Don’t let foot pain keep you up at night. Find out why your feet or toes ache — and get them treated.
After a long day, you’re finally slipping into bed for a restful night of sleep. But soon after you doze off, you’re suddenly jolted awake by pain and throbbing in your feet or toes. Although getting out of bed and walking around relieves the discomfort for a short time, as soon as you return to bed the pain starts up again, interfering with your nighttime slumber.
If this pattern sounds familiar, you may think there is nothing you can do to stop the nighttime ache in your feet and it’s something you’ll just have to live with. But foot pain that gets worse in the evening can be traced to several conditions that are easily treated with at-home remedies or medical intervention.
What Causes Nighttime Foot Pain
Don’t let nighttime foot pain keep you from getting the rest you need. A podiatrist can make an accurate diagnosis, but here are the four most likely reasons your feet ache at bedtime:
Plantar Fasciitis. A strip of tissue, the plantar fascia, runs along the bottom of the foot from the heel to the toes. It supports the arch of the foot, but when it becomes inflamed due to repetitive strain (such as from running), you’ll experience a sharp pain in your heel that may be more pronounced upon your first step in the morning. Called plantar fasciitis, this condition can be helped with physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, steroid injections, avoiding the activity that caused the strain, or icing the bottom of the foot. Wearing a splint at night to stretch the plantar fascia may also alleviate the pain.
Morton’s Neuroma. Morton’s Neuroma is basically a pinched nerve or nerves within the tissues leading to the toes. As the nerves become compressed, you’ll feel a burning or tingling sensation in your toes that flares up at night. Comfortable footwear that doesn’t crowd the toes can prevent Morton’s Neuroma. Other treatments could include shoe inserts or orthopedic pads, steroid injections to reduce inflammation, or foot massages.
Peripheral Neuropathy. Sometimes, signals from the central nervous system become disrupted and cause pain in the peripheral nerves, like those in the feet or legs. Numbness, tingling, and sharp pains in the feet are all symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. The pain abates when you walk, but tends to start up again when you recline in bed. Diabetes and other chronic medical conditions such as kidney disease and immune disorders, as well as vitamin deficiencies, have been linked to peripheral neuropathy.
Treating those conditions may alleviate nighttime foot pain. Other therapies include physical therapy as well as pain-reducing medications including anticonvulsants and antidepressants. The neuropathy may also be due to a constricted axon — the inner core or canal of the nerve fiber in the foot or ankle — or an enlarged ligament pressing on the nerves. In some cases, a surgeon can free up the compressed nerves in the foot to minimize pain. Alcohol can also exacerbate peripheral neuropathy, so limit your alcohol intake.
Your Lifestyle. That ache you experience at night in your feet could be due to your day job. If you’re on your feet all day, the muscles in your feet become fatigued from overwork. Because oxygen cannot get to the muscles, waste products collect in the muscles, causing cramps and spasms, particularly at night. Drinking plenty of water to flush out the waste, along with stretching exercises like standing calf stretches, keeps the muscles limber and healthy. For a standing calf stretch, face a wall with your feet together. Keep one heel on the floor while angling the painful foot against the wall. Move forward as you feel a stretch in the calf. Hold for two seconds.
Put Foot Pain to Rest
If you’re suffering from aching feet during the day or evening, the specialists at Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Podiatry Group can diagnose and treat your pain. We offer a full range of services, from minimally invasive procedures to diabetic foot care. Contact us today for an appointment.
