has anyone been diagnosed w/ this foot condition? how have you treated it? metatarsal pads?
I’ve had it, it’s a pain. A met pad did the trick. At first it feels weird to run with one, but it really helps and in a short time the pain went away and I was able to run without one and stay pain-free.
Sure, lots. But, metatarsalgia is a “junk” diagnosis for generalized forefoot/plantar metatarsal pain when other diagnoses have effectively been ruled out. A simple forefoot met pad like our esteemed ST coach generally works in most cases, but not all if the diagnosis is a little wonky.
Can you be a little more specific? How did you arrive at that diagnosis?
i had it too. the chiro adjusted my metatarsals and it felt amazing. they haven’t moved out of alignment( i believe they are stuck in a down posistion?) since. i have also been forefoot running now which i feel helped
I have had pain on the ball of one foot for weeks when running & biking. Most noticeable when running up an incline. Lately, pain still present following run. Uncomfortable to walk barefoot on uncarpeted floor. No point tenderness on foot. Xrays are normal. Sports med. dr. says fat pad on foot has worn down resulting in less cushion for metatarsals on impact. His dx therefore is metatarsalgia. Do you agree?
Agree? For now (over the internet), yes. However, forefoot fat pad atrophy is pretty unusual assuming you are under 80 years old 
More likely: you have a high arched foot with digital contractures (i.e. hammertoes, clawtoes, etc.) and that puts retrograde pressure on the plantar metatarsal head (and also eventually displaces the normal forefoot fat pad anteriorily as well).
Good luck!
thanks for internet consult. I’m 30 yrs. away from 80 & don’t have high arch or any toe condition. if anything, I have a shorter than normal arch. I’m ordering a bag of met. pads for my shoes & will see how that works. do you have a recommendation for pad height? 1/4 or 1/8 inch?
I use 1/8 inch mostly at first since it will feel a little odd and is usually enough.
rroof— one last question: do you recommend felt or foam? thanks again.
definitely Felt (but not the bike)
.
I’m glad someone posted a thread on this. I have it now. Long runs are the worst, but it flares up unpredictadably. A couple weeks ago it was horrible (and I’ve been using good shoes in excellent condition) I had a duathlon where the first run was 10 miles. I ran in my race shoes and the next day it felt great??? The day before and day of the race it was killing me. I haven’t used pads yet. I did buy a new pair of Brooks Radius (best running shoe period INHO) and haven’t really felt it yet. That includes a brick (40 / 9) yesterday, a couple of 8 milers last week and a 5 miler this morning. I really feel it in dress shoes though, especially at the end of a long day.
It’s the weirdest damn thing
how did those metatarsal pads work out for you? i was wondering where you ordered them for and how much they were. did it solve you problem with your metatarsals?
Just make sure it is not a fx sesamoid? Is this a sesamoiditis? Rule out a multipartite sesamoid vs. a fx. I fooled around with this for a couple years and ended up having surgery.
Take care,
HC
I had it a couple years ago-pain in one spot, felt especially when running or wearing dress shoes. Went to doctor and was diagnosed with metatarsalgia. I got orthotics to take care of it-they took a mold of foot and basically left a hole in the orthotic where the pain was (it was in a certain spot next to the big toe, which was hammered, and the Dr. thought that might have attributed to it). That worked for me. Then when the season was over, I weened myself off the orthotics and haven’t had trouble with it again.