-- original article by John Robertson, MD
Consider the simple fact that running involves each foot hitting the running surface several thousand times each mile. It's easy to understand that the most common problems that virtually all runners must eventually contend with is pain in the foot. Especially in that front half of the foot, the portion that includes the toes and metatarsal bones. Most runners strike the ground toes first, or at least flatfooted, then after a brief time on the ground, push off with the ball of the foot and the toes, resulting in a tremendous amount of cumulative impact trauma.
I suspect that every athlete that has some form of running or jumping involved in their sport will have, at one time or another, problems with their forefoot, whether it be as benign as a blister or as troublesome as a stress fracture. This month we'll cover some of the most common maladies that befall all of us who use our feet for fitness, fun or work. A partial list of the most common offenders include: neuroma, callus, bunions at the big or little toe, second toe instability at the ball of the foot, hammertoes or claw toes, hard or soft corns, a rigid first toe called hallux rigidus, sesamoid problems and finally, stress fractures. We'll go over each of these individually.
Read full "Foot Pain" article here...