Canadian Custom Shoe Lab

1.Achilles Tendonitis
Symptoms: Pain at the back and slightly above the heel with or without a bump. Pain can radiate into the ankle area and may be sharp when walking. Causes: Inflammation of the Achilles tendon usually caused by overuse that results in the fibres being torn or stretched.

2. Plantar Fasciitis
Symptoms: Pain in the heel and arch is most severe in the morning or after sitting for a long time and decreases with activity. Cause: Inflammation of the fascia (a band of fibrous connective tissue) on the bottom of the foot, usually caused by excessive pronation (rolling in of the foot ankle) and poor fitting shoes. This is the most common type of heel pain.

3. Heel Spurs
Symptom: Sharp pain on the bottom of your heel when walking. Cause: Often accompanies plantar fasciitis and is a result of repeated tearing away of the membrane that is attached to the heel bone, resulting in the development of a bony protrusion (spur).

4. Haglund’s Deformity
Symptom: A painful reddish bump (bony growth under the skin) on the back of your heel, in the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to the bone. Cause: Repeated pressure from poorly fitted or constructed shoes.

5. Warts
Symptoms: Can occur anywhere on the foot. Those on the bottom are called plantar warts and look similar to calluses but have one or more tiny black pinpoints and can feel like you are walking on a pebble. Cause: A virus that is usually picked up in moist places such as public pools. Can be spread from person to person.

6. Corns and Calluses
Symptoms: Raised bumps or ridges of compacted dead skin cells. Corns are usually found on the top or sides of toes, and calluses on the soles of feet. Friction and pressure from shoes can burn or be painful. Causes: Repeated friction and pressure from poorly fitting shoes or from rubbing against an irregularity in a shoe. Can also be caused by friction from skin rubbing against bony areas on foot during repeated activity such as walking or running.

7. Athlete’s Foot
Symptoms: Dry scaly skin, itching, inflammation, and small blisters, usually on the bottom of the foot and between the toes. Cause: Fungus that breeds in warm, dark, moist places such as feet that perspire heavily and shoes that don’t get aired out. Can also be in public places, such as gyms and pool locker and shower rooms.

8. Hammertoe
Symptoms: One or more toes permanently bent at the first joint. May be painful to wear shoes; may have corns on these toes. Causes: Usually due to muscle imbalance. Tight shoes, high heels, and nylons that squeeze the toes can aggravate it. Heredity and arthritis can also be factors.

9. Bunion
Symptoms: A painful enlargement at the joint of the big toe. The joint may be swollen and tender. Cause: The joint becomes misaligned due to heredity, abnormal motion, and pressure over the joint due to poor foot mechanics while walking, poorly fitted or poorly constructed shoes, arthritis, or a combination of these.

10. Morton’s Neuroma
Symptoms: Burning pain in the toes; may also be in the ball of the foot. Pain generally gets worse when wearing shoes or walking. Night pain is rare. Causes: Enlarged benign growth of nerves, most often between the third and fourth toes, due to irritation or pressure from shoes.

11. Nail Fungus
Symptoms: Yellow discoloured and thickened toenails; may also have white marks. May be painful when wearing shoes. Can also have a foul smell. Causes: Fungal infection beneath the surface of the nail. Result of contact with microscopic fungi in the environment, especially in damp areas where people walk barefoot (showers, locker rooms, swimming pools). Can be spread by sharing nail clippers with an infected person. Often starts in the skin as athlete’s foot.

12. Flat Feet
Symptoms: Pain after long periods of standing. Difficulty standing on the tiptoes of the affected foot. Your foot arches, particularly in the heel or arch area, and you may have swelling along the inner side. Lower-back pain may accompany these foot symptoms. Causes: Heredity and severe cases of diabetes, arthritis, or injury to muscles and tendons of the foot.

13. High Arch
Symptoms: Rigid, bony foot that is hard to fit into shoes. You are prone to ankle sprains or twisted ankles. May experience generalized pain in the following areas: under the ball of the foot, the top of the instep, and your heel area. Causes: Heredity.