Oh, My Aching Feet! 

Are the balls of your feet sore?  Well, there's a name for that -- metatarsalgia!  It's a common foot disorder characterized by acute, recurrent, or chronic pain at the ball of the foot under the metatarsal heads, usually caused by excessive pressure to the area over a long period of time.

The most common causes of metatarsalgia are ill-fitting shoes that squeeze the ball of your foot into a too-narrow toe box or have heels that are too high, or lack sufficient cushioning and support for high-impact activities. Older people are also more susceptible to pain in this area because the fat pads in the soles of our feet naturally thin out as we age.

The first step in treating metatarsalgia is to determine the cause of the pain. If poorly fitting footwear is the culprit, try switching to shoes that have a high, wide toe box and rocker soles. This allows your foot to spread out comfortably, while also reducing stress to your forefoot as you walk. You can add orthotics with metatarsal pads inside your shoes, as well, to cushion sore spots and redistribute pressure more evenly across the bottom of your foot. (Of course, Z-CoiL shoes combine all these features!)

If the problem persists, you should consult your foot doctor.