Not sure if I have developed blisters under callouses on feet - VERY painful to walk after dancing barefoot on wood floor

Hi,

I was exercising and dancing on a wood floor recently with no shoes or socks on. I'm wondering if I hurt myself somehow b/c now it hurts to walk.

I have very thin, but soft and well cared for callouses on my feet where they touch the floor - I have very high arches. I regularly use a pumice stone to keep things thin, smooth, and flexible. I never have pain when my foot strikes the floor, and when I've formed blisters in the past they have always been beside the callouses or on a different part of my foot, never in the callous spots themselves.

So a few hours after 2 hours or so of dancing (without pain), I noticed that I developed pain each time my foot strikes the floor. I don't see blisters but under the big toe on my L foot - I think it may be under the sesamoid bone area? - is especially painful and I feel like I can't put regular weight on it like the other foot or else the pain is intense. There are no detectable cuts or anything, and the callouses themselves are not raised at all or redder/more irritated in look. This feels like the kind of pain you get with a large blister but I cannot see anything, and each spot that hurts is exactly under one of my callouses. Did I form blisters under the callous? Or is there something else going on here concerning that part of the foot that I should be concerned about?

Thank you for your input.

ANSWER

Hi,

Generally if there is a blister underneath the callus, which can happen, the area will exhibit fluctuance, it will feel kind of mushy which represents the movement of the fluid within the blister.
Assuming there is no blister, than you next you have to look at the callus itself as being the source of your foot pain. Calluses are initially formed to protect an area of skin, but if they become thick enough they can begin to hurt.
Lastly, the mistake a lot of people make is to assume that since there is a callus, it must be the source of pain. Yes, in many cases it can be, but sometimes it can be the bony structure beneath the callus that actually hurts.
I would think that if the pain does not subside within a couple of days you might want to consult with a local foot specialist whc should be able to determine where your pain is originating from.
As a side note, perhaps dancing barefoot is not your best strategy because people with high arches tend to put a lot of pressure on the ball of their feet and an activity like dancing without some kind of protective shoe is like an accident waiting to happen.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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