Reasons for Toe Pain While Walking

Walking is one of the ways we keep ourselves busy and active, especially when you don't want to exert yourself. However, when you feel pain or soreness in your feet or toes when walking, that's a problem.

We use our feet a lot throughout the day, so it is understandable when there are occasional pains and aches. But, sometimes, the pain may be caused by an underlying condition that needs medical attention as soon as possible.

About a dozen explanations exist if you feel pain in your toes while walking. For one, toe pain while walking could be caused by a misalignment in the foot bones. It can also be because the protective cushioning around the toes or bones in the foot is deteriorating.

Let's look at potential reasons you feel pain in your toe while walking and how to treat them.

Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia is the medical term for pain in the ball of the foot, often accompanied by other symptoms such as numbness or uncomfortable tingling in the toes. It can worsen when you engage in high-impact activities such as jumping or running, increasing pain and inflammation.

Metatarsalgia may also be caused by the shape of the feet, for instance, feet with high arches. Other anomalies in the foot, such as short toes, tight tendons, and abnormal foot structure, can also cause it.

Ill-fitted and uncomfortable footwear - such as high heels, which increase the stress on your feet and toes - can also put you at a high risk of developing metatarsalgia.

Metatarsalgia Treatments

You can treat metatarsalgia and relieve the toe pain by resting adequately or icing the foot. Also, changing your footwear to a more supportive, well-cushioned option may help treat this condition. In some cases, particularly more serious cases, the doctor may recommend surgery (as a last resort) to realign the bones.

Ingrown Nails

Ingrown toenails typically form when your nail edges dig into the skin on the side of the nail, causing pain, inflammation, and discomfort. Also, ingrown nails can appear when you cut your nails too round or too short and are often found among athletes like runners.

Short and round nails may look chic and comfortable, but they may cause your nails to curl downward and dig into your skin. Apart from this condition's discomfort, leaving it untreated can cause the ingrown nails to become infected.

To know if the cause of your toe pain is ingrown nails, watch out for tenderness and pain on the sides of the nail. If you see redness and swelling around your toenail, there is a good chance of an ingrown nail.

In worse cases, particularly when the nail becomes infected, you may see pus trailing down the side of your toenail.

Ingrown Nail Treatments

The best treatment for ingrown toenails includes soaking your foot in a warm, soapy bath several times daily. Also, wear comfortable footwear with a wide, roomy toe box and comfortable socks. To remove ingrown toenails, you can also use nail clippers specially designed to remove ingrown toenails.

If the toenail is already infected, a surgical procedure called partial nail plate avulsion may be needed to remove the toenail. Ingrown nails are easier to treat when you diagnose them early, so ensure you see a podiatrist once you start noticing symptoms.

Bunions

A bunion is characterised by a bony growth on the base of your big toe, where the big toe connects with your foot. It's a toe deformity often caused by chronic pressure on your metatarsophalangeal joint that forces the toe out of alignment.

Generally, bunions stem from faulty foot mechanics like flat feet, often triggered when you wear high heels or pointy, snug-fitting shoes. The more you wear these shoes, the more prone you are to bunions as your toe joint changes shape permanently.

Other causes of bunions besides genetics and ill-fitting shoes are arthritic conditions or traumatic injuries. Bunions don't correct themselves, meaning you must see a doctor and get proper treatment, or they will worsen.

Signs that bunions are causing your toe pain include a bump on your toe joint, redness, inflammation, stiffness, or reduced toe mobility.

Furthermore, although they are more common on the big toe, bunions can also appear on your pinky toe.

Bunion Treatments

Bunions are best treated with conservative measures to get the discomfort under control; if these don't work, then surgery is recommended.

Conservative bunion treatments may include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, strapping and taping, custom orthotic inserts, specialised footwear, callus padding, or physical therapy. If these non-surgical treatments don't work, you may need to undergo what is known as bunionectomy to realign your big toe joint.

Gout Attacks

Sometimes, pain in the toe can be caused by a type of arthritis known as gout. This condition causes severe joint pain in the big toe and in other joints in the feet, wrists, hands, and ankles.

Gout occurs when the body has excess uric acid, forming sharp crystals in the joint, usually the big toe. As uric acid crystals build up in the body, they settle in the joint, clumping together and causing sudden pain, among other symptoms.

Gout attacks characterise this condition and flare-ups of symptoms like swelling and searing pain. Signs that your toe pain is because of gout include intense pain, swelling, stiffness, discolouration or redness, tenderness, and warmth.

Gout attacks can last between a week or two, with some flares lasting longer than others and some causing more severe symptoms.

Gout Treatments

You can treat gout attacks with a combination of medication, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, and diet change. For instance, foods and drinks high in purine can lead to high uric acid levels in the body, thus causing gout attacks.

Therefore, even as you treat with medications such as NSAIDs, colchicine, and corticosteroids, you must also reduce your intake of these foods.

Furthermore, your healthcare provider may prescribe medications such as febuxostat, allopurinol, and pegloticase to reduce uric acid levels in the long term. After all, the goal is not just to treat these gout attacks but also to prevent them from coming back.

Fractures

There is also a good chance that the pain you feel in your toe while walking is due to fractures. You may have stubbed your toe or dropped a heavy item on your foot and are wondering if you broke your toe.

Toe bones are highly susceptible to fractures, which are more likely when you've sustained injuries. Signs that the toe bones have been fractured include swelling and bruising that develop too rapidly.

Fractured toes are also accompanied by tenderness, pain, swelling, and warmth around the affected toe, and you may notice some discolouration in the toe.

Usually, when the toe suffers a fracture, blood gathers under the toenail and forms a purple-black spot called subungual hematoma. Furthermore, big toe fractures are often more painful and severe than fractures in the other toes, usually causing walking difficulty.

Fractured Toe Treatments

Your podiatrist can diagnose a toe fracture by physical examination. Treatment would usually include buddy taping and, in some injuries, realignment of the broken bones.

To treat a fractured toe, you usually only need to tape it to the adjacent toe for several weeks. Additionally, you must leave the high heels and pointy-toe shoes for that period and stick to comfortable shoes or specialised boots.