Medical Questions » Feet Questions » Question No. 372
| Question: | The tendons under the arches of my feet are sore and lumpy. It feels like standing on a painful pea. Please advise me who I should see to have this problem fixed. |
| Answer: | The painful pea under your foot is probably a ganglion. There are other explanations, but this is by far the most likely-Tendons in the hands and feet are like cables that run through smooth pipes. The tendons are coated with a lubricating fluid in these pipes (called tendon sheaths) so that they run smoothly. If a tendon sheath gets a puncture, the lubricating fluid leaks out under pressure to form a fluid filled cyst. This cyst feels like a hard lump because the fluid in it is under pressure.
This type of cyst is called a ganglion. Sometimes ganglions burst and disappear, but often they re-form again over a few weeks.
They can be treated by draining out the fluid through a needle, but often they come back again, despite doctors sometimes injecting a steroid to try and reduce the inflammation and damage.
The best solution is to have a small operation to remove the ganglion permanently. This procedure is usually performed by an orthopaedic surgeon.
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