Ball of feet pain radiating to other parts of body.

by Melanie
(Texas)

I have had this for many years. Its getting worse and the pain is unbearable.
I have hard callouses on the balls of both feet below 2cd and 3rd toes. Removing them helps a little, but they come back as soon as they are removed. The pain is sharp stabbing, burning pain. When I am in bed I get a sharp stabbing pain that feels like someone is hammering a nail into my feet and then I feel it at the left of my navel. My knees and back hurt constantly also. I have been to foot Dr's before and they told me to come see them once a month to get the callouses off but that only lends minor relief, and they grow back fast. Looking at my xray it seems the bones in my feet/toes/joints, not sure which, at the ball of foot area, toe joints, are deformed. and its on both feet. I am to the point now that I think there has got to be some other sort of pain control for this condition, or defect. I cant walk normally, I walk on outer the edges of my feet. What kind of treatment is there for this? I have tried all kinds of shoes, inserts, everything you can think of. HELP! My family needs me! My latest foot xray is enclosed, I have suffered many falls due to the pain. The only relief I have gotten is with Norco 10, when I had a c section and breast surgery.

Hi Melanie,

Notice the lack of space between the second and third metatarsal bones (just behind the toes). This is where your calluses are, but perhaps more important it would not surprise me if you had a Morton's neuroma (read my section on Morton's neuroma). Typically it is described as knife stabbing pain and the reason I think you may have a neuroma is because the nerve travels between the heads of the metatarsal bones and because your second and third metatarsal bones are so close, there is a good chance the nerve is being "pinched".
Go see a podiatrist and see if this diagnosis can be confirmed.
Marc Mitnick DPM