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Customized Insoles For Metatarsalgia Pain Relief

Metatarsalgia is a severely painful condition faced by a patient when the metatarsal region gets affected. Below middle three metatarsal heads, the ball of the foot is located. Inflammation occurs along with a painful state that causes symptoms associated with other ailments.

This pain and inflammation are caused as a result of overuse. Due to the exertion of continuous pressure on the metatarsal, which may be due to activities like running and jumping constantly, this type of pain and inflammation can occur.

This painful condition is caused due to intense activities over months and some common conditions like the use of longer heels or shoes with pointed toes, where the feet get bound to the limits.

Development Of Metatarsalgia Tendonitis

There are several stages in the development of Metatarsalgia tendonitis.

The most important things to notice are the changes that occur in the last stages, like tearing of tendons or swelling, which may occur along with pain or inflammation in the ball region of the toe below the metatarsals. The various stages involved are given as follows:

• Early Stages: The early stage of Metatarsalgia starts when there is an ample amount of pressure created in the mid-tarsal region of the feet. The starting stage is associated with occasional cramps in the muscles of that region. The patient may feel severe pain due to immense pressure.
  
  
• Intermediate Stages: The intermediate stage is related to the development of soreness in the metatarsal region. Pain starts arising after continuous use of the head region of the toe. The total weight of the body starts getting absorbed in this region.
  
  
• Final Stage: Due to the formation of an abnormal condition in the ball region around the metatarsal location of the toe, inflammation starts occurring and it becomes very difficult for the patient to walk properly.

After a person passes through all these stages, recovery takes a lot of time. The amount of pain they need to go through makes them impatient and they may lose enthusiasm for walking.

The nerves in that region get super activated, causing non-cancerous outgrowth or tearing of muscles due to the pressure of swelling. Thus, it is a continuously growing pain that takes a huge toll on feet.

What Causes Metatarsalgia?

There are many reasons due to which overuse can occur and feet can suffer from such pain.

Persistent pressure on the same area may lead to a condition of irritation and ultimately result in inflammation.

One of the basic ideas of physics and biomechanics suggests that an imbalance in weight is a major cause of such a situation.

The Metatarsalgia Physiopedia suggests that the disease has some common causes which most people ignore during the early stages.

• Continuous activity or actively participating in sports:
  
  Every sports person needs to go through a lot of training where they try to test their limits. In such an environment, muscle cramps and tearing of muscles are common.
  
  Such immense training causes an immense pressure on the head region of the foot because of the impact of tight shoes.
  
  
• Feet problems caused due to the shape of shoes:
  
  Shape of shoes is directly related to this condition, as higher heels generate more pressure on the head region of the foot. Sometimes, they may also cause permanent foot deformity.
  
  Sometimes pressure is created on both the sides due to narrow toe region. Custom shoes for athletes, also result in pain in the ball region of the metatarsals.
  
  
• Shape Of Feet:
  
  There can be several problems associated with the high arch as it creates pressure on the metatarsals.
  
  Having a big toe is a medical condition where improper shifting of weight occurs, causing pressure on the toe.
  
  
• Hammer toe or Claw toe deformity:
  
  An abnormal condition of the joints due to prolonged pressure occurs, where the middle joint gets projected downwards and the end joint is projected upwards.
  
  Injury to toes, rheumatoid arthritis or Hallux valgus may be the reason for such a condition.
  
  
• Obesity and Excessive Weight:
  
  Many people suffer from the problems of obesity and that amount of weight causes a medical condition like arthritis as well.
  
  Since whole of that pressure acts on the foot, there are high chances of pain due to Metatarsalgia.
  
  
• Fractures in the area:
  
  Sometimes due to accidents, fractures may occur and the continuous friction of bones makes it even more feeble.
  
  The pain of such fracture can be alarming and it later results in severe swelling.
  
  
• Previous Medical Conditions:
  
  Impact of a bad medical history of feet can be the cause of such medical condition. Many people have rheumatoid arthritis or gout, which are inflammatory diseases.
  
  There are also patients of Morton’s Neuroma, who have fibrous tissue formation around the nerve of metatarsal heads. It causes metatarsal stress, which results in inflammation.

Solutions For Metatarsalgia

Metatarsalgia pain relief treatment is done with the help of many processes.

When a person starts suffering from such disorders, they need to go through a lot of treatment procedures and ultimately use precautions so that proper recovery can occur.

The main thing is to bring back Metatarsalgia patients to their normal state and for that, several recovery processes are undertaken.

• Recovery Processes:
  
  Therapy is used to let the inflammation resolve after a few days of treatment. The excessive pressure caused due to the inflammation is the first thing to be removed to let the person get back to the natural physical condition with proper body biomechanics.
  
  
• Healing exercise process:
  
  Alternate ways to heal the inflammation and pain are also there, where sportsmen can practice those sports that help them get back their body balance and common folks can use steroids to enact a neural block in the region.
  
