Parkinson’s Foot Pain: Problems and Treatments

You likely know that Parkinson’s disease is a condition that creates challenges with common movements, such as walking. But Parkinson’s disease can also cause multiple types of pain. Some Parkinson’s disease pain may affect your feet directly. When that happens, it can make walking more difficult and decrease your quality of life.

This post will dive into Parkinson’s disease-related foot pain. We will discuss some common causes of Parkinson’s disease-related foot pain, along with what you can do to alleviate it. In addition, we will offer recommendations for how to improve your walking Parkinson’s disease through gait training exercises and appropriate footwear.

A number of different foot problems can be linked to Parkinson’s disease. In the sections below, we discuss how dystonia and swelling might affect you.

Sometimes when you have Parkinson’s disease, your toes might abruptly curl and hurt. This can also happen with your fingers or in your throat, neck, and face. 

The Parkinson’s Foundation explains that this type of muscle spasm is called “dystonia,” and the pain associated with it is “dystonic pain.” These unpleasant spasms usually affect around half of people with Parkinson’s disease at some point. 

The foundation states that you are more likely to experience dystonia in the morning hours or in response to triggering movements. However, it can also strike at other times. Certain medications that are used to treat Parkinson’s disease may produce dystonic pain when medication levels fluctuate.

When you have Parkinson’s disease, the difficulty with walking may cause you to adopt a sedentary lifestyle. If you do, a fluid buildup in your lower extremities called “edema” can occur, which is seen as swelling in your feet and ankles. 

Sometimes, taking certain medications for Parkinson’s disease might also cause swelling in your lower extremities. 

In general, swelling in your lower legs and feet can be uncomfortable, as it puts added pressure and stress on the surrounding tissue. Depending on the severity of the edema, you may feel pain as either throbbing or a dull ache, or you may feel pressure and heaviness. 

Also, if your shoes are too tight when your feet are swollen, this can be very uncomfortable. 

While our focus is on swelling and dystonia in this post, we do briefly want to mention that there are other types of pain that you may experience if you have Parkinson’s disease.

The Parkinson’s Foundation reports that many people with Parkinson’s disease experience musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, and (less commonly) central nervous system pain.

Sometimes, the neuropathic pain takes the form of peripheral neuropathy, a type of nerve pain that affects the hands and/or the feet. 

While your primary doctor may be able to help with treating Parkinson’s disease-associated foot pain, you may also benefit from consulting with a specialist if your foot pain continues.

The type of medical specialist who focuses on foot care is usually known as a podiatrist, or sometimes as a chiropodist. A podiatrist or chiropodist has the advanced training and experience in foot problems to provide you with a deeper understanding of the pain you are experiencing and make personalized recommendations for how you can treat your foot pain. 

Wearing healthy shoes is important for everyone. But, when you have foot pain from Parkinson’s disease, it becomes critical. The right shoes can help you to alleviate pain, exercise more, and manage the gait-related challenges that come from walking with Parkinson’s disease. In fact, finding comfortable, supportive footwear makes it easier and safer to do gait training exercises.

Our top recommendation for Parkinson’s disease footwear is Cadense Original Adaptive Shoes for men and women. What makes these shoes stand out is their patented variable friction technology.

This technology helps to mitigate common issues that occur with a Parkinsonian gait, including shuffling the feet and the tendency for the toes to drag along the ground.

If you are unable to lift and place your feet in a natural way due to Parkinson’s disease, the adaptive technology in Cadense shoes will help you to “glide” across obstacles, preventing tripping and falling.

In addition, Cadense shoes are lightweight, reducing fatigue as you walk. They have high quality tread, providing a firm grip on a variety of surfaces. They also offer comfortable cushioning and support along with a wide base that helps increase stability. Explore the Cadense collection of shoes for Parkinson’s disease.

As we discussed earlier in this post, swelling in the feet can be a symptom of Parkinson’s disease. If you experience foot swelling and your shoes are too tight, you may experience pain or circulatory problems. 

At the same time, the swelling may not be present constantly. This can make it a challenge to find the right size of shoes when you have Parkinson’s disease.

One option is to get shoes that have adjustable laces that you can loosen and tighten as needed to get the right fit based on the degree of swelling you are experiencing.

Another option is to buy shoes in multiple sizes. Get a smaller pair for when you do not have swelling and a half size or full size up for when you do experience swelling. You may need to try on shoes at different times to establish the right sizes for your individual needs. You can then switch shoes as needed for your symptoms.