Doesfibromyalgiacause foot pain? Certainly, with this condition, pain can hit anywhere, at any intensity, at any time. Several studies show that people with fibromyalgia have morefoot painthan other people.

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A person rubbing their feet in pain

Foot Pain Symptoms

While all kinds of pain are unpleasant, some have a bigger impact on your life. Chief among these is foot pain because walking is an essential function.

Some people describe it as:

Foot pain is a major problem. When every step is agony, it makes it hard to do much of anything. When you’re already limited because offibromyalgia, you hardly need one more thing to keep you from doing what you want or need to do.

Pain on Top of Foot: Treatment Based on Cause

What Causes Foot Pain?

We’re just starting to see research specifically on foot pain in fibromyalgia. So far, we can’t say anything for sure about what causes it, but we’re starting to get support for some likely suspects.

A study published inArthritis Research & Therapyfound that about 50% of people with fibromyalgia report pain in one or both feet. That seems like a lot of us, but the same study showed that 91% have neck pain 79% experience hip pain. In fact, the feet were among the least likely places to hurt.

Still, it’s important to look at foot pain because your ability to walk has a big impact on how functional you can be. Foot pain can make you walk differently, which may lead to back, hip and knee problems.

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot pain involving a band of fascia that runs along the bottom of your foot, helping support the arch. We don’t know anything for sure yet, but some people speculate that plantar fasciitis is a symptom of common overlapping condition with fibromyalgia.

Another common condition in us, which also involves the fascia, ismyofascial pain syndrome. It involves small, ropy nodules in the fascia called trigger points, which can be painful and may also cause what’s called referred pain, which is felt away from the trigger point.

In a 2016 study published inPain Medicine,researchers say that pushing on trigger points reproduced foot pain in participants. They also found high sensitivity to pressure in the plantar region of the foot.

Also in 2016, the journalFootpublished a study suggesting that the subtalar joint, which is just below the ankle, is frequently dysfunctional in fibromyalgia. Out of 20 women who participated, 12 had hypermobility (excessive range of motion) in that joint, while five had hypomobility (limited range of motion).

However, a 2017 study inFootfound no abnormalities in the joints of the feet, ankles, orlegsof 50 people with fibromyalgia. We’ll need more research in this area to know for sure whether we’re more especially likely to have joint problems that could contribute to foot pain.

Your foot pain may also come from an overlapping pain condition such as:

No matter the cause of foot pain, fibromyalgia amplifies it, just as it does with all pain.

Easing Your Foot Pain

The following is a list of things that have helped some people with these conditions ease their foot pain (remember that these are only personal experiences and they might not work for you):

A 2012study on custom orthoticssuggested that they may help people with fibromyalgia function better overall. (It did not look specifically at foot pain.)

Foot pain can also come from a lot of other sources that have nothing to do with fibromyalgia. If you have foot pain that is persistent or limits your ability to function, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about it and don’t just assume it’s part of your fibromyalgia. It’s likely to take some time and experimentation to find the best way(s) torelieve your foot pain.

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6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Friend R, Bennett RM.Distinguishing fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus in clinical questionnaires: an analysis of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and its variant, the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQR), along with pain locations.Arthritis Res Ther. 2011;13(2):R58. doi:10.1186/ar3311Liptan GL.Fascia: a missing link in our understanding of the pathology of fibromyalgia.J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010;14(1):3-12. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.08.003Tornero-caballero MC, Salom-moreno J, Cigarán-méndez M, Morales-cabezas M, Madeleine P, Fernández-de-las-peñas C.Muscle trigger points and pressure pain sensitivity maps of the feet in women with fibromyalgia syndrome.Pain Med. 2016;17(10):1923-1932. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw090Silva AP, Chagas DD, Cavaliere ML, Pinto S, De oliveira barbosa JS, Batista LA.Kinematic analysis of subtalar eversion during gait in women with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2016;28:42-46. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2016.09.010Padín galea JM, Fernández-aceñero MJ, De la fuente JLM.Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2017;32:27-29. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2017.04.001Ferrari R.A cohort-controlled trial of the addition of customized foot orthotics to standard care in fibromyalgia.Clin Rheumatol. 2012;31(7):1041-5. doi:10.1007/s10067-012-1966-8

