The underside of forefoot has natural fatty padding that is designed to cushion and protect the foot’s five metatarsal heads. These heads are bony prominences that connect to the toes. Even the natural padding can’t protect this area when prolonged or excessive pressure occurs. Forefoot injuries, including metatarsalgia, are common in athletes who participate in high-impact sports as well as people with high arched feet. Metatarsalgia is usually a chronic condition that is marked by sharp or shooting pain in your toes, numbness or tingling in your toes or pain that worsens when you flex or feet. Often walking barefoot, especially on hard surfaces can cause increased pain. Wearing high heels, aging and walking on hard surfaces can also aggravate the problem. The inflamed tissue takes time to heal, but accommodative footwear and SL-2 lasted shoes can offer ample room for toes to allow the forefoot to relax. Hard-soled shoes can provide protection from hard surfaces. New Balance Insoles with metatarsal padding can provide relief by lifting the metatarsal heads for proper foot alignment.

The Supportive Cushioning features protective ABZORB cushioning and metatarsal padding. Socks can offer additional padding and protection. Recommended Shoes for MetatarsalgiaHomes For Sale Grandale Place Durham Nc We offer a wide range of New Balance footwear for a wide range of foot conditions. Clean Fan Lenovo T430Click the buttons below to view recommended shoes for both men and women suffering with metatarsalgia.Toyo Tires Price Singapore Please note that this is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a diagnosis. A qualified allied medical professional should fit all therapeutic footwear purchases. These shoes are available over-the-counter with or without a prescription. Therapeutic footwear offered through this site does not treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any disease.

Always consult your physician for questions pertaining to your specific diagnosis and treatment protocol. Product Specialists will be happy to speak to you about any recommendations your doctor may have provided, or information regarding recommendations based on biomechanical principles. The forefoot absorbs as much as 110 tons of cumulative force per mile during running, which makes your metatarsals, the five long bones that run from your arch to your toes, one impressive set of shock absorbers. When you push off the ground, your body weight is transferred to your metatarsals. If the weight distribution across the foot is uneven when it hits the road (because of your foot's mechanics, a tight Achilles tendon, or calluses), the metatarsals can become irritated and inflamed, resulting in metatarsalgia, according to John Cianca, M.D., associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.If you develop metatarsalgia, you'll feel a burning, stabbing, or aching pain at the "head" of the bone, just beneath the toes.

It usually affects the second toe, and often the third or fourth. "People complain that it feels like there's a stone in their shoe," says Dr. Cianca. It's worse when you stand, walk, or run, and better when you take a load off (especially if you're at all overweight). It's an equal-opportunity injury, affecting the flat-footed, the high-arched, and all soles in between. Symptoms can occur suddenly: after running barefoot on the beach, walking on a hard tile floor, or sprinting on pavement in worn-out shoes. But it usually builds over a few months. You may unsubscribe at any time. Preventing metatarsalgia is often as simple as wearing the right shoes. If you have a flat or neutral foot, look for a shoe with a wide toebox and a dome-shaped metatarsal pad, which protects the metatarsals from pounding. Runners with high arches may benefit from a shock-absorbing insole that provides a platform for the foot and extra cushioning that deflects pressure from the bones. Visit a running specialty store for help outfitting your foot.

Improving your own support system doesn't hurt, either. Strengthening the bottom of the foot prevents it from flattening excessively, which protects the metatarsals from impact. Strengthening the "plantar sling" muscles, which run on either side of the calf, helps control overpronation, one of the most common causes of metatarsalgia. (See below for exercises that accomplish both.)If you develop metatarsalgia, give your feet a break. Reduce your mileage, run on softer surfaces, or temporarily switch to a low-impact activity. Treat acute symptoms with ice during the first 24 hours and take anti-inflammatories as needed. See your doctor or a podiatrist if your symptoms don't improve in 10 days. You may need a callus shaved, a different insert or metatarsal pad, or orthotics. "Metatarsalgia can lead to joint swelling, bone bruising, chronic stiffness, and lost range of motion," warns Dr. Cianca. "So it's best to start treatment sooner than later."Exercises that will help prevent metatarsalgiaPlantar Sling Strengthener: Anchor an exercise band tied in a loop to a desk leg.

Place the arch of your right foot in the loop. Working against resistance, pull the band away from your center 10 times. Replace your right foot with your left, and pull toward your center. Turn around, face the opposite direction, and repeat: left foot pulls away, right foot pulls in. Progress to 30 reps per side.Arch strengtheners: [A] Pick up a marble with your toes, hold for a count of five, and release. Start at the big toe and repeat, working your way down to the little toe. [B] Place a washcloth on a smooth surface and scrunch it up with your toes. Hold for a count of five, then release. Repeat 10 to 15 times.Metatarsalgia (Pain in the ball of the foot) Note: Metatarsalgia is not an injury; it’s actually a symptom or a group of symptoms. These may include pain in the ball of the foot, with or without bruising, and inflamation. Metatarsalgia can have a number of causes and, as a result, a number of treatments. What to look for: Localized pain in the ball of the foot, on the bottom of the foot, in the area of the sole of the foot just before the toes.

