The Pain that Won't Wane: Metatarsalgia

Do you ever experience pain on the ball of your foot especially when you are walking or exercising? This pain may be related to a condition termed metatarsalgia and is due to the amount of pressure and stress that this part of your foot endures during these activities. Your metatarsals are long bones with one extending from your rearfoot to each of your toes. They work as a unit to assist you during walk and provide the transition from your heel to your toes throughout your gait. If one of these bones is altered in any way, it will impact the other four bones causing this pain that you experience.

Some causes of metatarsalgia include an abnormally long metatarsal, a fracture, arthritis causing breakdown of one of the bones, an enlarged portion of the bone making it wider, sports that put a lot of pressure on the ball of your foot, aging and shoes that are too tight squeezing your bones together. Some of these conditions may have been present since a young age and become exacerbated over time, while others may occur from trauma or environmental conditions. In either case, the pain that it causes is uncomfortable, but do not worry, there are several ways that your podiatrist can treat this condition.

In some instances, the fix may be as simple as providing you with the proper footwear. It is very common for people to wear the wrong size shoe. So, your clinician can measure your foot and make sure that you are wearing a shoe that is wide enough to accommodate your foot. Another option is using orthoses to assist your specific foot type. If there is a lot of pressure being exerted in one location, such as from an enlarged portion of the bone, an orthoses can off weight this area relieving the pain associated with that pressure point. Depending on the severity of the deformity and the underlying cause, surgery may be necessary to correct the alignment of your foot and provide you with relief.

Regardless of the treatment, it is important that you see your podiatrist so that proper imaging studies, including X-Ray, can be done to visualize the cause of your condition. Once the cause is determined, treatment can be performed and the pain caused by your metatarsalgia can be relieved.