I've been having the same problem this week. I've waited tables for far longer than I want to admit & sometimes the bottoms of my feet feel bruised. I don't really have an answer, but I'm interested to hear if others do!

One possible explanation - you may have a bunion. Is the knuckle where the big toe attaches to the rest of the foot protruding? Does the big toe appear to be either shorter than the one next to it, or twisted in some way? These are symptoms of a bunion.

There is a thread about bunions here: tribes.tribe.net/healthybe...28f44b3212

My symptom was that the sore spot would develop around where the knuckle of the 2nd toe (the one next to the big toe) joined the rest of the foot. It would become swollen when I walked on it a lot, and then a callous would form there, and then the callous would press painfully deep into my foot. Trimming the callous would provide some relief, but the problem would come back.

Stuff I learned when trying to deal with this:

1. There is a second arch in the foot known as the transverse arch. It spans from the big toe to the little toe, across the width of the foot.

2. When you have a bunion, the transverse arch "falls", meaning it no longer holds the knuckles of the foot above the floor the way it should. This is because the protrusion of the big toe joint causes the foot to quit supporting the transverse arch, ie, no longer holding it up. It's like kicking one of the supports out from under a bridge.

3. When the transverse arch falls, the knuckle where the second toe joins the rest of the foot (ie, where it connects to the 2nd metatarsil which is a foot bone) makes contact with the floor. If the transverse arch is healthy, this knuckle doesn't hit the floor directly - instead, the big toe knuckle absorbs the impact of your weight. But when the 2nd toe knuckle hits the floor, it's not supposed to do that, so the repeated impact causes the joint to swell. This hurts.

If the above describes your situation, the bunion thread may help. If you indeed have a joint swollen from too much impact with the floor, try slathering that part of your foot in arnica ointment from the health food store. It may help with the swelling.

I had this problem and thought it was from too tight shoes. I bought a pair of shoes the same as always, same size, same shoe etc. and they were tight. I thought they'd stretch; they didn't. I went to the doctor after discarding the shoes and was told that I had arthritis in my foot. I started wearing sneakers as much as possible and my bunion has gone down and the pain has gone away. But I wear kind of clumpy, flexible, (i.e. shoes with give) comfortable shoes as much as possible. I cannot enjoy the well-heeled, professional look any longer (at least not on a daily basis). I'm re-reading your post and see that perhaps my situation is not the same as yours. My suggestion is 1) see a doctor and 2) follow your body's advice. In other words, wear your cushy slippers as much as possible. Pamper your feet. Good luck and keep us posted!

You might try a massage first and see if the tendons in your foot are tense/spasms. Take a golf ball and place on the floor. Put your foot on top of it and roll it back and forth and around getting as much of the sole of your foot as you can.

In January I was taking a month long Master Class series with Maria Jamal and she works alot on shimmies and were were doing alot of choo choos. The balls of my feet started to hurt really bad and I decided that I was not going back to that class until I got a pair of dance sneakers. I bought a pair of Capezio dance sneakers and have been hooked on them ever since! And I the best thing is I do not feel weird when I do dance barefoot. And I noticed that my calves are more defined. Probably because they put my feet in the proper alignment and provide amazing arch support. (Lol- No, I do not work for Capezio! lol)

Maybe you should look into getting a pair for dance class. And try to go to one of those runners stores that sells running and cross training shoes to talk with someone about the sensitivity you feel when you work out. They might be able to give you some good advice and/or some tips to help.

I'm sorry to hear of your problem. No one thinks about foot pain until they have it, then realize what an inconvenient situation it really is.
I have pain in the balls of my feet and have had that problem for about a year. (I've also had Morton's Neuroma problems.) Dancing on releve is not fun. I'm glad my teacher is so understanding.
I told my doctor that it feels as though the padding (the tissue, muscle) on the bottom of my feet has thinned out and there just isn't enough protective padding left over the bones to navigate comfortably.
He said that I was probably right---as we age, the tissues, etc., on the bottom of the foot do thin out.
I'm almost 62 and have always worked out. I have noticed that even with my expensive running shoes, walking on a treadmill at the gym makes my feet hurt. Some treadmills are less cushiony that others, so you may want to think about the possiblity of varying your workout time or intensity or changing treadmills. Use the best athletic shoes possible, ones that are fit by physical therapists or a trained company-certified technician. Use them if you have to walk to work after getting off the bus, taxi or train. Anytime you need to walk any distance, use the athletic shoes.
You may have to ice after workouts or dancing.
Don't overlook the benefit of self foot massage.

Of course, wearing fashionably high heels is out, at least for the moment. With bunions, you already know that you must find more suitable shoes. And wearing shoes that compress your feet laterally is also bad for your situation.

Do you wear heels a lot or shoes without good padding and support? I know this happened to me before I switched to wearing sneakers and put inserts in my boots (saving the heeled boots for only special occasions). You may not need a full dance sneaker, toe undies may be enough for you if you don't like how the sneakers feel when you dance. I've found that by wearing the supportive shoes most of the time, then my feet are fine for what I ask of them in dance class.

Also, I never checked this out, but a co-worker told me what I had sounded like what she had and that I should ask my doctor about something called "planter's foot" (or some word like that). She never goes around barefoot, even at home. She comes home, takes off her work shoes and slips on her Crocs.

I've had the same problem for many years..it originally started from dancing but then began to happen when I would wear high heels. The doc told me it was pretty common for dancers. The area between the ball of the foot and the toes becomes inflammed and is then sore. I was doing okay for awhile when I started belly dancing, but now that I am taking classes several times a week, I sometimes I get the same thing. My remedies include Tiger Balm (or other soothing foot treatments), the occasional ibuprofen and comfy shoes when they are sore. Best of luck!!