|
If you have
pain in the ball of your foot you
are not alone. Pain in the ball of
the foot is a common complaint.
When someone is referring to the
ball of the foot they are usually
referring to the location of the
metatarsal heads. The long bones of
the foot are called metatarsals.
The metatarsal heads are the knobby
ends of the metatarsals that form a
joint with the toes. Thus the ball
of the foot is the area where the
toes form a joint with the long
bones of the foot, the metatarsals.
Pain in the
ball of the foot can come from a
problem with the nerves as seen in
conditions such as neuropathy or a
neuroma, which will be discussed
shortly. Often, pain in the ball of
the foot can is the result of one or
more of the metatarsals taking more
than their share of the load.
Metatarsalgia is a general term
which simply means pain in the
metatarsal bones. For this
discussion I am going to be talking
specifically about pain in the
metatarsal heads.
There are
several reasons why one or more of
the metatarsal heads can become
overloaded.
- Some
people gradually lose the fat
pad that cushions the area under
the metatarsal heads as they
age. If there is less cushion
the bones feel more of the load
and this causes pain.
- Some
people were born with a
deformity known as Morton’s toe
in which the first metatarsal
bone (long bone of the big toe)
is short. As a result the
second metatarsal or second toe
is longer than the big toe.
This causes most of the body
weight to be put onto the second
metatarsal head. This overloads
this bone and causes pain.
- Some
people with high arches have
pain in the ball of the foot.
In the person with the high
arch we often see that they load
the foot primarily at the heel
and then again in the ball of
the foot. The mid-foot does not
take its share of the load.
This again overloads the
metatarsal heads at the ball of
the foot.
- Another
painful condition felt in the
ball of the foot is Morton’s
neuroma. This is usually felt
between the 3rd and 4th
toes. One quick way to tell if
you may have this condition is
to grab your foot around the
metatarsal heads and squeeze
your whole foot. If you have a
neuroma this squeezing will
causes pain at the site of the
Morton’ Neuroma.
Although the
cause of pain in the ball of the
foot is varied, the treatment, at
least the initial treatment, is the
usually the same. We try to reduce
load and if necessary movement of
the metatarsal heads. This is
accomplished by adding a metatarsal
pad to an orthotic or arch support.
The metatarsal pad fits in the ball
of the foot just behind the
metatarsal heads. This allows more
of the weight to be taken up by the
long shafts of the metatarsals and
less on the metatarsal heads. The
metatarsal pads can be added to a
custom arch support. They can also
be purchased over-the-counter from a
pharmacy or specialty shoe store.
The correct placement of the
metatarsal pad is critical so follow
directions or ask your physician or
podiatrist for help.
|
