Definition
Pain on the outer edge of the foot is an unpleasant sensory perception that can be caused by a variety of factors. The pain character of pain on the outer edge of the foot can be stabbing, burning, pulling or throbbing, also depending on what ultimately provokes the pain. Anatomically, various muscles, their tendons and nerves run along the outer edge of the foot. On the outer edge of the foot, the bones of the fifth metatarsal, including the joints that connect the individual bones, are located. Longer lasting pain on the outer edge of the foot is not physiological and must be clarified by a doctor due to possible causes requiring treatment.
Causes
The causes of pain on the outer edge of the foot can come from the foot bones as well as from the muscles and tendons. In general, the outer side of the foot, i.e. also the outer edge of the foot, is the area after the heel and the ball of the foot that carries our body weight. It is therefore understandable that pain can also develop on the outer edge of the foot during long periods of standing or running and under heavy strain.
This pain can initially occur without any further disease value due to such heavy strain. If unfavorable factors such as incorrect foot posture, incorrect footwear or a poor rolling motion are added, the pain symptoms can develop or worsen more quickly. In addition to these typical triggers, however, diseases or injuries such as tendinitis, periostitis, pulled or bruised muscles, and a fracture of the metatarsal can also be responsible for the pain.
The above always refers to the fifth metatarsal or the tendon of the muscle that attaches to the fifth metatarsal (Musculus Peroneus brevis). Behind the term “digitus quintus varus” is a foot malposition of the little toe. A combination of several malpositions leads to an incarceration of the fifth toe below or above the fourth toe.
If the toe is over the fourth toe, the name can be extended as “digitus quintus varus superductus”, in case of carpet pad as “digitus quintus varus infraductus”. The combined foot malpositioning includes strong flexion in both toe joints, more precisely in the proximal and distal intermetatarsal joints (lat. tarsus = foot bone), as well as a lateral inward displacement (adduction) and a simultaneous outward rotation (supination).
In addition to pain on the outer edge of the forefoot, a chicken eye can develop due to pressure, which aggravates the pain symptoms. Especially when wearing shoes, the pain can be projected onto the entire outer edge of the foot. Tendinitis means inflammation of tendons.
The musculus peroneus brevis attaches with its tendon to the fifth metatarsal bone, so that an inflammation of the attachment tendon can occur there. The causes are often considered to be overloading and wearing the wrong shoes. As a rule, the shoes are too tight, which results in incorrect loading of the muscles.
Such an incorrect load places unphysiological strain on muscles, such as the peroneus brevis muscle, resulting in tendon irritation. The pain of attachment tendinitis is primarily located on the outer lower leg and then radiates along the outer edge of the foot into the foot. A typical inflammatory reaction is also accompanied by swelling, redness and warming.
In severe cases, swelling of the peroneus brevis tendon can even compress surrounding nerve tissue, so that sensory disturbances and tingling sensations can also occur. The medical term for an inflammation of the periosteum is periostitis. Periostitis is an inflammation of the outer bone sheath, which is responsible for the nutrition and regenerative capacity of the respective bone.
The bones of the foot, especially the metatarsals, are a typical manifestation site for periosteitis. The fifth metatarsal can very often be affected by periosteitis due to excessive strain caused by jogging too intensively or for too long with the wrong footwear and an existing foot malposition. Even each cause mentioned can provoke such an inflammation on its own.
A rather rare cause of periosteitis is a bacterial infection.The prerequisite for this must be that bacteria can penetrate through an open area, for example a deeper graze, into the vicinity of the periosteum. The main symptom of periosteitis is pain over the fifth metatarsal, i.e. the outer edge of the foot. In addition to the pain on the fifth metatarsal, patients also complain of other typical inflammatory symptoms such as swelling, redness and warming.
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