Written by Zita Sham, Principal Physiotherapist at Phoenix Rehab, AHPC A1302159H.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 3 November 2026.
It started as a sore spot under the foot. Now you walk on the outer edge to avoid it, two pairs of pharmacy insoles sit in the cupboard, and the step off the MRT still catches you. So which part of the foot is the problem?
About one in four adults aged 45 and over reports frequent foot pain.1 This page sorts it by location: the bottom, the sides, the top and the heel. It also covers surgery or an injection on the foot, the signs that mean a doctor first, and what to do when the pain keeps moving.
What does the location of foot pain usually mean?
Where it hurts narrows the cause. Heel pain on the first steps of the morning usually points to the plantar fascia. The ball of the foot points to pressure on the long bones or a nerve between the toes. The inner ankle and arch point to the posterior tibial tendon. A chart narrows it, and a physical test confirms it.
Key takeaways
- Where foot pain sits narrows the cause, and a physical test confirms it.
- Heel pain on the first steps of the morning usually points to the plantar fascia.
- Pain in the ball of the foot points to pressure on the long bones or a nerve between the toes.
- Inner ankle and arch pain point to the posterior tibial tendon.
- A foot that turns red, warm and swollen in someone with diabetes needs a doctor the same day, even if it does not hurt.
First, the signs that mean a doctor, not this page
- Call 995 for chest pain or sudden breathlessness, especially with a swollen leg.
- Go to the emergency department now if the foot turns cold, white or blue, or goes numb suddenly; if it looks out of shape or you cannot take weight after a fall or a twist; or if it is red, hot and spreading with a fever.
- See a doctor the same day if you have diabetes and the foot is red, warm or swollen, even without pain, or you have a new wound on it; if you felt a pop under the foot; or if a bruise appears on the sole after a twist.2
- See a doctor soon for numbness in both feet or numbness that is spreading, one bony spot that gets worse with walking over weeks, a foot that has started to drag, or pain at night with weight loss or a history of cancer.
None of these? Then the rest of this page is for you.
Foot pain chart: where it hurts and what it usually points to
| Where | What you notice | What it usually points to |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Under the heel | Sharp on the first steps of the morning, or after sitting | Plantar fasciitis. More causes in heel pain |
| 2. The arch | An ache under the middle of the foot, worse after hours standing | The plantar fascia or a tendon. See foot arch pain |
| 3. Ball of the foot | A pebble in the shoe; burning or numbness between the third and fourth toes | Metatarsalgia, or a Morton’s neuroma |
| 4. Under or at the big toe | Pain at push-off, a stiff toe, or a bump at the base of the toe | Hallux rigidus, the sesamoid bones, or a bunion |
| 5. Outer edge | Pain behind the outer ankle bone or along the edge after a rolled ankle; a bony spot at the middle of the outer edge | Peroneal tendon injury, or a foot fracture if it is bony and you cannot walk on it |
| 6. Inner edge and inner ankle | Pain behind the inner ankle bone, into the arch, worse on stairs; burning into the sole | Posterior tibial tendon, or tarsal tunnel syndrome if it burns |
| Top of the foot | Pain over the laces; a bony spot; a midfoot twist with bruising on the sole | Extensor tendon or stress fracture; a Lisfranc injury after a twist |
| Back of the heel | Stiff in the morning, sore where the shoe rubs or above the heel bone | Achilles tendon |
Had surgery or an injection on the foot?
After an operation, your surgeon’s protocol sets what the foot may do. Weeks in a boot leave the calf and the small foot muscles weaker, and a limp moves load onto parts of the foot that did not hurt before. After bunion surgery, for example, pain can appear under the ball of the foot. Anything hot, red, oozing or suddenly more swollen goes back to your surgeon first. See the Ankle Fracture Surgery Recovery Program and physiotherapy after surgery.
An injection into the heel or the ball of the foot is your doctor’s decision. Pain easing afterward tells you the area has quietened. It does not test the tendon or the strength around it. If the pain has moved into the arch since the injection, read foot arch pain, then physiotherapy after an injection.
Why does the bottom of my foot hurt?
