Forefoot PainMetatarsalgia / Plantar Plate Tear/ Synovitis / Stress fracture / ArthritisTenderness and / or pain under the ball of the foot is one of the most common forms of foot pain. It is fair to say that there are many different causes of forefoot pain including: Morton’s Neuroma, Sesamoiditis, Bunions and Hallux Limitus which I have covered specifically. Critically, you should not be diagnosed with metatarsalgia until such time as all the “specific” conditions are clinically assessed and excluded. To do so may well take away the opportunity to treat your plantar plate tear, or metatarsophalangeal joint synovitis or arthritis appropriately. These specific problems may improve somewhat if treated as metatarsalgia but invariable will not resolve. Often times the specific condition can be diagnosed with a careful clinical evaluation but may require further investigations i.e. X Ray, Ultrasound, or MRI. |  |
Metatarsalgia, generalized tenderness over your metatarsal heads, due to reduction in the natural cushioning under the ball of the foot that feels like a bruise over the ball of your foot with weightbearing activity is also a common cause of forefoot pain as we age.
Fortunately, most forefoot pain is very treatable. Importantly the type of treatment is very specific to the cause of the pain and can include:
- Shoe Selection
- Orthotics that must include very specific types of forefoot padding
- Guided CSI (Corticosteroid Injection)
- Cam Walker (Moon Boot)
Please also see the pages that deal with Morton’s Neuroma, Sesamoiditis and Hallux Limitus for other specific causes of forefoot pain.