METATARSALGIA

disorder in which the weight of the body, when standing, rests on the centre of the anterior arch of the foot (on the heads of the central metatarsal bones) instead of on the inside and outside of the foot. Pain when walking may be severe, callosities develop on the area of stress, and there is a tendency to fracture of the metatarsals. The cause of metatarsalgia may be developmental or may occur secondary to another disease. Treatment consists in placing sponge-rubber pads in the shoes in such a position as to maintain normal formation of the anterior arch. A special form of metatarsalgia, Morton's toe, occurs in the middle-aged and is caused by enlargement of the digital nerve as it passes between the metatarsal heads to the toes. Constant severe pain is the main symptom, and treatment is by excision of the enlarged nerve.