Treatment | Pain on the outer edge of the foot

Treatment

Pain on the outer edge of the foot can be treated with medication. Here, drugs from the substance group NSAR (“non-steroidal anti-rheumatic drugs”) are suitable, which, among other things, relieve pain and inflammation. The further therapy is individually designed depending on the trigger for the pain.

In the case of a strain or muscular tension in the area of the outer edge of the foot, light massages and local pain therapy in the form of pain ointments such as Voltaren® help. If the tendons are inflamed, even a simple household remedy, namely a quark wrap, can help reduce the inflammation and thus relieve the pain on the outer edge of the foot. If it is not the tendon but the periosteum of the fifth metatarsal that is inflamed, an immediate renunciation of sports with immobilization and relief of the foot is indicated.

The special treatment of a digitus quintus varus as a trigger for pain at the outer edge of the foot in the forefoot can be conservative in the form of physiotherapy and “soft bedding” of the little toe. Likewise, the attempt to wear more optimal footwear and to bring the toe back into the correct position by a slight pull can also be helpful. If the symptoms are severe, surgical intervention on tendons and bones is necessary.Arthrosis of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the base toe as a trigger for pain on the outer edge of the foot is treated with insoles at an early stage.

Later, surgery can be performed to optimize mobility and reduce pain by removing bone tissue while preserving the joint. In advanced stages, which ultimately secondarily provoke the pain at the outer edge of the foot through an incorrect rolling movement, the joint can no longer be maintained and must be surgically stiffened. Even a so-called “tailor’s ball”, which causes pain on the outer edge of the foot, must be treated surgically in the form of removal of the bony protrusion.

A fracture in the fifth metatarsal requires a plaster cast or also a surgical intervention. In general, taping and wearing bandages as conservative measures for many causes are very popular in current medicine. Wearing insoles can also compensate for defective positions that cause pain on the outer edge of the foot.