Symptoms
Nerve pain in the foot: where it hurts, and what it means
Nerve pain burns, stings, shoots or buzzes rather than aching. Where it sits on the foot usually tells you which nerve is involved, and that decides what will help.
Written by the Managing Neuropathy editorial team under the direction of Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS · Clinical review pending · Last updated 24 September 2026
The short answer. Pain that burns, tingles or shoots like an electric shock is usually nerve pain. In both feet, starting in the toes, it is most often peripheral neuropathy. In one spot, it is usually a single nerve being squeezed: under the ball of the foot, inside the ankle and across the sole, at the heel, or across the top of the foot. Each has a different fix, so the location matters.
Is it nerve pain?
Nerve pain tends to burn, sting, tingle or shoot, and it often comes with numbness or odd sensations when something light touches the skin. It is frequently worse at night or at rest. Pain from tendons, ligaments, joints or bone more often aches or stabs in one tender spot. It flares with the first steps after rest or with activity, and eases when the load comes off. The two can exist side by side. More on telling them apart.
The foot map
| Where it hurts | Nerve usually involved | What it often feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Top of the foot | Superficial peroneal nerve; the deep peroneal nerve for the skin between the first two toes | Burning or tingling across the top, often worse in tight shoes or boots |
| Ball of the foot, between the toes | An interdigital nerve, most often between the third and fourth toes (Morton’s neuroma) | Burning or numb toes and a “pebble in the shoe” feeling |
| Inside of the ankle and the sole | Tibial nerve, in the tarsal tunnel | Burning, tingling or numbness across the sole of one foot, worse standing |
| Heel | Baxter’s nerve, the first branch of the lateral plantar nerve, or the medial calcaneal nerve | Burning heel pain that can spread outward, sometimes with numbness |
| Both feet, toes first | Many nerves at once: peripheral neuropathy | Burning, tingling and numbness, spreading slowly upward, worse at night |
| Outer edge and little toe | Sural nerve | Tingling or numbness along the outer border of the foot |
Nerve pain on top of the foot
Most of the skin on top of the foot is supplied by the superficial peroneal nerve. It can be irritated where it passes through the fascia on the outer side of the lower leg, or stretched by an ankle sprain. The skin between the big toe and second toe belongs to the deep peroneal nerve. That nerve runs beneath the front of the ankle, where tight shoes, boots and straps can compress it, a problem known as anterior tarsal tunnel syndrome.
The first test is simple. Loosen your laces, skip a crossing over the sore spot, or change shoes for a week. If the pain fades, pressure was the problem. Burning over the top of the foot and big toe that travels with back or buttock pain points higher, to a nerve root in the lower back. How to tell the difference. Weakness lifting the front of the foot needs prompt assessment. See foot drop.
When top-of-foot symptoms come with weakness lifting the foot, the nerve at the knee is worth checking: see peroneal neuropathy.
Nerve pain in the ball of the foot and between the toes
A Morton’s neuroma is a thickened, irritated nerve between the metatarsal bones, most often between the third and fourth toes. It causes burning, tingling or numbness in those toes and the feeling of standing on a pebble or a bunched-up sock. Shoes with a narrow, tapered toe box and high heels are the usual aggravators. Bunions, hammertoes and flat or very flexible feet add to the risk.
First-line treatment is conservative: wider shoes with a lower heel, a pad under the metatarsal arch to take pressure off the nerve, orthotics, anti-inflammatory medicine and, if needed, an injection. Dr. Biernacki’s practice covers Morton’s neuroma in detail, and numb toes have their own guide here.
Nerve pain inside the ankle and across the sole
The tibial nerve runs behind the bony bump on the inside of the ankle, through a tunnel roofed by a tough band of tissue, before dividing into the nerves that supply the sole. Squeezed there, it causes burning, tingling and numbness across the sole, usually in one foot. It tends to be worse with standing and walking, and often at night. That one-sidedness is the main thing separating it from a general neuropathy. Tarsal tunnel syndrome is covered in full here.
When a cyst or other mass is pressing on the nerve, or careful non-surgical care hasn’t helped, surgery to release the nerve is an option.
Nerve pain in the heel
Not all heel pain is plantar fasciitis. Baxter’s nerve, the first branch of the lateral plantar nerve, can be trapped between two small muscles on the inner side of the heel. It causes a sharp or burning heel pain that can spread toward the outer side of the foot, sometimes with numbness or tingling. Pain on pressing along the nerve’s course, rather than only at the bottom of the heel, is a clue. One recent case report and review estimated it accounts for about a fifth of cases of hindfoot pain, and it is often missed. Baxter’s neuropathy is covered here.
Nerve pain in both feet, starting in the toes
When both feet burn, tingle or go numb together, starting at the toes and creeping upward over months, the problem is rarely one squeezed nerve. It is usually peripheral neuropathy, in which the longest nerves in the body fail at their far ends first. Diabetes is the leading cause in the United States. Low vitamin B12, too much vitamin B6, alcohol, thyroid and kidney disease and some medicines are also common, and several of these are correctable. Neuropathy in the feet, in full. Burning that dominates, especially at night, often means the small nerve fibers are involved. See small fiber neuropathy and burning feet at night.
