What is Metatarsalgia?
If the ball of your foot is painful and inflamed, you may have metatarsalgia. Other symptoms of this ball of foot pain include:
Burning, sharp or aching pain in the ball of your foot - just behind your toes.
Your pain is worse when you stand and better when you rest.
Your toes may be numb, tingling or have shooting pain.
It could feel like a pebble is stuck in your foot.
What Causes Metatarsalgia?
One or more risk factors could leave you with ball of foot pain. Intense physical fitness, especially running, increases your metatarsalgia risk because running puts pressure on the front of your foot. Your risk increases if you train in worn out shoes.
If you have high arches, you’re also at risk. This foot shape puts extra pressure on the ball of your foot. So does a second toe that’s longer than your big toe, as well as bunions and hammertoes. Other contributors to metatarsalgia can include stress fractures in your foot or a Morton's neuroma.
Tight calf muscles can lead to an Achilles tendon that doesn’t allow the foot to extend enough when walking or running and creates excess pressure in the ball of the foot. Excess weight and shoes that don’t fit are other factors known to contribute to metatarsalgia. All of these conditions change the balance of weight across your feet and that puts increased pressure on your ball of foot.
Treating Ball of Foot Pain
Pain in the ball of your foot can interfere with your daily routine. Without treatment, the pain can spread to other parts of your foot and body.
Metatarsalgia shares symptoms with several other foot conditions. In order to get an accurate diagnosis, you will want to schedule an appointment with our office. Once we confirm the cause of pain in your ball of foot, we’ll begin a treatment plan.
Resting and changing or padding your shoes may help relieve some of your symptoms. We can try the RIE plan (rest, ice and elevation). Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications can offer pain relief. If your Achilles tendon is causing ball of foot pain, calf stretching exercises need to be a part of any treatment regimen for this problem. Low impact sports such as swimming may be prescribed as you recover.
We can also fit you for custom orthotics. These devices can take pressure off the balls of your feet, and offer pain relief. MLS Laser Therapy may be an option to relieve pain and promote faster healing.
In some cases, our noninvasive treatment plans won’t offer enough relief. This is often the case when other foot conditions are complicating your recovery. Don’t worry,pain relief is still possible. We may need to perform foot surgery to get you walking comfortably again.
It's best to treat metatarsalgia quickly. This will reduce your risk of spreading pain or having to consider invasive treatment plans. Schedule your ball of foot pain consultation today. Our trained Indiana podiatrist is here to help!