Estimated reading time: 0 minutes

A variety of spinal nerves go down your legs and terminate in your foot from your lower spine. When the nerve roots (part of the nerve as it exits the spine) of certain spinal nerves become irritated or compressed, foot discomfort can occur. Foot pain can also occur if a nerve in your hip, knee, or foot is compressed.

Foot pain caused by a spinal problem

If nerve roots in the lumbar or sacral spine (lower back) are inflamed or compressed, sciatica pain can travel down your leg and into your foot. Compression of the S1 nerve root, commonly referred to as classic sciatica, can cause pain on the outside of your foot. 

Crushed or inflamed nerve roots can be caused by a number of circumstances. Three common examples are:

•     Lumbar herniated disc: An intervertebral disc’s interior contents leak.
•     Lumbar spine degenerative disc disease: Alterations caused by ageing that produce disc narrowing and shrinkage
•     Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which one vertebra slips over the one below it.
•     A narrowing of the bone apertures for spinal nerves and/or the spinal cord is classified as lumbar spinal stenosis.

Foot drop is a condition that causes an inability to lift the front part of your foot when walking or frequent tripping. This condition is frequently caused by a compression of the L5 nerve root. Compression of the L4 and/or S1 nerve roots can also induce foot drop. 

Nerve compression in the hip, knee, or leg causes foot discomfort.

When nerves in the hip, knee, or leg are crushed or damaged, foot discomfort can develop. As an illustration:

•     When you try to move your foot, peroneal neuropathy, a disorder in which the peroneal nerve around the knee is pinched or injured, can produce foot pain and foot drop. 
•  Sciatic neuropathy, or sciatic nerve injury in the pelvic region (hip), can cause foot discomfort and weakness along the top of your foot. 
•     Tarsal tunnel syndrome, also known as tibial nerve dysfunction within the tarsal tunnel of the inner ankle, is characterized by severe, shooting pain in the ankle and along the sole of the foot. 
•     Sural nerve entrapment in the leg or around the ankle can cause shooting pain along the outside of your ankle and/or foot. 

A corn may occur on the skin around your toes as well. Corns form as a result of friction over time and can compress adjacent nerves, causing discomfort and other symptoms. Another possible cause of nerve pain in your foot is Morton’s neuroma, a thickening of the tissue around a nerve in the foot.

How to Find the Source of Your Foot Pain

With so many possible causes of nerve pain in the foot, pinpointing the true underlying cause can be difficult. Here are a few useful clues to help you figure out what’s causing your foot pain:

•     Foot discomfort after a recent trauma to the lower back, hip, knee, or ankle may aid in determining the location of nerve injury.
•     Foot discomfort caused by nerve root compression or sciatica may be accompanied by other symptoms such as buttock, thigh, and leg pain, numbness, and/or paralysis; and normally affects only one leg at a time.
•     Tight boots or shoes might induce foot pain, which could imply peroneal or sural nerve compression at the knee or ankle.
•     Foot pain following a hip injection or surgery could be an indicator of sciatic neuropathy.

Nerve damage induced by systemic disorders such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis can also produce foot nerve irritation.

Injuries to the foot bones, ankle joint, blood vessels, muscles, and/or tendons may result from twisting, twisting, or a direct hit to your ankle and/or foot.

Related-

Know more about Ayurvedic Spinal Disk & Radiculopathy Treatments.