You may develop pain in the front (ball) of your foot (metatarsalgia) or in your heel. Heel problems commonly occur when you overuse calf muscles, wear shoes with high heels, or participate in activities, such as running, that cause repeated pounding on your heels.

• Sharp pain on the bottom of your heel may be caused by plantar fasciitis.
• Pain in the back of your heel and ankle may be caused by Achilles tendinitis or tendinosis (tendinopathy) or retrocalcaneal bursitis.
• Pain that is worse before or after exercise but improves during exercise may be caused by a stress fracture of a bone in your foot (usually a metatarsal bone).
• Small bony growths under your heel bone may be a heel spur.
• Pain in your midfoot may be caused by "fallen arches" or by being flat-footed.
• Pain or a bump on the back of the heel is a type of bursitis called Haglund's deformity.

Numbness or tingling

Many conditions may affect the nerves of the foot and cause numbness, tingling, and burning.

• Pain, burning, tingling, or numbness that occurs between your toes, especially the third and fourth toes, and in the ball of your foot may be caused by a growth around the nerves (Morton's neuroma).
• Pain, numbness, and tingling that begins in your back or buttock, moves down your leg, and into your foot may be sciatica, caused by a pinched nerve (nerve root compression).
• Foot and ankle pain that occurs with numbness and weakness in your foot may be caused by a pinched nerve in your ankle (tarsal tunnel syndrome) or back (sciatica).
• Burning, numbness, or lack of feeling in your feet may be caused by poor circulation, especially in people who have diabetes or peripheral arterial disease. The circulation problem can lead to nerve damage (peripheral neuropathies). Foot problems are more likely to develop in people who have these conditions.

Check your symptoms to decide if and when you should see a doctor.