background on heel pain of all kinds is in the NHS heel pain guide.
Pain and deformity at the toes and forefoot
Bunions and hammertoes — the slow structural drift of the big toe and the buckling of the lesser toes, why they progress, and what actually helps at each stage.
Morton's neuroma and forefoot nerve pain — burning or electric pain between the toes with the sensation of a pebble underfoot.
Metatarsalgia — a general term for pain under the ball of the foot, usually mechanical, often related to a prominent metatarsal head, thinning fat pad or footwear.
Sesamoid problems and turf toe — pain under or at the base of the big toe, common in dancers, runners and field sports.
Gout — sudden, severe pain, redness and swelling most often at the base of the big toe, developing over hours. Needs medical assessment, both to confirm it and because joint infection can look similar.
Pain across the arch and midfoot
Flatfoot, arch height and foot posture — what a low arch does and does not mean, when it matters, and the adult tendon problem that causes an arch to collapse over time.
Midfoot arthritis — aching across the top of the midfoot, worse on activity, common in middle age and after old injuries.
Extensor tendon irritation — pain along the top of the foot, frequently from laces tied too tightly or a sudden increase in walking.
Nails
Ingrown toenails and nail disorders — ingrowing nails, thickened and damaged nails, discoloured nails and the changes that need looking at rather than ignoring.
Fungal nail infection and laser treatment — what onychomycosis is, how it is confirmed, and an honest account of what the treatments achieve.
General nail background is at MedlinePlus nail diseases.
Skin
Corns and calluses — localised thickening in response to pressure or friction. The thickening is a symptom; the pressure is the problem, and removing hard skin without changing the pressure guarantees its return.
Verrucae (plantar warts) — viral lesions on the sole, often painful when squeezed side to side rather than pressed. Most resolve without treatment, sometimes over a long period.
Athlete's foot — itchy, scaling or macerated skin, typically between the toes, and a frequent reservoir for nail infection. See the NHS page on athlete's foot.
Heel fissures and dry skin — cracks around the heel margin that can become deep and, in an at-risk foot, become a route to infection.
Nerves and circulation
Peripheral neuropathy — numbness, burning, tingling or night pain, often symmetrical and starting at the toes. Diabetes is the commonest cause but far from the only one; new symptoms of this kind warrant investigation rather than acceptance.
Peripheral arterial disease — cramping calf or foot pain reliably brought on by walking a set distance and relieved by rest, cold feet, colour change, hair loss over the foot, slow-healing wounds.
Tarsal tunnel syndrome — nerve compression at the inside of the ankle producing burning or tingling into the sole.
Foot drop — difficulty lifting the front of the foot, causing tripping or a slapping gait. Always needs assessment; the NHS foot drop page explains the causes.
The diabetic foot
The diabetic foot and foot wound care and ulceration — the highest-stakes area in foot care, and the one where prevention does the most work. Anyone with diabetes should read both, and should apply a lower threshold for seeking help than any other section of this index implies.
Injuries
Ankle sprains — ligament injuries from a twist, ranging from trivial to significant. Persistent instability or pain months later is not normal and should be reassessed.
Stress fractures — load-related bone injury, typically in a metatarsal, presenting as localised bone pain that worsens with activity over weeks.
Acute fractures and dislocations — emergency care, not reference reading. Inability to bear weight after an injury needs same-day assessment.
The scope of professional foot and ankle care, and where each of these is usually managed, is described on what foot and ankle care covers.