If you often face foot pain during exercise, joint tenderness in your feet or ankles, or stiffness after sitting, you might be wondering: Can you get arthritis in your feet?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. People living with foot arthritis (no matter the specific type) typically face a bevy of symptoms that can affect their day-to-day lives. However, by recognizing these symptoms early and making some accommodations to your lifestyle (like choosing the best shoes for arthritic feet), you can regain your quality of life.
In this guide, we’re exploring all of these concepts—common foot arthritis symptoms, its causes, and footwear selection—to help you keep that spring in your step.
What is Foot Arthritis?
Before we zoom in on foot arthritis, let’s define arthritis in general:
- Arthritis is a general term that simply means “joint inflammation.”
- Joints are the places where two bones meet. Your elbows and knees are common arthritis flare points, but you can also experience joint inflammation in your feet.
- Arthritis can have a variety of causes, and the cause often dictates the type of arthritis—and the approaches you should take to remedy it and promote comfort.
So, can you get arthritis in your foot? Since there are numerous joints in the foot (33, to be exact), you might develop arthritis in any of the following areas:
- The heel – The heel area of your foot contains seven bones—the tarsal bones. Since the tarsal bones are relatively large (compared to other bones in your feet) and meet each other over large surface areas, there are numerous places where you might develop arthritis symptoms in the heel. Shoes for heel pain are specifically designed to support the tarsals and can help ease arthritic pain in the feet.
- The middle of the foot – The bones in the middle of your feet are called the metatarsals; these connect the tarsal bones to the toe bones (called the phalanges). Since there are five metatarsals (each one connecting a tarsal bone to its respective toe bone), there are ten joints in the middle of your foot that could develop arthritic inflammation or joint deformity. Midfoot arthritis is quite common and often causes foot pain.
- The toes – The phalanges (toe bones) are numerous and small. Each toe features three total bones—except for your big toe, which only has two. There are nine joints in your toes, and arthritis can occur in all of them.
Common Types of Arthritis Affecting the Feet
No matter where foot arthritis symptoms appear, this inflammation can have a few potential causes. The cause of your arthritis determines the type, and there are three kinds of arthritis that primarily affect this area:
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is:
- A degenerative joint condition that occurs when your joint tissues break down over time
- The most common type of arthritis
- More common in older people
Unfortunately, there’s no cure for osteoarthritis; once your joint tissues begin to degrade, you can’t rebuild them. However, you can improve your overall comfort by:
- Exercising – Exercise can improve muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility—all of which can help you combat stiffness and arthritic pain.
- Managing weight – Your healthcare provider might recommend weight loss to relieve some strain on load-bearing joints (like those in your hips, legs, and feet).
- Using support tools – Orthotic insoles are just one supportive tool that might help you relieve arthritis pain.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
While osteoarthritis is degenerative, rheumatoid arthritis is autoimmune—in other words, it occurs when your immune system attacks your body’s healthy cells, specifically in joint tissues.
While rheumatoid arthritis can appear at any age, it’s more common in older populations. It’s also more common among women and people assigned female at birth. In addition, you might be at an increased risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis if:
- You have a family history of autoimmune disorders
- You’re a chronic, long-term smoker
- You have other diseases (periodontitis and lung diseases, for example)
Many people may wonder, “Is arthritis genetic?” The answer is that genes can indeed play a role. There isn’t a cure for rheumatoid arthritis either; however, it can be treated with medications that suppress the immune system, physical therapy, or surgeries.
Post-Traumatic Arthritis
Post-traumatic arthritis is technically a kind of osteoarthritis: The joint tissues degrade, causing painful joints and inflammation. However, this degradation and pain occurs after a joint injury in cases of post-traumatic arthritis.
So, if you’ve struggled with a foot injury in the past, you might be at an increased risk for developing arthritis symptoms in the injured area. Post-traumatic arthritis accounts for about 12% of osteoarthritis cases overall, so it’s relatively common.
How can you prevent arthritis symptoms after a foot injury? Proper footwear is key, and men’s recovery shoes and women’s recovery shoes are widely available in today’s market.
Symptoms of Arthritis in the Feet
The symptoms of arthritis are relatively similar across all types. The following might suggest a case of foot arthritis:
- Pain and tenderness during exercise or non-strenuous activities (like walking or standing)
- Swelling, warmth, or skin redness in the affected joint
- Stiffness or pain in the damaged joint area after sitting down for a long time
- Difficulty moving your joints (which could impact your balance or mobility)
Recognizing these signs as early as possible is paramount. While you can’t replace damaged or degraded joint tissue, you can take steps to mitigate further damage or injury.
