Art-116

METATARSAL PROBLEMS

By Peter Rose FSI

Contents include; Sports injuries, domestic accidents, and degenerative problems.
You do not have to be a professional sports person to suffer from damaged and broken metatarsals. The metatarsals are bones in the foot that connect the toes to the ankle via two other bones that run across the width of the foot. The joint between the toe and that end of the metatarsal is more flexible that the joint at the ankle end. This can lead to strain on the bone itself. The flesh covering these bones is relatively thin and does not provide much "cushion" against impact.

Sports Injuries

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE
1) Sudden sharp and severe pain
2) Swelling and tenderness
3) Reduced ability to move toes.
4) In cases where the bone is cracked without the bone parts becoming separated or dislocated from each other, the pain and swelling may not be immediate

DESCRIPTION
Generally if a break is "complete" you will know exactly when and how it occurs. The pain is sudden and severe with loss of mobility and swelling. Damage such as a crack to the bone may not be so obvious and can be confused with bruising to the same area of the foot.

SOLUTIONS
Apply cold while in the acute condition, to reduce swelling and pain
Obtain "X" ray and scans to determine the exact degree and position of the damage
Rest and anti inflammatory medication
Use of heat in the recovery- post acute- phase
Support shoes to ensure no further damage while the bones mending
Magnetic Insoles 100Plus MF-10 and MF-11
Meta-Arch Support MFM-1

Give your body TIME to recover, the older you are, the less fit you are, the more you put load on a still mending bone; the long full recovery will take

Domestic Accidents

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE
1)      Stiffness and pain
2)      Swelling and redness to the skin
3)      Reduced mobility

DESCRIPTION
The number of injuries to feet that occur in the home is greater than the number that happens on a sports field. Dropping a frozen chicken onto the top of you foot can break a metatarsal as easy as a kick. Stepping down from a ladder before you reach the bottom rung; that can also damage the metatarsals.

Degenerative Problems

SYMPTOMS INCLUDE
1)Gradual increase in pain
2)      Reduced mobility
3)      Swelling and tenderness
4)      Pain when walking or even standing

DESCRIPTION
This overall term includes arthritis, wear and tear to the joints and calcification of the bones at the joint ends. This reduces the effectiveness of the joint and reduces flexibility.

SOLUTIONS
Use pain killing medication but this is a long term condition and long term use of pain killers is not recommended so consult your medical advisor
Support shoes to ease the load on the whole foot
Magnetic Insoles 100Plus MF-10 and MF-11
Meta-Arch Support MFM-1
Use of alternating heat and cold to relieve the pain
A circle of Gold 9000 spot magnets around the leg some 3 centimeters above the ankle with about 2 centimeters between the magnets.

CONCLUSIONS
In most cases of injury the pain and the cause are easy to identify. With some slightly lesser amounts of damage the adrenaline of activity may mask the pain until afterwards. In cases of degenerative problems the whole thing creeps up on you. In all cases you should have examination to ensure you have a correct diagnosis. It is not easy to tell soft tissue damage from metatarsal damage, some times the swelling needs reducing before even an expert can tell.

Peter Rose FSI
See the training course.... MAGNETIC THERAPY PRACTITIONER CERTIFIED TRAINING COURSE

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