What is Morton’s neuroma, plus symptoms and treatment

Like most individuals, you most likely don’t give your toes a lot thought. But in the event you expertise foot ache, you’re abruptly noticing each step you are taking. You’ll need to work out what’s inflicting it as quickly as attainable, so you may stroll ache free once more. One attainable reason behind your foot ache is Morton’s neuroma.

Morton’s neuroma often outcomes from overly constricting footwear and impacts the nerves within the ball of your foot (between your arch and your toes). It might be very painful however is additionally very treatable.

We’ll go over widespread indicators and symptoms of Morton’s neuroma and the way it can really feel. We’ll additionally clarify the way it’s identified, self-treatment choices and when you must attain out to your physician in the event you’re not getting the spring again in your step.

What causes Morton’s neuroma?

The human body comprises trillions of nerves, and the foot comprises extra nerves per sq. inch than every other a part of your body. The nerves in your toes assist with toe motion, pace and different mobility capabilities.

But if you put on footwear that is tight or rigid and crowds your toes, or if you constantly do actions like strolling and running, the nerves between your third and fourth toes can grow to be irritated and infected, leading to Morton’s neuroma.

It’s essential to notice that the identify Morton’s neuroma might be deceptive. A neuroma is sometimes a benign (not dangerous) tumor. Morton’s neuroma is not a tumor, and it’s not an indication or reason behind most cancers like an precise neuroma might be. Instead, it’s a thickening or swelling within the nerves of the foot.

Risk elements for Morton’s neuroma

This situation might be attributable to quite a lot of elements, however some issues might make you extra vulnerable to it. Risk elements for Morton’s neuroma embody:

• Genetics – While Morton’s neuroma is not an inherited situation, individuals with sure situations like hammertoes, high arches, flat toes and bunions extra generally develop it.
• Footwear – Wearing footwear that place additional pressure in your toes and the balls of your toes could cause Morton’s neuroma to develop. This contains high-heeled pumps, ice skates, rollers skates, males’s gown footwear and different footwear which have a decent toe field and rigid heels.
• Sports and actions – Frequent high-impact exercise, like running and jogging, and different actions, comparable to mountain climbing, ice skating and snowboarding, can topic your toes to repeated trauma that may trigger a bump.

Symptoms of Morton’s neuroma

The first indications that you could have Morton’s neuroma are persistent foot ache within the ball of your foot and the sensation that you simply’re “walking on a marble.” Other symptoms embody:

• Pain between your toes whereas standing or strolling
• Tingling, burning or numbness in your foot
• Swelling between your toes

Symptoms often start step by step, and chances are you’ll not know that Morton’s neuroma is creating. They might occur solely often if you’re doing actions that irritate your toes, then grow to be extra constant over time if not correctly handled.

How Morton’s neuroma is identified

Since Morton’s neuroma is not one thing that may be seen with the bare eye, a podiatrist (foot and ankle physician) will start by performing a bodily examination of your foot, manipulating it to see if they will reproduce symptoms. They’ll additionally ask you about your medical historical past and any household historical past of foot issues.

Your physician ought to be capable to diagnose the difficulty after listening to about your symptoms and performing an examination, however often, additional testing could also be wanted. They might order an X-ray, which gained’t present a neuroma however will help rule out different situations, like a bone fracture, which can be inflicting your symptoms.

Your physician may order an ultrasound to take photos of the affected nerves. If that’s inconclusive, they might then order an electromyography check to measure exercise in your nerves and rule out different situations.

Fortunately, most individuals don’t want surgical procedure to assist with Morton’s neuroma. They can often alleviate their foot ache and symptoms with at-home and over-the-counter therapies.

Change your footwear to scale back symptoms

Most of the time, Morton’s neuroma is attributable to footwear that irritates the nerves of the foot. You can often simply scale back your symptoms by avoiding footwear which are too tight, have a high heel or have a skinny sole.

Instead, select footwear which have a large, deep toe field so there isn’t pressure on the nerves. You may also purchase large footwear or use units to stretch out footwear you already personal to offer aid.

You may also strive over-the-counter arch helps and foot pads. Or your physician might prescribe customized orthotics, like shoe inserts, which are molded to suit your foot to assist scale back pressure on the nerves and assist with ache aid.

Try at-home treatments for Morton’s neuroma self-care

Changing your footwear is an excellent first step, however different self-care therapies you may strive embody:

• Ice therapeutic massage – Icing will help with swelling and lowering ache. Try filling a paper cup with water, freezing it and rolling it over the affected space a number of occasions a day to seek out aid.
• Resting your toes – Try to maintain your foot up and scale back or cease any actions which may be irritating your toes for a number of weeks to offer your self time to heal.
• Losing weight – A bit of additional weight can put pressure on the toes, so shedding a number of kilos will help scale back pressure on the nerves.

Prescription injections and medicine might present aid

For non permanent ache aid, some individuals discover the next strategies useful:

• Foot injections – A corticosteroid might be injected into the neuroma to scale back irritation, and alcohol sclerosing injections will help scale back the scale of the neuroma.
• Over-the-counter ache relievers – Medications like ibuprofen and naproxen will help scale back ache, swelling and irritation.

Physical remedy can lower ache

If at-home therapies aren’t easing your ache, bodily remedy is usually the following step in treating Morton’s neuroma. A bodily therapist can educate you stretches and different methods to alleviate your symptoms so you may carry out therapies at residence. This can embody instructing you:

• Soft-tissue therapeutic massage – Regularly massaging the affected foot will help relieve pressure, improve blood stream, scale back irritation and alleviate pressure on the nerves.
• Joint mobilization – Stretching your plantar fascia and large toes, and rolling your foot over a small ball, like a golf ball, can enhance symptoms and flexibility, and strengthen your foot and assist with foot ache.
• Acupuncture – This is often carried out by knowledgeable who makes use of needles to stimulate sure factors of the body. The purpose of acupuncture when treating Morton’s neuroma is to advertise therapeutic, and scale back irritation and swelling, which in flip will help with ache.

If different strategies haven’t labored, your physician might advocate surgical procedure

Surgery for Morton’s neuroma is often the final possibility if different strategies haven’t labored, as a result of the toes take some time to heal and surgical procedure can result in everlasting numbness within the affected toes. Surgeries your physician might advocate embody:

• Neurectomy – This surgical procedure removes a part of the affected nerve from the balls of the toes.
• Cryogenic surgical procedure – Also often known as cryogenic neuroablation, this process freezes the neuroma and destroys it. But as a result of the nerve isn’t eliminated, there is an opportunity that the neuroma may come again.
• Decompression surgical procedure – This is often solely carried out when different minimally invasive surgical procedures haven’t labored. The overlying tendon that is placing pressure on the nerves is minimize, which decompresses the nerve and reduces the pressure on the neuroma.

Prevent Morton’s neuroma by caring in your toes

Take good care of your toes – in spite of everything, they’re the one ones you could have. Wear snug footwear with loads of room, keep away from tight footwear with high heels, relaxation when you must, stretch and exercise your toes, and observe your physician’s orders.

Prevention is often the most effective drugs relating to foot ache, however when you’ve got foot ache you may’t appear to shake or are involved you could have Morton’s neuroma or one other foot situation, make an appointment with one in every of HealthPartners’ board-certified podiatrists. They will work with you to develop a customized treatment plan that can get you again in your toes and doing the actions you like.