Pain in the area of the tarsal bones | The tarsal bones

Pain in the area of the tarsal bones

Pain in the area of the tarsal bones can have various causes. Especially if no accident or other obvious injury has taken place, the pain is often inexplicable for the person affected. A very common reason for such foot pain is malpositioning of the foot.

Due to little movement, poor footwear and rare barefoot walking, most people’s feet are not sufficiently challenged. The foot muscles regress and the arch of the foot is no longer sufficiently supported. This can result in various foot malpositions, such as splayfoot, fallen arches or hallux valgus.

These malpositions can then cause pain because the foot is not able to optimally cushion the load. Foot pain in the area of the tarsal bones can also occur after overstraining, for example after long hikes or endurance sports if the foot is not sufficiently trained. The feet are subjected to heavy loads to which they are not accustomed.

As a result, the structures of the foot (tendons, ligaments, muscles) can become inflamed and cause pain. The pain then usually occurs only after or in the late course of the unusual load situation. In addition, a so-called fatigue fracture can occur if the foot is subjected to heavy loads to which it is not adapted.

Often, metatarsals are affected, but other foot bones can also break. Another cause of pain at the tarsal is arthrosis. The individual bones of the foot are in contact with each other through articulated joints.

As with other joints of the body, these joints can also be subject to arthrotic changes. In this clinical picture, pain is mainly experienced when the person affected starts walking. After running for a long time, the symptoms often improve.

This phenomenon is also known as starting pain. Finally, bone tissue can also die off – the so-called osteonecrosis. The tarsal bones at the point where the metatarsals meet are often affected.

This can cause very severe pain and leads to a loss of shape of the affected metatarsophalangeal joints. In the case of pain in the foot, a nervous cause of the complaints must always be considered. Incarceration of nerves or reactive new formations of nerve tissue (so-called neuromas) can cause unpleasant pain, which can manifest itself in different ways. Metabolic diseases such as diabetes can also affect the nerves in the foot area and cause painful changes to them (polyneuropathy). If the pain persists for longer than a few days, worsens or other signs of illness occur (fever, redness, swelling, general feeling of illness), a doctor should be consulted promptly to clarify the cause of the symptoms.