Foot Pain Causes and Treatments
When it comes to the foot's metatarsal region, any type of foot pain would technically be called metatarsalgia. This would include the balls of the feet and comes with swelling or inflammation, even though swelling within that area would be quite hard to see sometimes. You might notice redness or warmth, though, if injuries have already occurred.
If caused by identifiable or acute injuries, metatarsalgia foot pain is sometimes called stone bruises. If you remember your childhood and how you walked around barefoot, you might remember stepping on stones or rocks sometimes – hard. However, even though you limped for a while, you were generally alright. As people get older, this might take some time to heal; however, the causes are pretty much the same.
As mentioned earlier, landing on rocks hard could cause bruises within the balls of the feet; however, landing on any kind of surface hard while wearing shoes that are poorly equipped is usually the most common cause with novice athletes and people who are highly active.
One common cause with non-athletic types would be wearing high heels for long time periods, even though regular runners might be fond of wearing high heels, too. Therefore, both of these activities could contribute to a form of chronic foot pain within that particular area.
People who have high arches usually have chronic foot pain within that particular area, too, since high arches tend to place additional pressure onto the metatarsals – the five big bones along with their joints that lead to the toes and attach them to the back of the feet.
A lot of people have longer second toes compared to their first toes. Having toes like this could cause extra stress and weight to get shifted from their toes to their metatarsals, which could lead to inflammation. Shoes that fit properly would therefore be essential for such cases.
The ‘hammertoe’ deformity could cause the metatarsal area to ache, as well, since the heads constantly get depressed whenever the toes turn down and inward. Bunions could also place more stress onto this area, weakening the first toe and adding even more stress.
This type of foot pain should ideally be treated with ice and lots of rest, if an injury has occurred. Shoes that fit properly and are appropriate would be long-term solutions that could aid in preventing more injuries from happening.
Therefore, shock-absorbing insoles, arch supports and metatarsal pads could be investments that are very worthwhile. If the hammertoes happen to be problematic, straighteners could alleviate the compression while taking some pressure from the joint at the same time.
Bunions would usually require surgery; however, wearing shoes with wide toe boxes could postpone it. Some surgery might also be required for metatarsal realignment in cases of repeated or extreme injuries.