What can cause pain in the ball of the foot?

Pain within the ball of the foot is a very common problem and could be as a consequence of a variety of disorders. Commonly the name, metatarsalgia is used with this condition but that phrase is really meaningless since it is similar to saying that you've got a painful hip. The symptoms that gets placed under this term could range between a basic corn of your skin underneath the front foot to a stress fracture of the metatarsal bone to a nerve entrapment to an osteoarthritis type problem. Virtually all of these conditions happen to be totally different to each other and each of these will have to be managed differently and also have different outcomes. Out of this it ought to be obvious why the phrase metatarsalgia is not a very good phrase, much like stating the knee is painful.

Diagnosing the different reasons for discomfort within the ball of the foot might be a challenge as a number of the problems could possibly have equivalent signs and symptoms during the early periods. This is why a skilled clinician is frequently necessary to have the diagnosis right so the appropriate therapy could be directed at it and time and expense is just not wasted following an inappropriate diagnosis. A few ailments like a plantar plate tear that is a common reason for pain in the ball of the feet have a number of clinical assessments which can be done to help determine whether this is the problem. Others such as a stress fracture of the bone is likely to need imaging to get the diagnosis correct. Arthritis like issues are challenging to diagnose in the early phases and it can be a circumstance of merely waiting to see the way the ailment moves along. Often the diagnosis of those type of conditions is really a matter of ruling out the other issues like a plantar plate tear or stress fracture by the clinical tests and imaging. If you have discomfort under the ball of the foot, then find a competent podiatrist and have the diagnosis correct.