It comprises 26 bones, 42 muscles, 56 ligaments and 33 joints, and every day it supports hundreds of tons of force. Your feet handle a lot of the body’s daily stress, carrying all of our weight (and the weight we choose to carry) and working with hundreds of combinations of muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons to get us where we need to go. It’s no wonder that they are at a high risk of injury and that our foot pain takes on many forms, from many sources.

About 40 percent of adults in the United States experience foot problems. These problems can lead to foot pain that may be disabling in scale and can impact nearly every aspect of our lives, from walking to driving. And this pain can be caused by external influences -- like choosing to wear ill-fitting shoes or unstable stilettos -- or problems with the internal structures of the foot, which can be inherited or affected by injury or disease. How and when you experience pain, along with visible signs, can help provide clues as to the cause of your foot pain.

There are countless causes of foot pain, but most fall into the following categories:

Skin Conditions

Skin conditions that can cause foot pain can include calluses and corns, which are skin conditions characterized by the thickening of the skin on a part of the foot from friction or pressure. Calluses typically appear on the balls of the feet or the heels, whereas corns appear on the toes. Ingrown toenails, a condition that occurs when the edges of the nail grow into or through the skin, can result in painful irritation and sometimes infections.

Infections

Infections vary widely in scale and cause. Fungal infections, such as the infection that causes athlete’s foot, are typically not dangerous unless you have a condition like diabetes. However, they can be difficult to treat once contracted and can lead to secondary, bacterial infections.