Help! Sheep hunt in 2 weeks, Metatarsalgia flare up......

If it were me and I had a sheep hunt which generally don't come around to often I wouldn't mess around. You probably have gotten some good suggestions on here but man I wouldn't risk the science of people on the internet that haven't had a chance to even look at your foot.

I am partial but I would go see a physical therapist and in Colorado you have a ton of them. My wife is one and I have seen her do some pretty amazing things for people and myself. It isn't always a quick easy fix but bare minimum you will get a specific treatment plan that should make a positive impact. If it is muscle related you can try dry needling. I thought it sounded crazy but has worked wonders for different things for me in the past. I would also look for a PT who has a specialty in feet if you can. A doctor is fine but they generally end up recommending you to go see somebody that specifically works on functionality like a PT.
 
Any toe stretches other than pulling my toes up?
Pulling toes up, spreading them out wide. I also lay on my back, lift my butt and bend my leg so that my toes are pushed into the ground kind of under my butt ( also stretching quad). Sounds awkward, and maybe it is, but really allows deep stretch in bottom of foot
 
Does it feel like the ball of your foot is bruised or does it feel like ligaments have been irritated/inflamed?

Every year the hunts where I'm putting in miles and miles daily under weight of my full pack after 6 or 7 days I'll start to get the feeling in my foot where the ball of my foot feels bruised. Massaging, similar to foam rolling other muscles, seems to help it. The RICE method seems to help me shake it within a week or so after I get home.
 
I've had different foot issues mainly stemming from breaking a big toe in wrestling over twenty years ago. That issue made a bunion and that bunion caused plantar fasciitis. The plantar fasciitis didn't get better until I dealt with the big toe. I would go see a doctor or a PT and try to figure out root cause. I had a knee flair up before a hunt and I had a cortisone shot and it helped me a lot. My two cents.
 
This is just thinking out loud. . .

I don’t know anything about feet other than professionally made insoles really do work. A good podiatrist will sort it out. When the ex wife worked for a podiatrist he took the whole staff to a baseball game and we chatted a lot on the trip. One of the things I’ve always been curious about is how often people step on needles or something sharp. He sees someone every week with something in their foot, often the person had no idea, they just know it hurts.

Not saying you need new boots, but I use Superfeet insoles in Asolo boots and it feels a lot like I’m walking primarily on the arches. Hoka walking shoes feel a lot like those boots - might be worth trying on a pair of Hokas to see if they might help give the balls of your feet a break.
 
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Does it feel like the ball of your foot is bruised or does it feel like ligaments have been irritated/inflamed?

Every year the hunts where I'm putting in miles and miles daily under weight of my full pack after 6 or 7 days I'll start to get the feeling in my foot where the ball of my foot feels bruised. Massaging, similar to foam rolling other muscles, seems to help it. The RICE method seems to help me shake it within a week or so after I get home.
I think it probably feels more like a bruise
 
I had the same thing. Steep downhill descent, factory insoles, wasnt laced well enough, bam out for 3-4 weeks with met pain. Rest was really the only cure. To prevent it I went to an insole with a met pad and it has made a world of difference in all of my pain, foot and back alike.
 
Stretch your calves before you get out of bed and a couple times a day after that. Get a lacrosse ball to roll your foot on until you find a knot then focus in on it.
 
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