Pain In Ball Of Foot

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Do you feel like you are walking with a pebble in your shoe? Or sometimes you experience a tingling, sharp sensation? Not only that, you feel this painful and inflamed condition while running and jumping. Well, the pain in ball of foot is a widespread foot problem. It severely affects the ball of your foot, and it is excruciating.

The pain in ball of foot can be severe or mild. The doctors use a medical term for this, which is metatarsalgia. This pain in ball of foot occurs mainly because of overuse injuries or sports. The sports include running, jumping, or some similar activities. Besides, there are other various reasons behind this pain in ball of foot.

The foot condition symptoms may give you ideas about what’s causing you pain by taking proper treatment while diagnosis; a patient can solve this problem. It means treatment can help you to ease your pain. Even adequate treatment can help you to get rid of it permanently. It’s only possible if you don’t neglect your pain at first. Instead you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

Table of Contents

What Is Pain In Ball Of Foot

From the name, you can guess that the pain occurs in your foot. The pain in ball of foot generally implies the pain under the forefoot. It is a prevalent condition marked by pain and inflammation in the ball of your foot. The pain in ball of foot occurs at the end of one or other metatarsal bones. These bones are closest to your toes. The pain increases if you put too much pressure on one spot of your foot. The pain in the ball of the foot results from running, jumping, or high-impact sports. Even repetitive running can cause a problem.

On the other hand, the pain can get worse if you flex your feet. Sometimes you may feel like there’s a pebble in your shoe. Moreover, you can get this pain by standing or even walking. But only it happens if it gets severe with time. You may get callouses at the balls of your foot. It refers to a sharp aching or burning pain in the ball of your foot while working or standing—the pain centres under the five bones at the toes’ bases. The actual names for these bones are metatarsals. The treatment for this varies from person to person according to the causes.

Causes For Pain

There are certainly many causes for this pain in ball of foot. There can be multiple causative factors, along with varied treatments. But few reasons behind this pain in ball of foot are prevalent. They are-

Suppose you engage in high impact sports activities more often. These create pressure on the metatarsal bones at the front of your foot.
Running and jumping can also be reasons for the pain because they put constant force in your foot’s ball.
Stress fractures in your toes or metatarsals.
Shoes that don’t fit right. Your boots may turn out too tight, and they may squeeze your foot. Or your shoes may be too loose. The shoes make your foot slide back and forth.
Some high heels and sneakers don’t have adequate padding or arch support. These tend to put more weight on the ball of the foot.
Overweight can be one of the main reasons for this pain. Extra weight or obesity can force pressure on the metatarsal area.
Some diseases can cause this problem. They are-bunions, arthritis, gout, bursitis, and Morton’s neuroma. They can be the cause for the increased pain in ball of foot.
Hammertoe deformity, tight Achilles tendon, weak toe muscles can also be the reasons behind the pain.
Torn ligaments in your feet.

Besides these common reasons, there may be other causes for this pain. One should acknowledge it as early as possible.

Symptoms

The symptoms can also give you an idea about what’s causing you pain. However, the symptoms can vary from person to person. But most of them are very common. The symptoms can be other conditions rather than a specific disease.

Pain at the end of the metatarsal bones is the main symptom of this problem.
You will feel a dull ache, burning feeling in your toes.
The pain in ball of foot can get worse if you stand or walk.
Your toes may feel numb. You will also experience tingling in your toes.
Bruising or swelling may or may not occur in your toes.
You may feel widespread pain in the toes or in the middle of your foot.

These symptoms will appear slowly at first. But it may show suddenly if the foot feels strained somehow. If you see these symptoms, see a doctor as soon as possible. If you don’t treat it properly, it may get worse. Moreover, it can cause pain in other parts of the body, as well. So you should be careful.

What Kind Of People Get This Pain

All kinds of people can get this pain in ball of their foot. But some people suffer severely because of this problem.

The athletes tend to suffer from this foot problem a lot. They are way more engaged in sports activities than other people. They have to put much pressure on their forefoot, which later results in pain.
The older people who are above 70 tend to get this pain in ball of foot.
People who use high arches tend to have this pain in the ball of the foot. Because of extra pressure, the foot experiences pain.
Some people tend to have a second toe longer than their big toe. They might experience this pain in ball of foot.

Only these people don’t get this pain more occasionally. But there’s a tendency that these above-listed people can experience this pain severely or mildly. To get rid of this pain, one has to be very cautious about any health issues.

