Metartarsalgia

Metatarsalgia is a general term used to denote a painful foot condition in the metatarsal region of the foot. This is a foot disorder that can affect the bones and joints at the ball-of-the-foot. Metatarsalgia (ball-of-foot-pain) is often located under the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsal heads, or more isolated at the first metatarsal head (near the big toe).

With this condition one or more of the metatarsal heads become painful and/or inflamed, usually due to excessive pressure over a long period of time. It is common to experience acute, recurrent, or chronic pain with this common foot condition. Ball-of-foot pain is often caused by improper fitting or restrictive footwear. The most frequent example is in women's dress shoes, where because of the narrow toe box, the feet are forced into a small restricted space. This affects the walking process and can lead to severe pain in the front of the foot.

Other factors can cause excessive pressure in the ball-of-foot area that can result in metatarsalgia. These include shoes with heels that are too high or participation in high impact activities without appropriate footwear and/or orthotics. Also as we get older, the fat pad in our foot tends to thin out, making us much more susceptible to pain in the ball-of-the-foot.

Treatment: Metatarsalgia is a secondary foot problem. If the principle cause is due to ill-fitting shoes, then this should first be addressed. Then the built in modules in the Pedikom restorative orthotics will push the bones, joints, ligaments and muscles back into the correct alignment, and will act to gradually reverse the foot problem, resulting in the Metatarsalgia symptoms eventually retreating. The Pedikom orthotics used to address Metatarsalgia normally have a soft metatarsal pad, which provides a cushion over the sensitive area as the feet recover.