How do Upstep orthotics work for Metatarsalgia?

Metatarsalgia is a condition in which the ball of your foot becomes painful and inflamed.

Symptoms of metatarsalgia can include:

• Sharp, aching or burning pain in the ball of your foot.
• Pain that worsens when you stand, run, flex your feet or walk - especially barefoot on a hard surface - and improves when you rest.
• Sharp or shooting pain, numbness, or tingling in your toes.
• A feeling of having a pebble in your shoe.

Causes:
Sometimes a single factor can lead to metatarsalgia. More often, several factors are involved, including:

• Intense training or activity - distance runners are at risk of metatarsalgia, primarily because the front of the foot absorbs significant force when a person runs. But anyone who participates in a high-impact sport is at risk, especially if your shoes fit poorly or are worn.
• Certain foot shapes - a high arch can put extra pressure on the metatarsals. So can having a second toe that's longer than the big toe, which causes more weight than normal to be shifted to the second metatarsal head.
• Foot deformities - wearing too-small shoes or high heels can cause your foot to be misshapen. A downward-curling toe (hammertoe) and swollen, painful bumps at the base of your big toes (bunions) can cause metatarsalgia.
• Excess weight - because most of your body weight transfers to your forefoot when you move, extra pounds mean more pressure on your metatarsals. Losing weight might reduce or eliminate symptoms.
• Poorly fitting shoes - high heels, which transfer extra weight to the front of your foot, are a common cause of metatarsalgia in women. Shoes with a narrow toe box or athletic shoes that lack support and padding also can contribute to the problem.
• Stress fractures - small breaks in the metatarsals or toe bones can be painful and change the way you put weight on your foot.
• Morton's neuroma - this noncancerous growth of fibrous tissue around a nerve usually occurs between the third and fourth metatarsal heads. It causes symptoms that are similar to metatarsalgia and can also contribute to metatarsal stress.

Left untreated, metatarsalgia might lead to pain in other parts of the same or opposite foot and pain elsewhere in the body, such as the low back or hip, due to limping (altered gait) from foot pain.

How Upstep can help you with your Metatarsalgia?

Damage to the forefoot is the most challenging area of the foot to treat. Upstep Custom Orthotics treatment aim to improve overall foot function and move some of the pressure into the rest of the foot as well as adding soft cushioning to the affected area.

Upstep Custom Orthotics will help distribute pressure to your feet more evenly by correcting your foot mechanics.

All Upstep Custom Orthotics are designed specifically for you by our top in-house podiatrists, using advanced technology and highest quality materials, based on your own footprint, lifestyle, pain and needs. Upstep Custom Orthotics are constructed to help your body maintain its ideal position, allowing full ranges of healthy movement, fatigue reduction, and injury prevention.

With your Upstep Custom Orthotics purchase, you will also receive access to our Metatarsalgia targeted series of weight bearing, strengthening exercises which are used to re-educate the foot so that it is capable of handling the day to day forces it experiences with every step.

Upstep’s combined approach for Metatarsalgia will give you a long-term solution for your everyday activities, from work to sports.