28 Feb Helping Your Metatarsalgia
Inside the ball and front of the foot are five long bones that are called the metatarsals. These bones lie right below the muscles that absorb tons of pressure every time your foot strikes the pavement. When irritated, runners get pain and inflammation in the front section of their foot, known as metatarsalgia. There are many causes of metatarsalgia, such as improperly fitted shoes. You never want to keep running and training with this problem, as it can lead to joint swelling, bruising, trouble walking and more. However, relief is easy to find through physical rehabilitative therapies that we can provide. Find out more today!
Problems with the Foot
There are thousands upon thousands of problems that could go wrong in your body. In fact, if you enjoy relatively good health, be thankful! With how many problems that could happen, it’s amazing that they don’t. Just like any other part of your body, problems with the feet sometimes happen. Blisters, corns, calluses, ingrown toenails, bruises and more are common foot injuries that people get. However, there are other less common ones such as:
- Gout
- Mallet or hammer toe
- Claw toe
- Heel spur
- Plantar fasciitis
- Athlete’s foot
- Morton’s neuroma
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Metatarsalgia
There are more that we could list, but you get the picture. Any number of these problems, big or small, could literally knock you off your feet. Some foot problems only hurt a small part of your foot, while others affect all of your foot. We’d like to focus on metatarsalgia, which is one of those conditions that causes chronic pain in the patients who get this condition.
What is Metatarsalgia?
Metatarsalgia is sometimes known as “stone bruise” because of how this condition feels in the patients who have it. Inside the ball and front of the foot are 5 long bones called the metatarsals. This condition is named after those bones that lie right below the muscles that absorb pressure every time your foot strikes the pavement. Those bones run to the arches, so they can cause pain throughout the front section of the foot when it’s irritated. Metatarsalgia happens when the metatarsals become inflamed and very painful. This is not a life-threatening condition, but it is one that could make it seem impossible to be on your feet for long periods of time.
Patients who have metatarsalgia generally get pain and irritation in their feet that increases over time. This pain tends to feel like you have a stone or pebble in your shoe that is very painful, especially when you put weight on your foot. That is why this condition is sometimes known as “stone bruise”, because of the stone-in-your-foot feeling you get. Other patients will have:
- Burning sensations across the ball of the foot or behind it
- Stabbing feelings that protrude into the middle of the arches
- Pain and irritation behind the toes and running down to their tips
- Inflammation in the second, third or fourth toes specifically
- Pain that worsens with walking, standing or other movement
Nobody wants these kinds of symptoms, which is why seeking treatment is the first course of action you should take!
Healing Your Foot Pain
You have foot pain. Now what? You can take a break from being on your feet, but that doesn’t always do the trick when you have metatarsalgia pain. However, if your metatarsalgia symptoms stem simply from too much walking, taking breaks from being on your feet actually can reduce the pain and burning you feel. There are many symptoms that tend to not fade away on their own though, but that can go away with rehabilitative therapies and treatments. Our patients have found relief from their metatarsalgia pain with treatments such as:
- Safe anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling in the area
- Adjusting your routine if you’re walking, running or on your feet throughout the day
- Adding in foot support pads if you stand for long periods of time
- Investing in better running shoes and customized orthopedic inserts
- Massaging your feet and utilizing our massage therapists who are trained to relax tense feet muscles
- Non-narcotic pain management services and anti-inflammatory joint injections to ease inflammation and swelling
Get Back on Your Feet
Getting help from professionals who have dealt with metatarsalgia before is your best bet for overcoming your condition quickly. Most people would say that they need their feet in order to get through their day. We never want our patients to be in pain and we want them to be as independent as possible. That is why we have treatments and pain remedies for metatarsalgia. Don’t let this condition sweep you off your feet for even one more day! Call Mile High Spine & Pain Center at (720) 507-0080 and see what we can do to help you overcome metatarsalgia and get back on your feet today!