Good Feet: Metatarsalgia
July 14th, 2008Pain in the ball of the foot (called metatarsalgia) may have many different causes (including arthritis, poor circulation, pinching of the nerves between the toes, posture problems, and various disorders). However, most often the pain is caused by nerve damage or by an abnormality of the joints nearest the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints). Often, developing one disorder that causes pain in the ball of the foot contributes to development of another disorder that causes pain in the same location.
From this site: http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec05/ch072/ch072b.html