Metatarsalgia

Various foot problems can cause symptoms like those of metatarsalgia. To find the source of your pain, your health care professional will look at your foot while you stand and while you sit and ask about your lifestyle and your activities. You might need an X-ray to see if you have a stress fracture or other foot problems.

Self-care measures might be all you need to relieve symptoms. These might include resting, wearing different shoes, or using an arch support or a pad on the affected area of your foot, called a metatarsal pad.

Rarely, surgery on the metatarsal bone might be an option. This might happen if self-care measures don't relieve your pain and you have foot conditions such as hammertoe.

To help ease metatarsalgia pain, try these tips:

• Rest. Protect your foot from further injury by not stressing it. Keep your foot raised after standing or walking. You might need to not play your favorite sport for a while. But you can stay fit with low-impact exercises, such as swimming or cycling.
• Ice the area. Apply ice packs to the area for about 20 minutes at a time several times a day. To protect your skin, wrap the ice packs in a thin towel.
• Take pain reliever you can get without a prescription. Try ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen sodium (Aleve) or aspirin to reduce pain.
• Wear the right shoes. Avoid too-tight or too-loose shoes. Limit your wearing of high heels. Wear shoes that are made for the sports you play.
• Try arch supports. Arch supports might lessen the stress on the metatarsal bones. You can buy arch supports without a prescription, or they can be custom fitted.
• Try metatarsal pads. You can get these without a prescription. Put them in your shoes just ahead of the metatarsal bone to help keep stress off the painful area.

You'll likely start by seeing your family health care professional. Or you might be sent to a bone specialist, called an orthopedist, or a foot specialist, called a podiatrist.

Here's some information to help you get ready for your appointment.

What you can do

Make a list of:

• Your symptoms, including any that may seem unrelated to your foot pain, and when they began.
• Key personal information, including sports you play and your medical history.
• Questions to ask your health care professional.

For metatarsalgia, basic questions to ask include:

• What's causing my symptoms?
• Do I need tests?
• Is my condition likely to go away quickly or be long lasting?
• What treatment do you recommend?
• Do I need to restrict my activities?
• Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What websites do you recommend?

What to expect from your doctor

Your health care professional is likely to ask you questions, including:

• What type of shoes do you wear?
• What activities do you do?
• Does your daily routine involve a lot of walking or standing?
• Do you often go barefoot? On what types of surfaces?
• Do you have symptoms all the time or just sometimes?
• How bad are your symptoms?
• What, if anything, seems to make your symptoms better?
• What, if anything, appears to make your symptoms worse?

What you can do in the meantime

While you're waiting for your medical appointment, rest your foot as much as possible and wear shoes that fit well. Pain relievers might help ease discomfort.