One of the most commonly found pain and numbness causes is an underlying problem called Morton's neuroma. Here, the painful symptoms are felt in the area that lies in between the base of the third and fourth toes. It is caused due to thickening of the nerve tissue or growth of tumor. As a result, normal transmission of messages by the nerves get affected and one gets painfully numb toes. When the condition gets aggravated then the symptoms get extended to the ball of the foot and make walking difficult. This is quite common in runners. Not everyone experiences extreme symptoms while others like me have lots of discomfort from sometimes that makes you want to remove the toe or possibly the whole foot (just joking). My big toes seem to go out of joint from time to time and become painful, red and hot to the touch. Sometimes my toe and parts of the foot go numb. It can be very painful making it hard to wear a shoe or walk, especially when my big toe moves over and covers the second toe and seems to stick there for awhile. The symptoms of bunions include a bulging bump on the inside of the base of your big toe which can be swollen, sore, and red. The skin can thicken in that region and you may have corns and calluses on your toes from where the big toe has been forced to overlap the second toe because your shoes are too tight. Bunions can hurt all the time or intermittently, and they limit the motion of your big toe. Bunions get progressively worse and the painful symptoms will eventually show up over time for most sufferers of bunions. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between ankle instability and subtalar joint instability by physical evaluation. To evaluate the damage, radiographs have to be carefully evaluated and some non-traditional evaluations should be utilized. Placing the foot in specific forced positions is necessary to open up the joint spaces to assess the damage. These can be very painful and a local anesthetic may be necessary in order to complete the exam. Ultrasound has shown to be a great way to evaluate injuries, but not all medical care centers have this modality available. If this injury is caught early , the treatment is mostly non-surgical. Orthotics - Orthotics are custom made devices that go in the shoe to help re-establish proper biomechanical function of the foot. Orthotic devices-both over-the-counter and custom made-to help stabilize the joint and place the foot in the correct position for walking and standing. When we do this, the weight becomes more evenly distributed across the entire foot and the patient may expericence less pain and swelling in the bunion area. One of the easiest ways to soothe irritated feet is to do a soak. You do not necessarily need a luxurious home spa to enjoy this; a basin can as well help you attain this end. You can use your thumbs or roll a tennis or golf ball beneath the mounds of the toes to release these muscles. Start at the base of the big toes and massage down through the inner arch. Work back up along the little toe side of the foot, and anywhere else in the sole that feels tight. As you get used to this, you can increase the effectiveness of the stretch by alternating between an upward handshake (interlacing your fingers between your toes from the sole of the foot upward) and a downward handshake (interlacing the fingers from the top of the toes downward). Generally a sore instigating from the hip joint is sensed in the front over the groin and amplifies by rotating movements of the limb. More so, pain may also be experienced in the knee joint of the similar side in hip ailment which is consider as referred pain , since the hip joint and knee joint partakes a common nerve supply. Who should do your surgery? Podiatric Foot and Ankle Surgeon versus Orthopedic Surgeon? A board-certified podiatric foot and ankle surgeon usually has much more experience in bunion surgery than the average orthopedic surgeon. An experienced, board-certified surgeon is really the key, no matter what their credentials (DPM, MD, DO).