Metatarsalgia, the scientific name for this problem, is a painful but common occurrence. It is often localized in the metatarsal heads (the areas just before the second, third and fourth toes), or it may be more isolated, in the area near the big toe. One of the hallmarks of this disorder is pain in the ball of the foot during weight-bearing activities (running, walking, standing, etc.). Sharp or shooting pains in the toes also may be present, and pain in the toes and/or ball of the foot may increase when the toes are flexed. Accompanying symptoms may include tingling or numbness in the toes. It is common to experience acute, recurrent or chronic pain as a result of this problem. Some patients describe the feeling as being like “walking over pebbles, ” and others, whose pain is localized in one area, may wonder if they actually have a stone bruise. There is no one specific cause of metatarsalgia. The podiatric community has narrowed it down to a handful of factors, all of which have a common denominator: a forced change of the dynamics of the foot.

In plain English, that means the foot is not moving as it should, and as a result, one or more of the metatarsal heads has become painful, often because of inflammation. More specific information on the causes of metatarsalgia appears below. What it means to you: If you’ve noticed pain in your forefoot, which gets worse during walking, running or standing, and/or pain in your toes, particularly when flexing them, you have some of the classic symptoms of metatarsalgia. Another hallmark is increased pain when going barefoot, particularly when standing or walking on a hard surface like tile, concrete, marble or asphalt, as opposed to carpet or grass. You may notice that over time, you begin to adjust your stride to avoid putting pressure on the ball of the foot. The good news is that while painful and annoying, metatarsalgia is generally treatable with conservative measures, particularly once the origin of the problem is identified. Metatarsalgia develops when something changes or threatens the normal mechanics (working action) of the foot.

Ultimately, this creates excessive pressure in the ball of the foot, and that leads to metatarsalgia. Some of the causes of metatarsalgia include: Some of the best treatments come from being proactive. Keep body weight at a healthy level, and stick to shoes that fit properly, particularly in the toe area. Avoid high heels whenever possible. A regular checkup with a podiatric physician who can assess other risk factors, such foot shape, also will allow you to take preventive measures. If you have pain in the ball of your foot already, don’t panic. Treatment is generally conservative. However, it is imperative to have any foot problem checked by a podiatric physician. This healthcare professional can help you determine whether or not the problem is, in fact, metatarsalgia, since there are other problems which have similar symptoms but require different treatment. Once your podiatric professional has diagnosed metatarsalgia, he or she will make recommendations based upon the severity of your condition.

In many cases, he or she will want to know what factors in your daily routine may have contributed to the condition. Make sure you tell him or her whether your job requires a lot of standing or walking, what type of shoes you wear, what kind of exercise you do, and so forth. Let him or her know if you go barefoot often, and if you do, what surface your feet come into contact with as a result. Note: If you have diabetes , it is essential that you let your doctor know. Assuming you have a routine case of metatarsalgia, with no complicating factors, such as diabetes, your podiatric physician generally will probably recommend one or more of the following measures, based upon your particular case of metatarsalgia: Who is most susceptible? Metatarsalgia isn’t confined to one particular gender or age group, although it is women who wear high heels, and those types of shoes contribute significantly to the problem. However, athletes of either gender (this includes those “weekend warrior” types) who run, walk, play tennis, etc. in worn-out, too-tight or improper shoes can develop the problem, as can anyone who for, whatever reason, wears shoes that cause the forefoot to receive too much pressure.

Remember that a lack of shoe cushioning also can play a role, so make sure athletic shoes, work shoes, and others are replaced according to the recommendation of your podiatric physician. (Note, too, that athletic shoes are activity-specific; in other words, tennis shoes are for tennis, not running, and so forth). As previously mentioned, overweight individuals may find themselves more prone to pain in the ball of the foot; of course, having that pain in and of itself does not signify overweight. (Consult with a doctor to ascertain that you are within a healthy weight range, and ask for a sensible, medically-supervised dietary plan if you are not.) How can they be prevented? Controlling your weight and wearing proper footwear are important, as is letting yourself recover from injuries to your feet. If you find you have forefoot pain, back off on the exercise and try some rest, ice and so forth. And of course, have regular podiatric checkups to assess your risk factors. Don’t forget to see your podiatric physician at the first sign of foot pain or discomfort, and get a diagnosis and treatment plan before the problem has a chance to worsen.