Metatarsalgia Explained by Florida Foot Specialist

This article  appeared worldwide in February of 2011

If you have corns or experience a burning sensation in your foot, it is likely that this can be caused by a general medical problem referred to as “metatarsalgia.” This term is best described as an “umbrella term” for foot pain.  Metatarsalgia symptoms may include: pain in the foot; pain that intensifies when walking or running; pain that is higher when walking on hard surfaces; numbness or tingling sensations in the toes; pain when walking barefoot (http://health.ezinemark.com/is-it-corns-or-metatarsalgia-31c88a37500.html).

In Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts in the Foot, the author, Dr. Burton S. Schuler, explains that common foot problems–many included in the general term metatarsalgia– are caused by Morton’s Toe, or a short first metatarsal bone, including burning, aching and throbbing on the balls of the feet. This throbbing takes place because when you have a Morton’s Toe, abnormal stress is applied to the ball of the foot (http://whyyoureallyhurt.com/mortons-toe/burning/). When this happens, the second through fifth metatarsal bones push down in an unusual manner against the ground. The result is injury to skin, nerves, muscles, and bursas at the ball of the foot. This is why the ball of the foot can burn, ache, hurt, and throb.

It is not usual for these burning discomforts to start on the balls of the feet and then spread into the toes or up the legs. Many patients have these leg problems, and it disturbs their sleep. Dr. Schuler reminds us that the physician who first wrote about Morton’s Toe, Dr. Dudley J. Morton, said these night “spasms” occur when foot and leg muscles are strained.

The first paper on Morton’s Toe by Dr. Dudley J. Morton appeared in 1927, in the prestigious Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (http://whyyoureallyhurt.com/mortons-toe/dr-dudley-j-morton/). The paper presented Morton’s theory about how a short first metatarsal bone has harmful effects on the foot.  Another paper published in the same journal in 1928 described, for the first time, another condition of the first metatarsal bone known as “Hypermobility of the First Metatarsal Bone”.  In these papers, Morton describes how a longer second toe can cause pain in the feet and legs, and throughout the body.

As with many other problems caused by Morton’s Toe, metatarsalgia–burning, aches, and pains on the ball of the foot–can be treated with a simple little Toe Pad that can realign the whole front part of the foot and allow it to work properly (http://whyyoureallyhurt.com/home/#tp).