Ball of Foot Pain Treatment in Guelph & Milton
- Do your socks scrunch up inside your shoes? Is it tender to walk on the ball of the foot? This could be a condition called metatarsalgia.
- Do you have pain in your forefoot localized to a joint? This could be bursitis or capsulitis.
- Do you have a sharp stabbing pain in your foot? Or numbness, tingling or burning toes when you walk? This could be a neuroma.
Metatarsalgia
Metatarsalgia is a term used to refer to a painful foot condition in the metatarsal region of the foot. This is the area just before the toes, more commonly referred to as the ball-of-the-foot.
This is a common 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.
It can also affect the first metatarsal head (near the big toe) and the fifth metatarsal head (near the baby toe).
What causes metatarsalgia?
With this common foot condition, one or more of the metatarsal heads become painful or inflamed, usually due to excessive pressure over a long period of time.
It is common to experience acute, recurrent, or chronic pain with metatarsalgia.
Ball-of-foot pain is often caused by improperly fitting footwear, most frequently women’s dress shoes and other restrictive footwear.
Footwear with a narrow toe box (toe area) forces the ball-of-foot area to be forced into a minimal amount of space. This can inhibit the walking process and lead to extreme discomfort in the forefoot.
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 participating in high impact activities without proper 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 and prevention of metatarsalgia
The first step in treating metatarsalgia is to determine the cause of the pain. If improper fitting shoes are the cause of the pain, the shoes must be changed.
Footwear designed with a high, wide toe box (toe area) and a rocker sole are ideal for treating metatarsalgia. The high, wide toe box allows the foot to spread out while the rocker sole reduces stress on the ball-of-the-foot.
Unloading pressure to the ball-of-the-foot can also be accomplished with a variety of foot care products that chiropodists recommend.
Custom orthotics can be designed to relieve ball-of-foot pain with a metatarsal pad. The orthotic can be constructed with the pad placed behind the ball-of-the-foot to relieve pressure and redistribute weight from the painful area to more tolerant areas.
Other products often recommended include gel metatarsal cushions and metatarsal bandages.
When these products are used with proper footwear, you should experience significant relief.
Neuroma
There is a nerve between each of the metatarsal bones in each foot. The metatarsal bones are in the area just before the toes.
When this nerve passes between the metatarsal heads at the ball of the foot, they will sometimes get pinched by a shearing force that occurs between the metatarsal bones.
This occurs most often between the third and fourth toes, or between the second and third toes.
What causes a neuroma?
When the nerve is pinched, it becomes irritated, swollen and enlarged. When the nerve swells, it becomes more irritated and painful. Pain often starts as numbness or tingling, sometimes as a burning sensation in the toes. As this cycle progresses, causing more and more pain.
Patients often will describe a burning or stabbing type of pain in the ball of the foot. The pain will sometimes radiate into the toes of the foot. Pinching between the toes while squeezing the front of the foot will usually cause the pain to occur.
People will say they get relief from removing their shoes and massaging their foot.
Treatment and prevention of a neuroma
Treatment involves reducing the shear forces between the metatarsal heads by controlling the amount of pronation the foot goes through.
We design a custom orthotic to accomplish this. Often custom orthotics are superior in this case to over-the counter versions as the forces through the forefoot can be much more accurately controlled.
Physiotherapy can help to reduce the inflammation in the area. Occasionally cortisone, or other specialty injections are also used.
Trina Scarrow, BSc, DCh, is a Registered Chiropodist and Foot Specialist who has been helping patients for over 20 years.
Chiropodists and Podiatrists are the only regulated health professionals who specialize in treating conditions of the foot. In Ontario, there are 600 Registered Chiropodists and only 60 Podiatrists.
Chiropodists today must complete 7 years of post-secondary education before they get their professional designation. Chiropodists do complete case management of foot problems, including assessment, treatment and ongoing care.
Chiropodist Trina Scarrow, BSc, DCh
*Picture taken before COVID-19, now full safety protocols in place including air filtration systems
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I am an experienced Foot Specialist and Registered Chiropodist with locations in Guelph and Milton.
I provide a full assessment, biomechanical exams, and gait analysis. I will be able to help address your foot discomfort with a variety of techniques including foot care treatment, custom orthotics, orthopaedic shoes, medication, laser, or physical therapy.
I can help get your feet functioning better to help you feel better. Contact me today.