Dealing With Mortons Neuroma

Overview

MortonMorton's neuroma (also known as Morton neuroma, Morton's metatarsalgia, Morton's neuralgia, plantar neuroma, intermetatarsal neuroma, and interdigital neuroma) is a benign neuroma of an intermetatarsal plantar nerve, most commonly of the second and third intermetatarsal spaces (between 2nd-3rd and 3rd-4th metatarsal heads), which results in the entrapment of the affected nerve. The main symptoms are pain and/or numbness, sometimes relieved by removing footwear.

Causes

It's not always clear what causes Morton's neuroma, but several things seem to aggravate it. These include other foot-related problems and wearing restrictive footwear. It's thought that Morton's neuroma may be caused by the toe bones (metatarsal bones) pressing against the nerve when the gap between the bones is narrow. This causes the nerve and surrounding tissue to thicken.

Symptoms

Symptoms typically include pain, often with pins and needles on one side of a toe and the adjacent side of the next toe. Pain is made worse by forefoot weight bearing and can also be reproduced by squeezing the forefoot to further compress the nerve. Pressing in between the third and forth metatarsals for example with a pen can also trigger symptoms.

Diagnosis

Plain x-rays of the foot may demonstrate that one or more of the metatarsals are long (Figure #5). Not uncommonly, the second and/or third metatarsal may be long relative to the third or fourth. This can create a situation where excessive load is occurring in and around the vicinity of the interdigital nerve.

Non Surgical Treatment

If you have Morton's neuroma, shoes with a wider toe area may be recommended. You can also take painkillers to help ease the pain. Steroid injections may also be given to treat the affected nerve. If these treatments don't work, surgery may be needed. This involves removing the thickened tissue around the nerve (and sometimes the nerve itself) to release the pressure.Morton

Surgical Treatment

Should the problem have progressed beyond the point where these measures are sufficient, the podiatric professional may recommend surgery. This procedure involves excision of the involved nerve mass. This will relieve the pain. Many patients report permanent numbness in the spot formerly affected by the neuroma, but prefer it to the pain. Most surgeries are successful; unfortunately, there are cases where the patient suffers another neuroma, sometimes in or near the same spot as before. A podiatric professional can explain the statistics of recurrence in various cases. If you suspect a neuroma, don?t wait for it to get better on its own. The earlier the diagnosis, the higher the likelihood that it can be treated with conservative measures. Don?t think that foot pain of any kind is inevitable, either, even if it runs in your family.