Insoles for minor ball-of-foot pain?

April 8, 2015 12:42 PM

I've been having some minor pain (about 1-2 on a scale of 10, and it comes and goes) along the ball of my right foot for the past few months, and I've gotten to the point where I don't think it's going to go away on its own without a change somewhere.

However, before I go to my doctor, I'd like to try a few less expensive options, since this pain is fairly minor. Insoles seem like a good option, though most of them seem to focus on heel and arches, and I don't want to make the problem worse. The pain seems to be impact-related, since when I wear my Adidas sandals with memory-foam soles, the pain is reduced significantly. I'm male, and I do relatively short walks (15-25 minute) about 4 times a week as exercise, FYI.

So, is there any recommendation for insoles that will help pain at the ball of the foot? I don't have a strict budget, but I'm more likely to just start talking to my doctor about it before I pursue options that cost hundreds of dollars.

posted by Aleyn to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

The cheapest option is probably just to go to your local drugstore and by the Dr. Scholl's (or other brand) insoles and/or cushions. It may help, may not. The next step -- and also possibly cheap or even free, depending on your insurance -- might be going to a podiatrist and getting custom-made orthotics. I use orthotics inside my sneakers and it's made a world of difference.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:54 PM on April 8, 2015

Try a drugstore insert with a prominent metatarsal arch support. This should reduce pressure on the ball of your foot - that's what they're for. If it helps, you can play around with cutting custom metatarsal pads from flat foam inserts and taping them to the insert for additional support if that seems to help more. A podiatrist advised me to never pay for custom orthotics until you've created a taped together orthotic yourself that you know works. Feet are tricky.
posted by Jackson at 12:56 PM on April 8, 2015

Can't speak to insoles, but I had pain like that a few years ago, and it was a broken sesamoid bone. I would avoid wearing things like adidas sandals, and wear your stiffest soled shoe you can -- most like a walking boot and see if it starts to heal.
posted by hrj at 2:15 PM on April 8, 2015

I had this a few years ago, it happened usually after I'd walked for a mile or so, and in the right foot too. After getting custom orthotics I finally figured out that all I needed was wider sneakers, even though my foot does not measure as wide.
posted by mareli at 3:06 PM on April 8, 2015

I second the wider shoes. I also went for custom orthotics, which did nothing. The podiatrist suggested trying a wider shoe, which I did and the pain subsided. Apparently crowding the toes, which many shoes do, can lead to metatarsalga (pain in the toes esentially).
posted by Zedcaster at 6:06 PM on April 8, 2015

Response by poster: Just a note, I already wear wide shoes (4E width) due to earlier experiences with ingrown toenails, and there is no pressure or crowding on the sides of my feet, or on my toes. So I don't think that's it.
posted by Aleyn at 6:40 PM on April 8, 2015

Response by poster: Also, I don't wear the sandals much, just around the house. Sorry if that was confusing.
posted by Aleyn at 6:49 PM on April 8, 2015

Just go to the drug store and buy a bunch of different insoles. They're cheap.

I put a gel pad in the front of some of my shoes. They make gel pads that will fit under the ball of your foot. Not sure if that will solve the problem, but it's cheap and it's available at your local drugstore.
posted by ablazingsaddle at 7:21 PM on April 8, 2015

If the description of Morton's Neuroma sounds at all like what you're experiencing, what you want it a metatarsal cushion that you place just behind the ball of your foot rather than directly under the ball of the foot. I have (expensive) custom orthotics that do this, but I've also bought stick-on metatarsal cushions and put them in shoes. You do need to stick them down though so they don't move.
posted by kbuxton at 8:47 PM on April 8, 2015

I've gotten good results from Lynco insoles with a metatarsal pad. I find that I have to get them oversized and then trim them down to get the pad in the correct position on my foot. If you get the stick on pads like the ones linked by kbuxton, you should take the "size of pad matches size of foot" from the manufacturer with a grain of salt. You need to get the size of pad that matches the size of your metatarsal arch, which may take some trial-and-error.
posted by doctord at 9:21 AM on April 9, 2015