The tibia (shin bone) and the fibula are the bones of the lower leg. Pilon fractures are injuries that occur at the lower end of the tibia and involve the weightbearing surface of the ankle joint. The fibula also may be broken. These injuries were first described more than 100 years ago and remain one of the most challenging problems for orthopaedic surgeons to treat. Common causes of pilon fractures are falls from a height and car accidents.

If your first few steps out of bed in the morning cause severe pain in the heel of your foot, you may have plantar fasciitis, an overuse injury that affects the sole of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes.

A plantar fibroma is a benign (non-cancerous) nodule that grows in the arch of the foot and usually appears between ages 20 and 60. It usually is slow-growing and often less than one inch in size. Some can grow faster and are considered plantar fibromatosis. A plantar fibroma or fibromatosis is a disease of the fibrous tissue that grows between the skin and the underlying fascia.

Plantar warts are a common viral skin infection on the bottom (plantar) side of your foot. About 10 percent of teenagers have plantar warts. Using a public shower or walking around a locker room in bare feet increase your risk for developing plantar warts.

Tendons connect muscles to bones and stretch across joints, enabling you to bend those joints. One of the most important tendons in the lower leg is the posterior tibial tendon. This tendon starts in the calf, stretches down behind the inside of the ankle, and attaches to bones in the middle of the foot. 

The posterior tibial tendon helps hold up your arch and provides support as you step off on your toes when walking. If this tendon becomes inflamed, overstretched, or torn, you may experience pain on the inner ankle and gradually lose the inner arch on the bottom of your foot, leading to flatfoot. 

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic disease that attacks multiple joints throughout the body. About 90 percent of people with RA eventually develop symptoms related to the foot or ankle. Usually symptoms appear in the toes and forefeet first, then in the middle and back of the foot, and finally in the ankles. Other inflammatory types of arthritis that affect the foot and ankle include gout, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and Reiter's syndrome.

The exact cause of RA is unknown but there are several theories. Some people may be more likely to develop RA because of their genes. However, it usually takes a chemical or environmental trigger to activate the disease. In RA, the body's immune system turns against itself. Instead of protecting the joints, the body produces substances that attack and inflame the joints.

Sesamoids are bones that develop within a tendon. The one most people are familiar with is in the kneecap, however they most commonly occur in the foot and hand. Two sesamoids, each about the size of a corn kernel, typically are found near the underside of the big toe.

A stress fracture is a small crack in a bone. These fractures most often are a result of overuse and can occur with an increase in activity. Stress fractures most commonly occur in the weight­bearing bones of the legs. When a bone is subjected to a new stress, such as a new exercise routine, it may not be prepared for the increased workload, and as a result, may develop a stress fracture.

A talus fracture is a broken ankle bone. The talus is the bone in the back of the foot that connects the leg and the foot. It joins with the two leg bones (tibia and fibula) to form the ankle joint and allows for upward and downward motion of the ankle.

The talus (ankle bone) sits within the ankle mortise or hinge, which is made up of the two leg bones, the tibia and fibula. There are three joints:

• the ankle, which allows the up-and-down motion of the foot with the leg
• the subtalar joint, which allows for side-to-side movement
• the talonavicular joint, which has a complicated biomechanical function that controls flexibility of the foot and the arch of the foot.

The talus has no muscular attachments and is mostly covered with cartilage, which makes injuries difficult to heal.

People with diabetes are at risk for foot issues, including the possibility of losing a leg. The risk increases when a person has diabetic neuropathy, a type of nerve damage that causes foot numbness, since problems can go unnoticed. Click the button below to learn how to reduce the risk by properly caring for diabetic feet and seeing a doctor as soon as possible if there is an issue.