The bottom of the foot usually hurts because of the plantar fascia at the heel and arch, pressure on the long bones under the ball of the foot, or an irritated nerve. First-step pain in the morning points to the fascia. A pebble feeling points to the ball of the foot. Burning or numbness points to a nerve.
Hard, thickened skin that hurts when pressed, such as a corn or a plantar wart, is a question for a podiatrist or your doctor.
Why does the side of my foot hurt?
Outer edge pain usually comes from the peroneal tendons, often after a rolled ankle, or from the bone at the base of the little toe. Inner edge pain usually comes from the posterior tibial tendon or a bunion. Sudden side-of-foot pain with no injury can be a stress fracture or a tendon overloaded by new shoes or more walking. A hot, red, swollen joint that came on overnight may be gout, which is a doctor’s question.
Why does my foot hurt when I walk?
Most often the foot has met more load than it is used to: a holiday with 15,000 steps a day, a new job on your feet, or a switch to flat shoes. A stiff calf and a stiff big toe make it worse, because the foot has to find that movement somewhere else. Pain in one bony spot that builds with each walk is different. See stress fracture.
What is a stinging or burning pain under the foot?
Stinging or burning usually points to a nerve. Between the third and fourth toes, it is often a Morton’s neuroma. Across the sole of one foot, with symptoms from behind the inner ankle, it can be tarsal tunnel syndrome. In both feet, especially with diabetes, your doctor checks for peripheral neuropathy first.
How do I relieve foot pain at home?
No stretch settles a sore tendon in 30 seconds. Start by cutting back whatever jumped: the steps, the running, the hours standing. Wear supportive shoes or indoor footwear instead of going barefoot on tile for two weeks. Stretch the calf twice a day. A cold pack for 10 to 15 minutes can ease a sore spot after a long day. For heel pain from the plantar fascia, a clinical guideline supports stretching the calf and the fascia, with taping alongside other physical therapy.3 If it has not changed after two weeks, get it looked at.
Why the pain keeps moving around the foot
The thinking goes: it must be the shoes.
So you buy the third pair. You walk on the outer edge to spare the heel, and two months later the outer edge hurts. The Sunday loop at the Botanic Gardens has become one bench and a kopi. On shift, you slip your shoes off under the counter when nobody is looking, and the December trip with all that walking is six weeks away.
A sore foot changes how you walk. A stiff big toe makes you push off from the outer side. A sore heel makes you land further forward. So the spot that hurts today can be the second problem. Has anyone measured how far your big toe bends, how far your ankle bends, and how many single-leg heel raises each side can do? Until someone has, you are choosing shoes by guesswork.
What a physiotherapist does with it
Finding the real problem is half the battle. Treating it is the other half.
At the Assessment & Treatment, a physiotherapist asks where it started and where it has moved, then presses and tests each candidate: the fascia, the tendons, the joints of the midfoot and big toe, and the nerves. We measure ankle and big toe movement against the other side, count single-leg heel raises, and watch you walk in the shoes you wear most. If anything points to a fracture, a joint problem or a nerve that needs a doctor, we tell you and write to your doctor. Scans and injections are theirs.
Most of the 45 minutes is treatment: hands-on work for stiff joints, taping where it helps, and a loading program for the foot and calf that is measured up at each review. You leave knowing which stage you are in, what is limiting the foot, and a written plan. If an insole is part of that plan, custom insoles are made at Serangoon.
The full service is at physiotherapy for foot pain. Every appointment is one to one with your physiotherapist for the full 45 minutes, at five clinics: Orchard, Tampines, Serangoon, Tanjong Pagar and Jurong East. Bring any X-ray or scan report, the date of any injection or operation, and the shoes you stand in most.
Questions about foot pain
How do I tell what my foot pain is?
Start with where it hurts and when. First-step heel pain points to the plantar fascia, a pebble feeling to the ball of the foot, and pain behind the inner ankle to the posterior tibial tendon. Burning points to a nerve. A physical test confirms it, and a doctor decides on any scan.
Why does the bottom of my foot hurt when I walk?
