What Causes Hard Lumps or Swelling on Feet with Inflammation

Lumps on feet are swelling that occurs on the feet. They can arise from skin, the soft tissue underneath the skin or from muscles, nerves, blood vessels or from a fluid sac. Lumps on feet can be as small as a peanut or as large as a tennis ball. It can be painful or painless; there can be a single lump or multiple lumps.

The lump can affect the function of the foot and its mobility. Lumps on feet can be soft and tender or they can be rubbery hard to feel. A clinician has to consider wide variety of differential diagnosis when examining lumps on feet. This reflects into his difficulty for an accurate diagnosis, however to assess the accuracy he may need a biopsy or various other means such as an X-ray, a sonogram or MRI.

Lumps on feet are addressed by other names such as a cyst, or an abscess, tumor, nodule, or contusion. They can be caused by variety of conditions such as an infection, trauma, a tumor, or an inflammation. The local reason for a foot lump can be a boil or an abscess. When an abscess on feet is not ripe, it gives a feeling of hard lump on feet.

Benign or malignant tumor of skin, soft tissue or bone can present as a hard lump on feet. In such cases surgical removal or biopsy is very helpful in determining whether the lump is cancerous or benign. A cyst, which is a fluid filled sac, is the major cause of lumps on feet.  Cysts can be present since birth or they can develop as a result of inflammation and trauma. Lumps on feet that are soft and fluctuate on palpation are usually due to infection or a trauma. They may be tender and inflamed. They usually subside after the underlying cause is treated. Hard lumps of feet that persist for a long period without pain and they continue to grow can be a tumor which needs prompt medical attention. Warts are caused by virus infection and they appear as hard lumps on feet.

Lumps on Feet Causes

Trauma, infection, cysts, benign and malignant tumors, inflammatory conditions are some of the causes for lumps on feet.

Trauma: injury as minor as a bruise, or as severe as a fracture can cause a lump on feet.

• Bites and stings.
• Fracture of feet.
• Hematoma (collection of blood in the tissue) due to contused wound.

Infection: infection in the feet.

• Warts, corns and callouse.
• Abscess and boils. It can cause an
• Cellulitis.

Tumors: malignant and benign tumors can cause lumps on feet.

• Lipoma is a benign tumor from the fatty tissue.
• Fibroma is a benign tumor from fibrous tissue.
• Lymphoma, which causes enlargement of lymph nodes, is a malignant condition.
• Neuroma a lesion from nerve and it is a benign growth of a tumor.

Inflammatory Conditions:

• Ganglion cyst in the foot.
• Rheumatic fever
• Gout.
• Rheumatic arthritis.
• Osteoarthritis.