What is metatarsalgia?

Recently, the editor has been suffering from metatarsalgia and cannot maintain a standing posture for a long time, which has greatly affected his daily work and quality of life. So today I will give you some basic knowledge about what metatarsalgia is and prevent the occurrence of pain as early as possible.

Metatarsalgia is a common foot disease, which ranks among the top pains. It is more common in the elderly, especially women in their 50s and those with narrow and loose feet. It is mostly unilateral. In addition, improper wearing of shoes, such as wearing ultra-thin high heels, can also easily lead to this disease.

Clinically, it is mainly divided into relaxation and compression . Relaxation metatarsalgia is mainly caused by congenital abnormal development of the first metatarsal bone, which leads to chronic damage to the transverse arch. It is primary metatarsal inversion and metatarsal hypermobility. Metatarsalgia, also known as plantar neuralgia, plantar neuroma, or Morton syndrome, refers to pain in the forefoot metatarsal shaft and plantar surface of the metatarsal head (i.e. the bottom of the forefoot) caused by strain of the transverse arch of the forefoot or compression or stimulation of the metatarsal nerve.

In addition to the toes, each foot has 12 small bones, ligaments, and muscles that form an arch. The wide end has two fulcrums, behind the big toe and the little toe, and the narrow end has a fulcrum at the heel. In addition to the longitudinal arch in the front-to-back direction, there is also a transverse arch in the inside and outside direction. This "arch bridge" is elastic. While supporting our weight, it also feeds back the feeling of our soles to our bodies, allowing us to adjust our balance in time, maintain the stability of our center of gravity, and is more conducive to our walking state.

Because the metatarsal heads are thick, the gaps between the metatarsal heads are narrower than the gaps between the metatarsal shafts. The nerve branches passing through this area are easily damaged. Some people are born with narrow and thin feet and loose ligaments; middle-aged and elderly women have aging functions, osteoporosis, reduced muscle strength, decreased elasticity of ligaments and fascia, loose connection of the arch of the foot, and collapse may occur. In addition, sudden weight gain, or atrophy and weakness of the interchondral muscles after illness, can all lead to collapse of the arch of the foot. The above reasons, coupled with strenuous activities during labor, local trauma, standing and walking for too long, excessive weight bearing, or too hard uppers and too high heels, are prone to chronic aseptic inflammation of the soft tissues in the metatarsal head area. Repeated stimulation can cause nerve thickening, nodule formation, and hyperplasia of surrounding tissues. At this time, the patient feels pain and abnormal sensation at the bottom of the forefoot, which affects standing and walking. This is especially obvious when the shoes and socks are not suitable. The pain is more limited and can also radiate to the toes, with the third and fourth toes being the most common. It is often tingling, knife-like pain, or burning pain. When the pain is severe, the patient cannot tolerate it and has to stop standing or walking.

Once the disease occurs, in order to relieve the pain in the acute phase, you should rest properly, reduce weight bearing, avoid standing and walking for too long, wear loose, breathable and soft shoes, and try to avoid wearing high heels and hard-soled shoes. It is best to choose shoes with wide toes and thick soles, and you can also add insoles to relieve foot pressure. In addition, during the recovery period, you need to strengthen your foot muscle strength training. If the pain is severe, you can take anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs under the guidance of a doctor.

Finally, let's talk about how to prevent it: Contemporary young people also need to maintain their health, soak their feet to relax their foot muscles. Wear suitable shoes, avoid high heels and tight shoes. Use cushioning insoles or arch pads for support to break down the metatarsal load. Maintain a good body fat percentage, keep your weight within a healthy range, and reduce the load on your feet.

The popular science content of this platform has been funded by the China Association for Science and Technology's Science Popularization Department's 2022 National Science Literacy Action Project "National Society Science Popularization Capacity Improvement Project-Rehabilitation Science Popularization Service Capacity Improvement Action Plan"