Pain on top of foot, hurts to bend foot when walking
by Sue
I have high arches and significant supination of my feet as a result of metatarsus adductus, conditions I've had my whole life but not diagnosed until I was 40. The past year or so the pain on top of my feet has worsened. The pain is where my metatarsals meet my ankle bones. I find that now when I walk, it hurts so much to do a heel strike/roll to the ball of my foot that instead I am plunking my foot down as a whole or mostly taking the weight at the back of my foot and my heel. Then I feel my hips dipping and my back now hurts. How can I break this cycle and get back to a more normal gait? I have custom orthotics that I guess give me support but I am most comfortable barefoot. I am a 50 year old female. Hi Sue, Yours is not an easy situation to resolve. With a cavus (high arched foot) your foot has become a very poor shock absorbing appendage and may explain why you are getting the type of pain that you experience. One would think that custom orthotics would "do the trick" but apparently not so. I do not know what type of orthotic you wear, but if I was making the orthotic I would lean more towards a cork and leather orthotic and not a plastic orthotic, as the cork and leather are better at absorbing shock. Although I do not have the luxury of examining you I would think if you feel better barefoot than in orthotics, maybe your orthotics are either too high in the arch or too rigid. Perhaps it is time to revisit the doctor who originally prescribed the orthotics, or perhaps get another opinion. Marc Mitnick DPM
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