Burning Sensation in the Feet: Causes and Treatments

A burning sensation in your feet can happen for several reasons. Knowing the exact cause of the sensation is important so you can stop the uncomfortable feeling and treat the underlying condition causing it.

The burning sensation may be accompanied by symptoms such as tingling, numbness, or decreased strength of your foot muscles. The pain usually develops gradually but might occur more suddenly in rare cases. Even if your symptoms are mild and gradual, getting medical attention is important for diagnosing the cause and preventing your symptoms from getting worse.

A burning sensation in your feet might feel hot, prickly, or painful. The feeling may come and go or be more constant. Depending on its cause, you may feel the pain in one or both feet. The pain may also worsen at night.

The burning pain may also be accompanied by:

Tingling
A stabbing pain or “electric” pain
A freezing kind of pain
Decreased sensation or some weakness in your foot muscles
Additional pain from cold or light touch
Abnormal sensations that aren’t painful

A burning sensation in your feet may be a symptom of several health conditions. Some causes may be mild and temporary, such as standing on your feet too long in too-tight shoes. Other causes, including conditions like diabetes, alcohol use disorder, and psoriasis, may be more serious.

1. Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that affects the feet and legs. It can sometimes affect the hands and arms. Peripheral neuropathy may cause a burning sensation in the affected area.

Diabetes is a common cause of peripheral neuropathy since high glucose (blood sugar) levels over time can damage nerves. In these cases, the condition is known as diabetic neuropathy.

Around 50% or more of people with diabetes eventually develop some degree of diabetic neuropathy. About half of people with diabetic neuropathy develop pain with symptoms like a burning or tingling feeling in their feet.

Other health conditions can cause nerve damage that leads to a burning sensation in the feet. These include:

Alcoholic neuropathy: Over time, chronic excess alcohol use can damage the nerves and cause burning pain in the feet. It’s one of the more common complications of prolonged alcohol use.
Kidney disease: Chronic kidney disease can lead to nerve damage, sometimes called uremic neuropathy, from toxins that accumulate if the kidneys aren’t functioning well. The symptom is especially common in people who have more severe kidney disease.
Infectious causes: Infections such as HIV and Lyme disease may damage nerves and lead to neuropathy, especially if you don’t receive proper treatment. Shingles (caused by the varicella-zoster virus) can sometimes cause a lingering burning sensation in the area where you had painful blisters, even after the rash has gone away.
Vitamin deficiencies: Severely low levels of vitamins such as vitamin B12 may lead to nerve pain. Vitamin levels might be low enough to cause neuropathy if you have severe malnutrition or just had a procedure like gastric bypass surgery.

Drug side effects: Some drugs may cause neuropathic pain in the feet and related symptoms. Examples include lithium, Dilantin (phenytoin), and Cordarone (amiodarone).
Toxin exposure: Exposure to toxins like lead and other heavy metals may also cause nerve pain in the feet.
Autoimmune neuropathies: Autoimmune disease can sometimes damage nerves and cause symptoms including foot pain.
Cancer: Certain rare cancers may cause neuropathy. It’s also possible to get neuropathy from cancer treatments like radiation or chemotherapy.

The specific cause of peripheral neuropathy is sometimes unknown; this is referred to as idiopathic neuropathy.

2. Compressed Nerves

A compressed (squeezed) or injured nerve may also cause a burning sensation in your foot. Overly tight or poorly fitting footwear may contribute to or worsen these issues. Tarsal tunnel syndrome and Morton’s neuroma are two conditions that can cause compressed nerves,

In tarsal tunnel syndrome, the posterior tibial nerve—which runs down the leg and into the ankle and foot—is compressed. You might feel a burning pain in your foot, ankle, or up into your calf.

With Morton’s neuroma, the tissue around one of the nerves to your toe can begin to thicken due to underlying stress or injury. You might feel a burning sensation in the ball of your foot. You may also experience the sensation of walking on a marble.

3. Skin Conditions

Skin infections can sometimes cause a burning sensation, particularly yeast infections like athlete’s foot, which usually also causes intense itchiness. Some skin diseases, such as psoriasis, may cause a burning sensation and other symptoms like itchy and flaky skin. An allergic reaction might also cause a burning sensation along with a rash.

