I have had chronic pain in the ball of my foot since last November/December. It has gotten to the point that I have had to stop running, which is very difficult for me. I went to a podiatrist back in April, and he diagnosed me with Sesamoiditis, which means one of the little (corn sized) bones next to the big toe is inflamed. I got fitted for orthopedic inserts to wear with my running shoes to try to correct the way my foot hits the ground when I run...however, it has not helped and I have not been able to run since July 12th. BUT - he did say it usually helps correct the problem in most people. I am wondering if you have the same thing? I have a lot of pain on the ball of my foot under the big toe. Sometimes it migrates over to a few other toes but it's mainly under the big toe. It also gets very stiff after just one run, and I have a hard time bending my big toe for days afterwards. It doesn't bend very far, either, and bending it in any sort of way is painful even if I'm not running. I have been "resting" it since July 12th (for almost two months now), and it is still painful although it's not as bad as when I run. From what I read, after you take the appropriate steps to try to make this better it can still take months to heal. I hope this helps...if you get any extra info from your Doctor I'd love to hear it. Thanks...
I agree with the bone spur idea. It can hurt your whole foot. See a podiatrist.
It could also be a bone spur. Get it checked by a doctor.
It could be caused by previous foot injuries but also you could have an inflamed lumbar nerve.The lumbar nerves control different lower areas and if one is mildly inflamed it could be contributing to the pain.Just a thought.