What’s Really Making Your Feet Hurt (Aside From Your Shoes)

We’ve all been there: after a night on the dance floor in those cute (but killer) heels, your feet are aching all over.

Shoes are probably the most common source of foot pain for young women, agrees Jacqueline Sutera, DPM and expert with the Vionic Innovation Lab. “When a person comes to my office, I do an interview and it always goes like this: ‘Have you had an injury? Is there a new exercise activity? Is there a change in your body weight? Did something fall on your foot?’ I try to probe them to see if there’s any kind of trauma. If the answers are ‘no,’ then it’s almost always because of the shoe.”
But footwear is far from the only reason, she adds.

Sometimes, your feet are killing you long after that dance party — and that’s where the real trouble is. Thankfully, your body is always ready to fire out warning signs and where your feet hurt can be very telling of what might be going on. Ahead, we’ll outline some of the most common reasons.