The usual causes are the plantar fascia, pressure under the ball of the foot, and an irritated nerve. A recent jump in walking or standing, flat shoes and a stiff calf often set it off. Pain in one bony spot that builds with each walk needs a doctor soon, to check for a stress fracture.
What causes sudden pain on the side of the foot with no injury?
It can be an overloaded tendon or a stress fracture, often after new shoes or more walking. A hot, red, swollen joint that came on overnight may be gout. If you cannot take weight after a fall or twist, or the foot is red, hot and spreading with a fever, go to the emergency department now.
When should I see a doctor for foot pain?
Go to the emergency department now for a cold, white or blue foot, or if you cannot take weight after a fall or twist. See a doctor the same day if you have diabetes and the foot is red, warm or swollen, or if you felt a pop under the foot.
How long does foot pain take to settle?
Many overuse foot problems ease over weeks once the load changes. Plantar fascia pain often takes months. Pain that has not changed after two weeks of cutting back, or that keeps moving to a new spot, is worth having assessed.
Three pairs of shoes in and the sore spot has moved again? Get Assessed & Treated, and leave knowing which part of the foot is driving it, which stage you are in, and what the next stage asks of it.
Sources: 1. Thomas MJ, Roddy E, Zhang W, et al. The population prevalence of foot and ankle pain in middle and old age: a systematic review. Pain. 2011;152(12):2870-2880. 2. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Diabetic foot problems: prevention and management. NICE guideline NG19. 2015. 3. Koc TA Jr, Bise CG, Neville C, Martin RL, McDonough CM. Heel pain: plantar fasciitis, revision 2023. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2023.
Where are you with this right now?
1. It is settling on its own
Most injuries and most flare-ups settle over weeks with sensible load management and a return to normal movement. Improvement is judged over a month, not over a day, and good days and bad days inside that are usual. If you are doing more this month than last, and sleeping better, it is behaving the way it should. You do not need us for this, and we would rather say so.
2. It has stopped improving
You have adapted without noticing. The other foot takes the load, you plan your walking around the sore spot, and you have quietly dropped things you used to do.
What our patients say
Google reviews from our clinics in Singapore.
Pain is the first thing to leave. Movement and strength are the last things trained back, and most people stop before that part is done. That is the gap worth measuring, and it is not measured by how you feel on the day.
The Stalled Recovery Review is three appointments over three weeks with the same therapist, because what a joint does under load cannot be read in one visit. The first finds what is limiting it. The next two measure how it responds.
3. You have had surgery, or you have a date
Recovery after an operation has a shape, and knowing which stage you are in tells you whether you are on it. Bring your surgeon’s protocol and we work inside it. See the Ankle Fracture Surgery Recovery Program, physiotherapy after surgery, or all the recovery programs, hand and physiotherapy.
All of it runs on the same four stages. The Phoenix Recovery Protocol explains what each stage works on and what you have to meet to move up. No referral needed to start.
Next step
Find out which stage you are in
Pain is the first thing to leave. Movement and strength are the last things trained back, and most people stop before that part is done. One Assessment and Treatment is a single 45-minute appointment at $230, nett, no GST. Your therapist finds what is actually limiting you, treats it in the same appointment, and you leave with your current stage and a written plan.
Prefer to phone? Each of our five clinics has its own number on the clinics page. No referral needed to book.
Related reading
Where we are
Clinics across Singapore
ORCHARD
400 Orchard Road #12-12
Orchard Towers, S238875
NS22 Orchard MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Orchard →
WhatsApp 8800 1830TAMPINES
9 Tampines Grande #01-20
Asia Green, S528735
EW2DT32 Tampines MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tampines →
WhatsApp 8780 9608SERANGOON
265 Serangoon Central Drive #04-269
S550265 · Lift C only
NE12CC13 Serangoon MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Serangoon →
WhatsApp 8892 4121TANJONG PAGAR
10 Anson Road #02-77A
International Plaza, S079903
EW15 Tanjong Pagar MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tanjong Pagar →
WhatsApp 8227 7074JURONG EAST
2 Venture Drive #02-02
Vision Exchange, S608526
NS1EW24 Jurong East MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Jurong East →
WhatsApp 8242 7340