What is Metatarsalgia?

Pain in the ball of the foot is often from a form of irritated nerves or neuralgia. It may be known by the name metatarsalgia, and it can irritate the whole or part of the ball of the foot, particularly when walking. This condition has numerous potential causes, but one of the most frequent causal factors is a thin-soled shoe with a high heel, especially when the shoe has a narrow toe box that squeezes or creates malformation in the bones of the foot.

Those who experience metatarsalgia may not have many findings on physical exams or more extensive scans that the condition is present. It is, nevertheless, unmistakable. Each time a person steps onto the ball of the foot he or she may experience moderate to extensive pain.

This condition could come and go or it might be present at all times. When certain shoes, or a particular activity creates it, it may only occur when wearing those shoes or performing that activity. Alternately, metatarsalgia could be a chronic condition and cause pain on a constant basis. People have described this pain as like walking on sharp rocks in bare feet.

Many potential treatments exist for metatarsalgia, but they often depend on cause of the pain. If high-heeled shoes and tight footwear are resulting in the problem, which tends to get worse as women age since fat padding in the ball of the foot reduces, the first recommendation may be to replace shoes with more comfortable footware. Alternately some orthotic padding in shoes could be tried too.

In many other cases where footwear doesn’t provide adequate support and walking or other physical activity on foot is demanded regularly, people could still be advised to find more supportive shoes. They may also need some form of orthotics for greater support to the balls of the feet. Other treatments for metatarsalgia that might be considered, too, include resting the foot, using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and evaluating activities to determine if changes in foot placement could have positive effects.

When this treatment is inadequate, people will need to talk a podiatrist, if they have not already done so. A podiatrist may suggest other interventions. The last of these may be surgery to reshape bones in the ball of the foot, which may reduce pain. Foot surgery can be complicated though, and is usually thought a last resort treatment.

There are many instances where metatarsalgia could be avoided. Since frequent cause is higher heels and toe boxes in shoes that are too narrow, looking for shoes that lack these features might be a way to save on foot pain. Once the condition is present, this can still be a remedy, but it means enduring pain until the treatment takes. Moreover, though not common, sometimes pain has become so severe that surgery is needed, and there are many reasons why this option is not desirable, unless absolutely necessary.