Many patients suffer with pain at the balls of the feet. People describe burning, tingling, sharp, shooting pains or pinpoint localized pain. If any of this resonates with you, please keep on reading.
Sometimes it is difficult to diagnose these foot problems without a thorough podiatric foot investigation. There are 26 bones in each foot (That’s 52 bones in total making the feet a very complex structure!) Upon assessment, the podiatrist will come to a conclusion and based on the diagnosis, will create a treatment plan.
The Fresh Foot Centre services the South East which include; Narre Warren, Berwick, Hallam, Beaconsfield, Cranbourne, Hampton Park, Dandenong as well as many other areas. We as podiatrists, can provide education and treatment options to help offload the forefoot and allow you to be able to continue your activities happily.
Some of the more common conditions in the forefoot include: Morton’s Neuroma, and Metatarsalgia.
Mortons Neuroma
This is essentially a thickened, inflamed plantar nerve commonly painful at – either in the 2nd – 3rd and 3rd – 4th metatarsal heads. The symptoms are neural in nature – that is burning, sharp, shooting pain and this pain gets worse when you compress the nerve. If you’re wearing tight/narrow fitting shoes, that can aggravate the symptoms.
Treatment
The podiatrist will use a gait analysis and gather a thorough podiatric history and do a physical assessment. If we are uncertain, we will refer for an ultrasound to confirm our findings.
Main treatment options include:
Footwear modifications and applying a metatarsal bar onto the insole of the shoes to help lift and separate the bones and offload the area of pain. This significantly improves the symptoms and gives instant pain relief.
Hot tip! For the women reading this – Don’t wear high heels, it will make your symptoms 10 times worse!
Metatarsalgia
This is when there is diffuse pain at the metatarsals/forefoot region for an unknown reason. Metatarsalgia can take a number of forms and presence pain affecting the whole foot (all of the metatarsals) or both feet or just one particular metatarsal. This is incredibly common in sporting populations with lots of jumping and running activities.
Some Signs and symptoms:
- A burning or sharp pain
- Sharp, shooting pain towards the toes
- Pain near the toes
- Pain when walking barefoot
- Tingling sensation in the toes
- Feeling like your “walking on pebbles.”
Treatments
Thankfully, podiatrists will skillfully address the symptoms and offer advice on how to manage the symptoms.
Talk to your foot expert at The Fresh Foot Centre in Narre Warren today to get rid of your agonising pain!