Case Study: Di's ball of foot pain resolved within 2 weeks (and we fixed her hip pain!)

Di came to see us for relief after injuring her foot months ago on a camping trip. Her left hip was also giving her trouble.

We performed a comprehensive assessment on Di and discovered that Dihad injured her 2nd and 3rd plantar plates (a thick ligament type structure under the balls of the feet), and had inflamed bursas (fluid-filled sacs which help reduce friction at the joints).

“We needed to take pressure off of Di’s plantar plates and reduce friction in the ball of Di’s foot to enable healing in the area,” her podiatrist said. We were also highly suspicious that Di’s hip trouble was linked with her changing her walking pattern as a result of the discomfort in the ball of her foot.

“We found relief for Di with comfortable orthotics and the right footwear. Before seeing us Di was concerned about old style clunky shoes however Di loved her first pair of shoes from the clinic so much that she put a second pair on Layby”.

In 2 weeks Di  had 80% relief in her forefoot and 90% relief in her hip pain that appears to have been caused by the way she was walking to avoid the pain in her foot.”. We followed Di closely until all of her pain was fully resolved. 

Common causes of pain in the ball of the foot include:

 -Strain of the plantar plate

- Mortons Neuroma, an enlarged inflamed nerve

-Arthritis of a joint

-stress fracture

-osteoporotic fracture

The good news is that pain in the ball of the feet is often simply managed with podiatry treatment, without the need for surgery. When you make an appointment at the Active Foot Clinic your podiatrist will assess your pain, diagnose your condition, analyse your foot posture, footwear and walking pattern. They will be looking for any underlying problems or contributing factors. Your podiatrist can also refer for x-rays or ultrasounds if required, however a diagnosis can generally be reached at your appointment. We will then discuss treatment options and can start straight away

.So stop suffering in silence with pain in the balls of your feet, and see your Active Foot Clinic podiatrist to walk without pain.