Morton's Neuroma Causes and Treatments

Cause

Today’s topic is Morton’s neuroma.  A neuroma is basically a pinched nerve that occurs just behind the toes, so you’re going to feel some symptoms in the ball of your foot.  A lot of people say that they feel like their sock is bunched up in their shoe, but they keep pulling and adjusting that sock and nothing happens and it feels the same.  This can also get more painful to cause numbness, burning, and stinging in the ball of the foot and in the toes.  


Treatments

There are several things that we can do to take care of this problem.  The first thing that we will do is look at the shoes that you’re wearing.  Many of our shoes are more constricting and tight around the toes - that’s the fashion.  It’s rare to find a shoe that looks like a foot.  So that’s the first thing that we will do to solve this problem.  

Other times, we need more support under the foot.  If the foot is flapping out, or there are other biomechanical problems, we will look at supporting the foot with a supportive insole or perhaps a functional orthotic.  That will help balance out all of those pressures and take the pressure off of that nerve.  

Cortisone injections are another possible solution to the problem.  Cortisone is a good anti-inflammatory medication, so it actually reduces inflammation around the nerve, and then when we add the proper shoe and an orthotic insert, that can be a winning combination and solve this problem.  

In some extreme cases, we actually need to do some surgery and either loosen up that nerve or excise the nerve.  

These are all common things that we do and see here at the Hermiston Family Foot Clinic every day.  If you’re having any problems with a neuroma or pain in the ball of your foot or toes, come in and see us and we’ll get it fixed.