This is a condition that causes pain around the ball of your foot and usually manifests between the second, third and fourth toes.
It is caused by tissue thickening around nerves that lead to your toes creating the sharp pain experienced in the ball of the foot or make your toes sting, burn or feel numb.
With Morton’s Neuroma the pain is usually localised because it affects the nerve between the metatarsal heads. It is not to be confused with other conditions such as Metatarsalgia.
Morton’s Neuroma is often linked with high-heeled shoes and switching to lower heeled shoes with enclosed toes can provide relief.
Symptoms
There are a few different symptoms that can be confirmed by your podiatrist of health professional.
- Feeling like you are standing on a stone or there’s something in your shoe
- Experiencing burning in ball of your foot that could spread to your toes
- Numbness or pins and needles in your toes
- Sharp stabbing pain in the ball of the foot.
Assessment
To confirm Morton’s Neuroma , diagnostic and treatment program. In this situation you may also be sent for an X-ray, ultrasound or MRI.
Treatment
Treatment for Morton’s Neuroma are usually non-surgical. This could be one or a combination of the following:
- Stop doing your exercise regime of strenuous activity and rest as much as possible
- Ice the area of pain as required during the day, you can use an ice pack or other method for this, as long as this is done for up to 20 minutes until the skin becomes numb
- Anti-inflammatory medication like Voltaren or ibuprofen help reduce swelling and pain
- Dry needling helps to reduce any adhesions between the 2/3/4 met’s in the foot
- Foot mobilisation helps to realign any bones in the foot and reduce stress
- Crown Medical Orthotics helps to support and align the foot into its neutral position and separate the metatarsal area from each other. A metatarsal dome is applied either between the 2/3 mets or the ¾ mets the foot.
- A last resort would be Cortisone injections