6 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Friend R, Bennett RM.Distinguishing fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus in clinical questionnaires: an analysis of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and its variant, the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQR), along with pain locations.Arthritis Res Ther. 2011;13(2):R58. doi:10.1186/ar3311Liptan GL.Fascia: a missing link in our understanding of the pathology of fibromyalgia.J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010;14(1):3-12. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.08.003Tornero-caballero MC, Salom-moreno J, Cigarán-méndez M, Morales-cabezas M, Madeleine P, Fernández-de-las-peñas C.Muscle trigger points and pressure pain sensitivity maps of the feet in women with fibromyalgia syndrome.Pain Med. 2016;17(10):1923-1932. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw090Silva AP, Chagas DD, Cavaliere ML, Pinto S, De oliveira barbosa JS, Batista LA.Kinematic analysis of subtalar eversion during gait in women with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2016;28:42-46. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2016.09.010Padín galea JM, Fernández-aceñero MJ, De la fuente JLM.Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2017;32:27-29. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2017.04.001Ferrari R.A cohort-controlled trial of the addition of customized foot orthotics to standard care in fibromyalgia.Clin Rheumatol. 2012;31(7):1041-5. doi:10.1007/s10067-012-1966-8

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Friend R, Bennett RM.Distinguishing fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus in clinical questionnaires: an analysis of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and its variant, the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQR), along with pain locations.Arthritis Res Ther. 2011;13(2):R58. doi:10.1186/ar3311Liptan GL.Fascia: a missing link in our understanding of the pathology of fibromyalgia.J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010;14(1):3-12. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.08.003Tornero-caballero MC, Salom-moreno J, Cigarán-méndez M, Morales-cabezas M, Madeleine P, Fernández-de-las-peñas C.Muscle trigger points and pressure pain sensitivity maps of the feet in women with fibromyalgia syndrome.Pain Med. 2016;17(10):1923-1932. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw090Silva AP, Chagas DD, Cavaliere ML, Pinto S, De oliveira barbosa JS, Batista LA.Kinematic analysis of subtalar eversion during gait in women with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2016;28:42-46. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2016.09.010Padín galea JM, Fernández-aceñero MJ, De la fuente JLM.Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2017;32:27-29. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2017.04.001Ferrari R.A cohort-controlled trial of the addition of customized foot orthotics to standard care in fibromyalgia.Clin Rheumatol. 2012;31(7):1041-5. doi:10.1007/s10067-012-1966-8

Friend R, Bennett RM.Distinguishing fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus in clinical questionnaires: an analysis of the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and its variant, the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQR), along with pain locations.Arthritis Res Ther. 2011;13(2):R58. doi:10.1186/ar3311

Liptan GL.Fascia: a missing link in our understanding of the pathology of fibromyalgia.J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010;14(1):3-12. doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2009.08.003

Tornero-caballero MC, Salom-moreno J, Cigarán-méndez M, Morales-cabezas M, Madeleine P, Fernández-de-las-peñas C.Muscle trigger points and pressure pain sensitivity maps of the feet in women with fibromyalgia syndrome.Pain Med. 2016;17(10):1923-1932. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw090

Silva AP, Chagas DD, Cavaliere ML, Pinto S, De oliveira barbosa JS, Batista LA.Kinematic analysis of subtalar eversion during gait in women with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2016;28:42-46. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2016.09.010

Padín galea JM, Fernández-aceñero MJ, De la fuente JLM.Characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia.Foot (Edinb). 2017;32:27-29. doi:10.1016/j.foot.2017.04.001

Ferrari R.A cohort-controlled trial of the addition of customized foot orthotics to standard care in fibromyalgia.Clin Rheumatol. 2012;31(7):1041-5. doi:10.1007/s10067-012-1966-8

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