Morton’s Neuroma

Prevention

Reduce your risk.

The most effective way to prevent Morton’s Neuroma is to avoid excessive irritation, pressure or injury to the foot.Other foot stress factors include:

• Ill-fitting shoes. Wearing high-heels, and shoes that are too tight or place extra pressure on the toes and the balls of the feet should be limited and not worn for an extended period of time.
• Types of exercise. High-impact sports and activities, such as jogging or running, subject feet to increased exposure to repetitive stress and trauma. Counteract these stress effects by substituting strenuous exercises for lower impact ones, or alternate between the two.
• Certain sports. Be mindful of the type of footwear required for certain sports and activities. Snow skiing and rock climbing require tight shoes and put an extraneous amount of pressure on the toes, making it beneficial to limit these activities.
• Foot deformities. Treating foot deformities, such as bunions, hammertoes, high arches or flatfeet, eliminates the high risk that the presence of these deformities adds to developing Morton’s Neuroma. Avoiding treatment of these deformities increases the risk for developing the condition.

Symptoms

Pinpoint your pain.

Morton’s Neuroma symptoms are typically felt, rather than seen, and intensify as the neuroma grows. These symptoms include:

• Tingling or numbness in the toes
• A sensation that resembles walking on marbles or pebbles
• Burning pain in the ball of your foot that may radiate into the toes

Diagnosis

Get the answers you need.

Often times, to diagnose Morton’s Neuroma, doctors will physically evaluate a patient’s foot by pressing on the foot in the affected area to feel for a mass or tender spot. Physicians will also keep an eye out for the presence of a “clicking” feeling between the bones of the foot. Our physicians will use X-rays, ultrasound or an MRI for further diagnosis and to determine the severity of the condition.

Treatment

Life’s too short to put up with pain.

After diagnosis, the treatment approach is evaluated. The severity of the Morton’s Neuroma condition determines the treatment method. For early stages or less severe cases, conservative treatment may be used, which involves the use of custom foot orthotics and footpads to lessen the pressure that’s being put on the affected nerve and the balls of the feet. For more severe cases or instances where conservative treatment methods fail, our physicians will use alternative treatment measures to treat Morton’s Neuroma. These methods include:

• Injections. Steroid injections temporarily alleviate pain in the affected area.
• Decompression surgery. This procedure aims to relieve the pressure that’s being applied to the nerve by cutting nearby structures, such as ligaments that bind together some of the bones in the front of the foot.
• Removal of the nerve. Surgically removing the growth that formed on the nerve may be necessary if other treatments fail to provide pain relief.