| Pain around the top and middle part of the foot is | | | | such as heavy manual work, sport, being overweight |
| normally the first complaint when an individual develops | | | | and family history. However, for many people, the |
| midfoot arthritis. This pain may be described as sharp | | | | cause will not be known. Like all forms of osteoarthritis, |
| or burning and is typically worse when standing or | | | | or 'wear and tear', the condition becomes more |
| walking. Patients often describe the worst pain as | | | | common in the middle-aged and elderly. |
| being first thing in the morning, or the first steps after | | | | The cause of midfoot arthritis can also be a different |
| sitting or lying for some time. | | | | type of arthritis, called Rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid |
| Physical examination may reveal swelling and there | | | | arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Your immune |
| may be general tenderness in the midfoot area. Over | | | | system, which usually fights infection, attacks the lining |
| time, it is common for a bony prominence called a | | | | of your joints, causing them to become inflamed and |
| tarsal boss to develop, which can cause irritation with | | | | painful. The joints of the hands and the feet are the |
| shoe wear and difficulty finding comfortable footwear. | | | | first to be affected. |
| Without treatment, midfoot arthritis can lead to | | | | Midfoot arthritis is sometimes overlooked by doctors |
| flattening of the foot arches and cause the midfoot to | | | | who are not specialists in the foot and ankle because |
| turn outwards. | | | | there are so many small joints in the midfoot. A careful |
| The term arthritis is used to describe the loss of the | | | | clinical assessment needs to be combined with special |
| cartilage which lines and cushions the surface of the | | | | x-ray views of the joints. Scans may be required as |
| joint. Normal, healthy cartilage allows the joints to move | | | | well to identify exactly which joints are involved. By |
| smoothly. If the cartilage becomes damaged, its | | | | being thorough in these initial stages arthritis is easier to |
| surface becomes rough, causing pain and stiffness | | | | diagnose and treatment can commence quicker; this |
| within the joint. It can affect any joints within the body | | | | of course will ensure that you don't suffer any more |
| and is commonly found in those that receive the most | | | | pain or discomfort than is strictly necessary. |
| usage, including hands and wrists as well as knees and | | | | Treatment options include supportive orthotic devices, |
| ankles. | | | | physiotherapy, anti-inflammatory medicines and |
| Midfoot arthritis can develop following a major injury, | | | | selective X-ray guided joint injections. If these |
| such as a foot or ankle fracture, causing the cartilage | | | | treatments are unsuccessful, surgical fusion of midfoot |
| to wear out with greater speed than it might do in | | | | joints can provide good, long-term pain relief. Midfoot |
| normal conditions. More commonly, the condition | | | | fusion results in a relatively small degree of mobility |
| develops due to daily wear and tear that our bodies | | | | loss, however the majority of patients report much |
| undergo during a lifetime. This sort of problem is called | | | | improved pain relief and overall foot function. |
| osteoarthritis and may be linked to different factors | | | | |