  The active steroids are best for people suffering from acute Metatarsalgia whereas people in the early stages should just try physical recovery.
  
  
• Surgical Process:
  
  There are some cases where medication and therapy fail to deliver results. In such cases, the best choice is to go for a surgical process where the metatarsal bones are aligned in the right manner after removing the inflammation.
  
  
• Medication Processes:
  
  Certain non-inflammatory drugs are there which are given to the patients. They are just favorable as short term solutions.

Metatarsalgia treatment can work best when the recovery process is followed along with proper physiotherapy and check-up by doctors.

How Do Insoles Help In Metatarsalgia?

There are insoles specially prepared for people suffering from Metatarsalgia. There are metatarsal pads available for the shoes which fit directly with the insoles.

The best insoles for Metatarsalgia are the ones which make patients feel comfortable while walking. There are different types of insoles available, but all have some specific functions.

• Weight Distribution:
  
  The painful state of the feet is caused due to pressure at a single point i.e., the ball of the metatarsal region of the feet.
  
  To let a person recover from this medical condition, they must wear something that can distribute the total weight on their feet. The materials used to design these insoles are selected in such a manner so as to fulfill this purpose.
  
  
• Slip-resistant:
  
  Sometimes there are chances of slipping while wearing insoles. This is related to the inflammation in the ball region and thus, insoles that are slip-resistant are best suited.
  
  
• Shock Absorbent:
  
  The insoles act as shock absorbing materials as the undulations while walking may cause a high amount of pain. To facilitate the recovery process, all the shocks that may occur need to be absorbed by the insoles only.

Some insoles are made with extra soft heel cushion-like material so that the process of recovery can be faster. Healing is an important part of recovery and it needs to be fast.

Technology Used And How It Is Designed

The technology used to prepare insoles varies with different materials and also varies from patient to patient. Doctors can suggest the most favorable shoes and insoles for feet.

The Metatarsalgia shoes should be built in the ways in which doctors prefer to help their patients.

The fiber TEC models and new carbon models which are thermally ductile are specifically used. They can adapt to all kinds of feet and thus, are the best choice for patients. There are better facilities like draining humidity so that the shoes can be made more comfortable.

Some of the salient ideas for top choices of insole designing technology are:

• Covers of custom design, made with microfiber, mesh and leather.
• Cushion based elements in the heel region.
• Thermal layers made up of aluminium.
• Stabilizer with a supporting element.
• Base of insole designed ergonomically.

These are some choices of designs that are built with modern technology so that patients can get the utmost comfort. Giving the foot comfort during the time of Metatarsalgia is necessary.

All the sports persons should get the best choice of design for themselves.

With the metatarsal insoles, running can never be too difficult. This is because the shock absorbing technology gets the sportsmen back to the winning ways.

Insoles For Metatarsalgia

With the advancement of technology, the recovery process has become very fast. Some specific characteristics which only favour the Metatarsalgia patients are as follows:

• Advanced cushioning at the upper side of the foot. This is necessary for patients as the ball region of the toe needs to let the inflammation get cured over time.
• The shoes that are to be customized for patients should in no way create pressure on any side. It should be a perfect fit, as loose shoes have the chance of slipping and hurting the patient again.
• The shock absorbing technology should be present at the all pressure points of the person and not on a single location so that shock or vibration cannot damage the internal structure.

The metatarsal insoles are specific to every patient and thus, they seem to be different. Insoles just for this disorder can never be created for everyone and sold in stores.

Designing Of Insole For The Individual Foot

There are various steps to be followed while designing the perfect insole for a patient. These steps are to be taken into account because they are a tool apart from medication to help a person get their body balance back.

• The first step starts with taking the proper size of the feet for shoes and this does not mean natural size of shoes. It means that all sizes of feet are to be taken into account.
• The next step is to make sure that cushioning is provided and also in the right position. This can facilitate walking and later run for the patients.
• The next thing is installing a mesh of metals which are used as thermal stabilizers inside the contoured material of insoles.
• Then the pressure points of the patients are checked with the help of 3D scanners and depending on the weight calculations, customized insoles can be designed.

In this way, the best possible design of insoles can be prepared. People suffering from flat feet can get their choice of shoes as well.

Benefits

The most important benefit associated with using insoles is the fast recovery process. Some of the salient benefits for the patients are given below:

• The inflammation can normalize over time because feet of patients do not suffer from the adversities and are kept secure from shocks.
• The new technology used to check the humidity inside the shoes can help the person recover faster as humidity cannot interfere with medication.
• It facilitates every sportsperson to get back to their winning ways by starting the processes of training again.

These benefits prove that insoles are the perfect tool for recovering from this type of diseases. Making sure that medications and physical therapy work internally or externally is necessary.