This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

aetiology

  • no specific aetiology for BFS - often the cause is idiopathic
  • can occur as an isolated symptom or as part of a symptom complex in association with a variety of unrelated clinical settings.
    • Causes of BFS can be divided into the following categories:
      • nutritional causes:
        • vitamin B deficiency
          • vitamin B deficiency may result in a disturbance in cellular metabolism in the tissues causing accumulation of intermediate metabolites
            • may cause abnormal and excessive stimulation, or lower the pain and temperature threshold of peripheral sensory nerve endings
          • BFS may also be an early clinical phase of vitamin B12 deficiency related neuropathy before frank neurological signs appear
        • malabsorption syndrome, chronic alcoholism - may cause BFS because of associated nutritional deficiencies
      • metabolic/endocrinal causes:
        • diabetes mellitus
        • renal failure (dialysis patients)
        • hypothyroidism
      • hereditary causes:
        • autosomal dominant BFS
          • familial disorder with an autosomal dominant inheritance
          • clinical picture is that of bilateral symmetrical pain with no muscle weakness, atrophy or foot deformity
      • mechanical (entrapment neuropathies) causes:
        • tarsal tunnel syndrome
        • traumatic nerve compression
        • nerve entrapment due to sciatic mononeuropathy and spinal arteriovenous malformation can also cause burning feet (1)
      • psychosomatic
      • miscellaneous
        • erythromelalgia
          • uncommon disorder characterised by burning pain and redness of the extremities
          • may be primary or secondary to systemic disorders such as diabetes, collagen vascular disorders, or myeloproliferative disorders such as polycythemia vera or essential thrombocytosis.
        • chronic mountain sickness
        • Gitelman syndrome
        • leishmaniasis
        • multiple sclerosis

Reference:

  1. Makkar RP et al. Burning feet syndrome. A clinical review. Aust Fam Physician. 2003 Dec;32(12):1006-9.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page