Other Causes

Though rare, a burning feeling in your feet may be caused by other conditions, including brain disease and peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Damage to your central nervous system (your brain and spinal cord)—such as from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or multiple sclerosis—can sometimes lead to pain that feels like burning sensations in your foot.

In PAD, arteries narrow, which reduces blood flow. PAD can affect the legs and feet. The condition can sometimes cause pain in the legs, thigh, or foot that usually occurs during exercise. While burning pain is possible, it’s more often a heavy, cramping pain.

See a healthcare professional if you notice a new burning sensation in your feet. They can evaluate the underlying reason for your symptoms and, if necessary, start treatment. It’s especially important to seek immediate medical attention if your symptoms are severe or sudden or you can’t move your foot.

Your healthcare provider may make a diagnosis with a medical history, physical exam, and some basic blood tests if they suspect your symptoms are due to diabetes. These blood tests might include a complete blood count; a metabolic panel; and tests for fasting blood glucose, thyroid stimulating hormone, and vitamin B12 levels.

To get more information about your muscles and nerves, a neurologist (a doctor specializing in conditions of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves) may order additional blood tests, nerve conduction studies to test your nerve function, or electromyography to measure the electrical activity of your muscles and their nerves.

Other tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or nerve biopsy, might also be helpful on rare occasions.

If you have a chronic condition known to be causing the burning sensation in your feet, let your provider know if your symptoms are worsening.

Treatment varies based on the underlying cause. For pain from nerve damage, this might mean treating underlying diabetes, a vitamin deficiency, or an infection. In some cases, treatment reduces or eliminates the pain. Other times, some nerve damage might be permanent, and treatment focuses on keeping the damage from getting worse.

Lifestyle Approaches

Wearing properly fitting shoes may help ease the burning sensation from nerve damage. A podiatrist (a doctor specializing in treating conditions of the feet) can help you find the right footwear to lessen pressure on your nerves.

For people with excess weight, losing weight may help reduce symptoms.

Therapy

Your healthcare provider may recommend two types of therapy to you: physical and talk therapy.

Physical therapists may be able to prescribe specific exercises that help reduce your pain and improve your muscle strength. Mental health providers can help you understand how the pain affects your life and teach you how to cope.

Medications

Some medications may help reduce pain in the feet from neuropathy. These include:

Lyrica (pregabalin)
Some antidepressants, such as Elavil (amitriptyline)
Pain-relieving medications applied to the skin, such as capsaicin or lidocaine, which can be used in combination with oral medications for pain

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Motrin (ibuprofen) tend not to be great for treating pain from nerve damage.

Medical Procedures

Medical procedures are not appropriate for most causes of burning pain in the feet, but there are cases where a procedure can help. For example, foot surgery may help if you have nerve compression from Morton’s neuroma.

To prevent a burning sensation in the feet, you can try preventing the underlying cause in the first place. This is not always possible.

If you have a condition known to cause the sensation, managing the underlying cause may help prevent it. People who have diabetes can work with a healthcare provider to prevent diabetic neuropathy and related burning pain in the feet. These steps may help decrease your risk of the sensation:

Use medications as needed to help keep your average blood glucose levels from getting too high
Follow dietary recommendations, including minimizing high-carbohydrate foods like candy, cookies, or soda
Regularly exercise to help with blood glucose control, weight loss, stress management, and blood pressure regulation
Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption

Neuropathy that leads to a burning sensation in the feet also often leads to decreased sensation, which can put you at risk for foot injury and infection. If not adequately treated, infections can lead to foot amputation in severe cases.

If you have diabetic neuropathy or any other chronic neuropathy affecting your feet, check your feet daily for potential sores, redness, or swelling. Get prompt medical attention if you find anything concerning.

As part of your diabetes care, it’s also important to get regular checkups that include a detailed exam of your feet.

A burning sensation in your feet may be a sign of neuropathy, a type of nerve damage. Diabetes is the most common cause of neuropathy.

Compressed nerves and skin conditions may also cause a burning sensation in your feet. Besides the burning feeling, you might experience a prickling type of pain, reduced sensation, and decreased muscle strength.

Treatment for a burning sensation in your feet varies based on the underlying cause, but medications and lifestyle changes may help. If you have diabetic neuropathy or another kind of neuropathy, it’s important to check your feet daily for sores or injury to help prevent complications.

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