Have you found yourself sitting down to take off your shoes looking for a rock in your shoe only to find nothing there? Or what about the times when you are wearing one of your favorite pair of high heels and suddenly feel a burning shooting pain in the ball of your foot and your toes begin to sting. I imagine that you kick off your shoes as quick as you can hoping to find some relief. If you said yes or nodded your head to any of these symptoms you may be dealing with a Morton’s Neuroma.
Morton’s neuroma is found around the ball of the foot, most commonly around the third and fourth toes. Some describe it as a burning, tingling, stinging, a rock or a bunched-up sock in their shoe. A Morton’s neuroma is described as a thickening of the layers of tissue that surround the nerves that run to your toes. The exact cause of the thickening is not known, but most often is seen due to irritation. Some common causes of irritation can be from a tight-fitting shoe, high heels, or repeated movements in the foot like running. These elements may initially cause damage to the nerve and the constant use of your feet continue to irritate the area and the nerve. Most often when you look and rub your foot you may not see or feel anything strange, but you definitely feel the pain.
Some things relieve the pain, such as removing the tight shoe, icing, or rubbing the foot. However, there is usually no better treatment than seeing a Podiatrist about the problem. You may say that you can deal with the pain and wait for it to go away, however the pain from a Morton’s neuroma usually gets worse with time.
Your Podiatrist may recommend a couple of different treatments for a Morton’s neuroma such us: special shoe inserts (orthotics), wearing wider shoes, padding to the area, medications to block the nerve pain, injections to calm the inflammation and of course the last resort would be surgery.
Call us today to make an appointment to take your pain away. With our help we can get you back on your feet, back to your favorite activities, and back to enjoying life.
PA Foot and Ankle Associates 