Nerve pain on the outer edge of the foot
The outer border of the foot and the little toe are supplied by the sural nerve, which runs behind the outer ankle bone. Tingling or numbness there, on one side, follows injuries and surgery around the outer ankle more often than neuropathy. It can also come from a nerve root in the lower back.
How to treat nerve pain in the foot at home
Wider, deeper shoes with a lower heel. Loosen laces over a sore spot on top of the foot. For a neuroma, a pad under the metatarsal arch.
A cold pack wrapped in a cloth, for a few minutes at a time, can calm a neuroma or an irritated nerve. If any part of the foot is numb, skip heat entirely: it can’t warn you it is burning.
Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen can help a neuroma. Neuropathic pain from neuropathy usually doesn’t respond to ordinary painkillers. Topical lidocaine or capsaicin may help. Which creams have evidence.
Swap repetitive pounding, such as running or long standing on hard floors, for cycling or swimming while the nerve settles.
A blister you can’t feel is the injury most likely to become serious. The two-minute check.
If the pain is neuropathic and keeps you awake, prescription medicines work differently from ordinary painkillers. The American Diabetes Association lists four families as first-line options. The options are explained here.
When to see a podiatrist
- Pain that hasn’t settled after two to three weeks of shoe changes and rest.
- Burning or numbness that is spreading, or affects both feet.
- Burning across the sole of one foot, or heel pain that isn’t behaving like plantar fasciitis.
- Any weakness, a foot that catches when you walk, or a change in the shape of the foot.
- Any wound, blister or color change, and any new foot pain if you have diabetes.
Get emergency care for sudden numbness or weakness with a drooping face or trouble speaking. The same applies to a foot that suddenly turns cold, pale and painful, or numbness and weakness climbing both legs over hours or days.
Common questions
What does nerve pain in the foot feel like?
Usually burning, stinging, tingling, electric or shooting, often with numbness or an odd feeling when something light touches the skin. It is often worse at night. An ache that is worst with the first steps in the morning is more typical of plantar fasciitis than of a nerve.
Why does nerve pain in my foot get worse at night?
At rest there is less competing input from walking and shoes, so damaged nerves firing on their own are easier to notice, and some people are sensitive to the touch of bedding. What helps at night.
Can shoes cause nerve pain on top of the foot?
Yes. Tight laces, stiff boots and straps can press on the nerves that run over the top of the foot and the front of the ankle. Loosening or re-lacing around the sore spot is the first thing to try.
What is the best treatment for nerve pain in the foot?
It depends on the nerve. A neuroma responds to wider shoes and padding. A trapped nerve at the ankle or heel may need orthotics, injections or, occasionally, surgery. Neuropathy needs its cause treated and, for pain, medicines designed for nerve pain.
Is nerve pain in the foot serious?
Usually not dangerous, but worth diagnosing, because several causes are fixable and numbness raises the risk of unnoticed injuries. Sudden weakness, a cold pale foot, or symptoms climbing quickly up both legs are emergencies.
Related reading
Tarsal tunnel syndrome · Baxter’s neuropathy · Neuropathy in the feet · Back nerve pain versus neuropathy · Burning feet at night · Numb toes
Sources and further reading: StatPearls: foot nerves, superficial peroneal nerve, anterior tarsal tunnel syndrome and tarsal tunnel syndrome, all NCBI Bookshelf. American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, Morton’s neuroma, on location, causes and conservative treatment. Case report and review of Baxter’s neuropathy, on its anatomy and share of hindfoot pain. NINDS, peripheral neuropathy. NHS, peripheral neuropathy treatment, on why common painkillers rarely help nerve pain. American Diabetes Association Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026, section 12, on first-line medicines for neuropathic pain.
This page is general education and is not a diagnosis, a treatment plan, or advice to start or stop any medicine. Clinical review by Dr. Biernacki is pending; the review date will be shown here once complete.
For our Michigan neighbors
Burning, shooting
or electric foot pain?
Finding which nerve is involved is usually a matter of a careful examination, and it changes the treatment. Dr. Biernacki’s Michigan practice can start there.
Everywhere else, take this page to your own clinician.
Dr. Tom Biernacki, DPM, FACFAS is a double board-certified foot and ankle surgeon (ABFAS and ABPM) and a Fellow of the American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons. He is the founder of Balance Foot & Ankle in Howell and Bloomfield Township, Michigan, where peripheral neuropathy, diabetic foot risk and loss of protective sensation are part of his weekly clinic. His patient education videos have drawn more than 950,000 subscribers on YouTube. Managing Neuropathy is written by its editorial team under his direction, to put the explanation he gives in the exam room in front of the people who cannot get to one — including when a product is worth buying and when it is not.