eternal souls

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Your feet take a pounding every day. Help them go the distance by identifying and correcting issues ranging from corns and calluses to athlete's foot and hammertoes.

ByBrian P. Dunleavy

Medically Reviewed byJustin Laube, MD

Updated on January 12, 2024

foot using tennis ball therapy on mat

Happy feet are healthy feet. Learn about common foot problems and best tips to take care of your tootsies.

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The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons made of strong fibrous tissues to keep all the moving parts together — not to mention more sweat glands than any other part of the body.

Indeed, the foot is an evolutionary marvel, capable of handling hundreds of tons of force — your weight in motion — every day.But the stress of carrying you around puts your feet at high risk of injury, higher than any other body part. And many foot problems, including hammertoes, blisters, bunions, corns and calluses, claw and mallet toes, ingrown toenails, toenail fungus, and athlete’s foot, can develop due to neglect, ill-fitting shoes, and simple wear and tear, says Saylee Tulpule, a podiatrist who practices in Maryland and Washington D.C.

“Since our body weight is on our feet, it’s really important to wear good-quality shoes,” says Tulpule. That means choosing shoes that are durable and offer good support and cushion to protect the soft tissue and joints of the feet, she notes.

It’s also important not to disregard foot pain, and keep in mind that this can sometimes be the first sign of a systemic problem, says Tulpule. Gout, for example, often affects the foot joints first. And, she notes, “With diabetes, patients will often report symptoms of numbness or a burning sensation in their feet.” Patients may also report that their feet feel colder to the touch, and the skin of the feet may appear thinner, says Tulpule. “These are all indications that perhaps there could be a larger issue at hand, whether it’s diabetes or another condition that’s causing vascular issues [circulation problems],” she adds.

To keep your hardworking tootsies in top form, learn how to identify some common foot-health issues and what you can do to manage them.