One of those mitigation steps? Choosing footwear that accommodates your current challenges and provides total foot support for an active lifestyle, like the Walk Max Lace Up Sneaker.
The Importance of Choosing the Right Footwear
Why is choosing accommodating, supportive footwear so important? High-quality shoes, like our Uptown Loafers, are designed to protect your feet from injury, relieve pain, and support your day-to-day activities. All of these functions are musts for people living with foot arthritis.
Which Shoes Are Right for Foot Arthritis?
When you’re looking for shoes for foot arthritis, you’ll want to prioritize:
- Quality construction – Shoes made from lightweight, yet supportive foams molded for optimal support provide the durability you need to combat arthritis symptoms long-term.
- Orthotic features – While not all shoes are classified as orthotics, you should seek out shoes that take a page out of the orthotics playbook: pairs with deep heel cups, high sidewalls, and other balance-promoting features, like those found in our Rejuvenate Recovery Sandal.
- Support for rest and relaxation – For people living with arthritis, rest and recovery are as important as strengthening exercises. Even when searching for cozy slippers (the most comfort-forward footwear), be on the lookout for supportive features and shock absorption to help with arthritic pain.
What Should You Look for in Arthritis Shoes?
While the features above offer a general guide, what specifically should you look for in your next pair of shoes if you have foot arthritis?
Arch Support
Women’s arch support shoes and Men’s arch support shoes provide cushion and boost the arches—an absolute must for people living with foot arthritis, especially in the metatarsal area.
Shoes that support the arches typically feature:
- High rebound—a bounce that supports your gait and holds your weight as you walk
- Contoured surfaces that mold to the foot
- Support and sidewalls that prevent pronation (or “collapsing in” on your arches)
You can test arch support as you walk in a pair of shoes—do you feel the insole pressing into the highest and lowest parts of your arch? If not, you likely need more support.
Cushioning
While your shoes should offer enough support to press upward against your feet, they should also provide comfort and shock absorption—these come in the form of cushioning.
Shoe cushioning should be:
- Widespread – You should feel the cushioning effects of your insole in every part of your foot: your toes, your midsole, and your heel. If not, you might change your gait to compensate for lack of comfort in a specific area (which could cause injuries).
- Comfortable but firm – Shoes that are too “squishy” might be comfortable at first, but they may not provide the support you need for long-term wear. People with foot arthritis need to balance cushioning and firmness.
While you might have more specific footwear needs as a person living with foot arthritis, there’s no need to sacrifice comfort. Your shoes should both support and cushion your feet.
Stability
Your foot joints impact your stability. They support:
- Balance
- Flexible movement
- Quick recovery from trips and slips
So, if your affected joint (or joints) have begun to degrade or are inflamed, you might see a decline in overall walking and standing stability. Luckily, your shoes can compensate in many ways.
Stability-supporting features to look for in shoes include:
- High sidewalls – Sidewalls help keep your foot aligned over the footbed in your shoes: The higher the sidewall, the more stable your foot will be inside your shoe. So, if you struggle with balance, consider shoes with high sidewalls.
- Deep heel cups – The same can be said for deep heel cups. A heel cup keeps your heel firmly planted in your shoe, providing a strong platform for the rest of your foot (especially if you have a heel-striking stride where your heel hits the ground first). The deeper the heel cup, the more support and stability.
Flexibility
Last but not least, your shoes should be flexible enough to move in comfortably. When you try on a pair of shoes, you can test flexibility (and balance it against support and stability features) by:
- Pointing and flexing your toes
- Making circles (clockwise and counterclockwise) with your ankles
- Standing on your tiptoes and kneeling down
Sizing can also affect flexibility, so be sure to review shoe sizing guides before buying a new pair of shoes.
Balance Begins with Vionic
You can develop arthritis in your feet, but early detection and proper footwear selection can be the difference between painful walking and an active lifestyle. What’s more, comfortable, supportive, and high-quality footwear can be stylish, too—and this combination is our specialty at Vionic.
From sandals to heels, and slippers to sneakers, Vionic has a shoe for everyone: people living with foot arthritis, recovering from major foot injuries, or looking for a shoe that can support an active lifestyle.
Check out our entire collection to discover the true intersection of style and substance.
Sources:
Penn Medicine. Foot and Ankle Arthritis Treatment. https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/find-a-program-or-service/orthopaedics/foot-and-ankle-pain/foot-and-ankle-arthritis-treatment
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Arthritis. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/arthritis
National Library of Medicine. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Foot Joints. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536941/
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Osteoarthritis. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/osteoarthritis
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Rheumatoid Arthritis. https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/rheumatoid-arthritis
Bone Reports. Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis: A Review of Pathogenic Mechanisms and Novel Targets for Mitigation. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10323219/
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