“Why Does the Outside of My Foot Hurt When I Walk?”
A Step-By-Step Guide to Lateral Foot Pain
If you are experiencing a sharp ache or dull throbbing along the outer edge of your foot, you are likely feeling frustrated. Most generic foot advice and pharmacy insoles are designed for people with flat feet and inner arch pain. But what happens when the pain is on the opposite side?
It might be a sign of lateral foot pain. It’s common, but the side effects can really slow you down. Whether you are walking the dog around Parsippany or just navigating the grocery store, ignoring pain on the outer edge of your foot may lead to joint instability if ignored. Read on for Step By Step Family Foot Care’s guide to understanding the problem (and fixing it, too!).
Step 1: Identify the Biomechanical Culprit (Supination)
While flat feet cause people to roll their ankles inward (overpronation), many people suffer from the exact opposite problem:
Supination.
If you have naturally high, rigid arches, your foot does not flatten out enough when it strikes the ground to absorb the shock of walking.
Instead, your body weight is forced outward, placing a disproportionate amount of pressure directly on the outer edge of your foot.
Over time, this poor weight distribution may lead to several painful conditions, like:
- Peroneal Tendonitis:
- The peroneal tendons run along the outside of your ankle and foot. When you supinate, these tendons are stretched beyond their limits, leading to severe inflammation, swelling, and a feeling of ankle instability.
- 5th Metatarsal Stress Fractures:
- The long bone on the outside of your foot (connecting to your pinky toe) bears the brunt of the impact when your foot rolls outward. Repetitive pounding can easily cause microscopic, painful cracks in this bone.
- Cuboid Syndrome:
- The cuboid is a small bone in the middle of the outer foot. Supination can cause this bone to partially dislocate, resulting in a sharp, sudden pain that makes bearing weight nearly impossible.
Step 2: Check Your Shoes for the Warning Signs
Not sure if you are supinating? The easiest way to check your biomechanics at home is to look at the bottom of your oldest, most-worn pair of walking shoes or sneakers:
- Place them on a flat table at eye level.
- If the rubber tread is significantly more worn down, slanted, or compressed on the outer edges of the heel and sole, your kinetic chain is out of alignment.
- Your shoes are physically wearing away under uneven pressure!
Step 3: Ditch the Drugstore Insoles
When the outside of your foot hurts, the worst thing you can do is buy a generic, over-the-counter gel insole.
- Store-bought inserts are almost exclusively designed to push up on the inner arch.
- If you already have high arches and supinate, adding more bulk under the inside of your foot will only force your weight further outward, making your lateral foot pain significantly worse!
Step 4: Seek Professional Structural Support
To stop the outer edge of your foot from absorbing all the impact, you must safely redistribute your body weight.
- At Step By Step Family Foot Care, Dr. Debra Manheim and our expert team use advanced diagnostics to evaluate your exact gait. Instead of generic gel, we can engineer prescription custom orthotics.
- These medical devices are crafted to your foot’s unique 3D structure, providing the exact blend of rigid support and strategic cushioning needed to stabilize your ankle, correct supination, and let your overworked lateral tendons heal.
Take the Next Step Toward Pain-Free Walking
If you are experiencing pain, swelling, or stiffness on the outside of your foot, do not wait for a minor tendon strain to worsen and limit your mobility. Targeted, step-by-step relief is possible!
Step By Step Family Foot Care is here to assist you with your podiatry needs! To make an appointment with Dr. Debra B. Manheim, call us at (973) 917-3785 or visit our site to schedule an appointment. The staff at our Parsippany office is ready to help.