Diagnosis For Pain In Ball Of Foot

Pain in the ball of the foot is a severe condition, and it affects the ball of the foot. Metatarsal bones are connected from the toes to the ankles. After occurring pain, the inflammation may begin. If you see some symptoms regarding this foot problem, see a doctor. You can visit your family doctor. But it will be best to go to an orthopaedic surgeon or a podiatrist.

At first, the doctor will examine your foot and ask some questions. Then he will tell you to do some tests. The doctor may ask some questions. Those questions can be like –

How you maintain your lifestyle
Your medical history
What types of shoes you wear
Are you engaged in any athletics?
When and how the pain began
Where do you feel pain the most?
How frequently you feel the pain
Do you feel numbness anywhere else in your body?

The doctor may ask you to walk in front of him. It will help him to identify in which part you are feeling the pressure.

The tests can include blood tests, MRI, or even an X-ray. The MRI or X-ray will help to identify if there’s any bone fracture or not. Blood tests will help to find out if you have diabetes, arthritis, or any other problem. The doctor may do other tests to make a diagnosis of the problem. By doing this, he will figure out proper treatment.

Treatment For The Pain In Ball Of Foot

Every problem has a solution. Treatment can vary because of the causes and the severity of this problem. Your doctor may suggest you to follow some conservative measures. It Includes resting, wearing proper footwear, etc.

Rest is essential for this problem. You should be able to protect your foot from further injury or any pressure. Do elevate your foot after walking or standing. You can use a pillow for that elevation. If your high impact athletics are the causes for this, then you better take a break. You can do other exercises, like swimming or cycling. These will be helpful.
Applying an ice pack in the pain area may ease the pain. Try it for about 20 minutes at a time several times a day. Wrap the ice cubes in a towel.
A pain reliever can help also. It would help if you took pain killers like ibuprofen or aspirin. But do ask your doctor before taking these.
You must wear proper shoes. It means don’t wear “too much tight” or “too much loose.”

Exercise For Pain In Ball Of Foot

Every doctor suggests an exercise for any kind of pain, more or less. As this is a foot problem, gentle stretching exercises may help you reduce your pain in your foot’s ball. Moreover, your ankle will function really well if you do these exercises. These types of stretching exercises vary on the severity of the pain. But before doing any exercises, you should consult your doctor. Your doctor may recommend a physical therapist for your betterment. They will help you to do the exercises correctly and to maintain consistency. If patients improve after a few days or months, they can take part in activities. But they should stick to those light activities as these create less pressure on the foot.

Surgery For Pain In Ball Of Foot

If things get much serious, the doctor can suggest you go for surgery. But it’s applicable if other treatments fail to recover you. This type of surgery will depend on the kind of foot problem you are facing. Surgery can help you to shape the bones of your forefoot. It can make other bones very strong. On the other hand, surgery can remove a problematic nerve to ease the pain.

Other Conditions Related to Pain In Ball Of Foot

Other conditions are related to pain in the ball of the foot. They are plantar fasciitis, muscle fatigue, arch pain, rheumatoid arthritis, bunion, Morton’s neuroma.

Plantar fasciitis is a kind of heel pain. It occurs at the bottom of your foot. It is connected with the heel bone to toe. The causes are similar to pain in ball of foot.
Muscle fatigue is a condition when muscles are unable to move correctly. The force declines with time, and you feel tired while driving or doing work. The pain can occur in the ankle or in the joints of the hands.
Though rheumatoid basically affects the joints. Later it results in swollen and painful joints. It’s very different from pain in the ball of the foot. But rheumatoid arthritis can be a cause of metatarsalgia.
A bunion is a type of swollen bump at the base of the big toe. It’s excruciating and weakens the toe severely. If you wear shoes smaller than your shoe size, then a bunion can develop. Women tend to have this more than men.
A Morton’s neuroma can cause pain in the ball of the foot. Fibrous tissue tends to grow around the nerves of metatarsals heads. Morton’s neuroma’s causes, symptoms, and treatments are much similar to metatarsalgia.

Take Good Care Of Your Feet

Don’t you think it’s necessary to take good care of your feet? The pain in ball of foot will be much less if you follow the rules regularly. Try to acknowledge things that are causing you pain. There may be other factors that are harmful to your feet. Try to avoid those. Wear proper shoes according to your shoe size. Don’t engage in high impact activities if you feel pain. Even if you suffer from this pain, appropriate treatment will help you out. Stay healthy and strong.

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