What can cause a plantar plate tear in the foot?

Metatarsalgia is the wrong name for a prevalent problem in runners. It is just a expression that unfortunately will get employed a lot yet is a reasonably worthless phrase and diagnosis. The word is comparable to, by way of example, saying you have a sore knee. That painful knee could be as a result of any one of a variety of different conditions. Metatarsalgia indicates pain in the metatarsals or ball of the foot, so it might be because of a variety of different things. This is the reason the word is really so useless.

The reason for the signs and symptoms may well be a callus of your skin underneath the forefoot; maybe it's a pinched nerve which causes sharp type pains; maybe it's a fat pad atrophy which causes problems with standing and walking; or even it could be arthritis type symptoms inside the joints in the ball of the foot. Each one of these possible factors that cause metatarsalgia are generally quite different to each other with different signs and symptoms and completely different causes that simply acts to show precisely what a useless phrase it is to work with.

Essentially the most common reason for pain in the forefoot is a disorder called a plantar plate tear. This is the strain of the ligament under the metattarsophalangeal joints in the ball of the foot that can get worse to a small tear. It can cause a separation between 2nd and 3rd toes. The pain sensation is frequently over the joint on the underside of the foot and simply distal to the metatarsophalangeal joint. Usually it's the second metatarsophalangeal joint, but it can impact on every one of the metatarsophalangeal joints. This problem is more prevalent in those that do more exercise. This condition begins as a minor ache which is typically neglected, but it will progress unless there is a treatment commenced as it does not heal by itself.

Typically the therapy for a plantar plate tear is by using strapping to keep the toe in a plantarflexed or downward position to prevent it from dorsiflexing up so the tension has a rest. A rocker sole shoe or a footwear that is more rigid may also help do this. If this improves, it does tend to take a while and perseverance is required. If this doesn't work, then a number of plantar plate tears need to have a surgical procedure.