Pain in front of arch

[Jon Allen]

I have a very recently-developed pain at the front of the left arch.  I had some bruising in the same foot recently due to rocks in a trail race, and may have injured myself by slightly modifying my stride to avoid the bruise.  The pain is at the front of the arch, right behind the ball of my foot, and is sensitive if I push on it with my thumb.  There is no pain in other areas while seated.  When I stand barefoot, the pain radiates from that point down the middle of the arch towards the heel.  No pain in the heel (which is a common PF indicator).  When I wear shoes with good arch support, the pain almost goes away, but it is very painful when I walk barefoot, causing me to limp.  However, the pain is more noticeable after a run, even with good shoes.

Ideas of what is causing this and how I should treat it?  Is it PF?  Arch strain?  Something else?  Since the pain is lessened with shoes, will continued running make it worse? 

Share your wisdom with me, oh great collective members of the blog.

[Tom]

I have a similar pain but maybe a little further up on the left foot, right in the ball of my foot behind the big toe. Not sure if it's the same as yours Jon but I have the same questions you have and looking for advice/insight from the blog sages. Mostly an annoyance right now that goes away as the run progresses, but I fear it could become bad enough that it causes me to alter my stride and cause other problems. Man if we can just make it 18 more days and make it to SGM start line somewhat ready to race.

[Kory Wheatley]

Maybe the bruise internally is causing the pain further down the foot.  But also could be the alteration of your running form because of the pain.  I think I would stay off of it until you can run your natural running form.

[jtshad]

I have found the follow website a good starting point for foot pain research:  http://foot.com.

From this website, consider the following:

Metatarsalgia is a general term used to denote a painful foot condition in the metatarsal region of the foot (the area just before the toes, more commonly referred to as the ball-of-the-foot). This foot disorder that can affect the bones and joints at the ball-of-the-foot and is often located under the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th metatarsal heads Metatarsalgia is often caused from improper fitting footwear.

Don't know if this is quite what you are feeling.  I had this pain earlier this year and was able to rest, rehab and change shoes to help with the problem.

[Paul Petersen]

Which toe joints is the pain nearest to? If it's distinctly between the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals, mortons neuroma is a potential culprit.

[Tom]

Thanks for the link to foot.com Jeff. Lots of helpful information. I think in my case Metatarsalgia is the culprit and perhaps for Jon too.

[Jon Allen]

It's in the middle of the foot, right at the top of the arch- probably just below the 2nd toe.

[Chad]

It's in the middle of the foot, right at the top of the arch- probably just below the 2nd toe.

Jon--you should have it looked at ASAP. Probably get on anti inflammatories and ice in the meantime. Keep in mind too much stretching (which I always do when something is flaring up) may not help. If the pain is in the soft tissue, try rolling a tennis ball under it lightly.