A foot sprain overstretches the ligaments in your foot while a strain affects the muscles or tendons in your foot. Two sites where foot sprain may occur are the midfoot or forefoot and the phalantges.

Symptoms of a strained or sprained foot include:

• pain upon moving or stretching foot
• tenderness and swelling in the foot
• spasms in the foot muscles

Heel Bruise:

Sudden stop and go movements or a sudden change from a horizontal to a vertical movement (i.e. jumping), are particularly likely to cause heel bruises. The heel has a thick, cornified skin layer and a heavy fat pad covering, but even this thick padding cannot protect against a sudden abnormal force directed to this area.

Symptoms of a heel bruise include:

• severe pain in the heel
• being unable to withstand the stress of weight bearing

Sprained Toe:

Sprains of the phalangeal joint of the foot are caused most often by kicking some nonyielding object. Sprains result from a considerable force applied in such a manner as to extend the joint beyond its normal range of motion (i.e. "jamming it") or to impart a twisting motion to the toe, twisting and tearing the supporting tissues.