Metatarsalgia Stems From Inability Of Tissues To Heal From Wear And Tear

Common Areas Of Foot Problems Underneath The FeetAs I sit here writing my weekly blog, coming up with a good topic is often a hard subject. I want to write about a very tough group of issues in the forefoot area called “metatarsalgia”. This is an umbrella term that encompasses all problems involving the forefoot area of the foot (or the ball of the foot). This is an umbrella term because a number of problems can occur in this area. For the most part, the pain comes from overuse. It stems from an inability of the tissues in the area to heal past the amount of wear and tear that they get.

Supportive Shoes And Custom Orthotics

When a person usually looks at their foot to detect problems, they often look to the arch. Whether or not it is a flat foot or perhaps a high arch one, this arch is only the instep of the foot. There is a transverse arch that is across the entire metatarsal area of the foot (from the big toe to the little toe). This is an exact reason why some people get pain. It is similar to getting instep arch pain when you have a flat foot. You simply have a flat transverse arch and the lack of an arch is contributing to the pain. Everything in the area is collapsing! Correction to the area through supportive shoes and custom orthotics would do very well in areas of collapse.

You should also look at what you are doing for a living/how much they are on their feet. Bad shoes do not always have to be an obvious thing. Nor does spending a lot of money equal to having a good sound shoe conducive to comfort. I have seen expensive designer shoes that look outright painful and I’ve seen $20 shoes from the local discount store that would work really well for pain and even fitting orthotics.

My point this week is that at the end of the day, you normally should not get any pain if you had the best shoes. I wish I could go shoe shopping with my patients and I might even have to start doing this one day! The challenge would be whether or not the patient finds the shoes that I recommend “cute” or even attractive.

How To Prevent Metatarsalgia

I digress however. Metatarsalgia is either going to be caused by excess squeezing of the forefeet area or not enough cushioning below. This can cause a myriad of problems like a nerve impingement of the foot which can lead to the necessity of injections or even surgery. Luckily we have the cure as well as preventative measure; that is, if you were only to wear custom orthotics to prevent the excessive forces on your feet during work and prolonged activity.

Icing the area can help significantly as well as getting your feet out of any heels like place added pressure on the forefoot area. Please note that we do offer a variety of treatments for this type of problem. We’ll choose the right one for you but you have to book an appointment first.

If you are looking for professional treatment for your feet, contact us at Comfort Stride today and our expert chiropodists can help.

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