Forefoot Pain/Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia literally means pain in the ball of the foot. There are many causes for this which include bunions, mortons neuromas, tailors bunion, stress fractures, arthritis, and mechanical overload to one or several joints in the forefoot.

If too much pressure occurs to a joint this can cause inflammation of the joint and surrounding soft tissues leading to pain. Over time this can lead to deformity of the toe and arthritis of the ball joint. Conservative care for this problem can involve footwear advice, orthotic insoles, and injection therapy. If this fails surgery is often needed. The type of surgery performed depends upon the cause of the condition and the level of pain and deformity. Often realignment of the bone (or bones) is required to carefully rebalance the weight distribution through the foot.