What is a Morton’s Neuroma in the Foot?

A Morton’s neuroma is a reasonably frequent painful disorder affecting the ball of the foot. Between the metatarsal bones in the ball of the foot there are nerves, and these nerves could be inflammed if squeezed between those metatarsal heads. Because of this irritation, fibrosis tissue develops around the nerve and may become painful. This isn’t really a true neuroma, however the term has been used for a while and is used by most people to describe this disorder. It is more prevalent relating to the third and fourth metatarsal bones.

The explanation for a Mortons neuroma is footwear which are too small. This squeezes the front foot, and the metatarsal bones impinge on the nerves to aggravate them and cause problems. A higher heel footwear and a increased body weight may also bring about it. Those people who are more active are also more likely to get this condition. To begin with it just feels like an discomfort on the bottom of the ball of the foot. Often it feels as though you are walking on a sock which is scrunched up and when you look into the sock it is fine. Since it advances you can begin to get sharp shooting pains from the ball of the foot into the toes, most often between your 3rd and 4th toes. At a later time the discomfort can be really agonizing and be present most of the time. At first taking the footwear off and massaging the area can alleviate it, but down the road this tends not to help. Ultrasound examination may be used to help determine the diagnosis.

The initial method of the treatment of a Mortons neuroma is to obtain wider fitting shoes to lessen the pressure that the metatarsal heads place on the nerve. Going without shoes as frequently as possible, especially in the early stages, is a good idea. A metatarsal pad is frequently employed to help spread the metatarsal bones to further decrease the pressure. This pad could be adhered directly on the foot or stuck to an insole or within the footwear. It is vital that this pad is placed in such a location that it does spread the bones. When it is in the incorrect location, then it may not help at decreasing the pain. The using of wider footwear as well as the use of a metatarsal pad will normally help out with most cases, particularly if it is used in the first stages before it gets too established. When this doesn’t help, then the following step if generally injection therapy. This procedure might be just a local anesthetic or a corticosteroid injection. Occasionally an alcohol injection is given to dissolve the affected nerve tissue. In the event the disorder progresses and these steps aren’t helping, the next thing is surgical treatment in which the damaged nerve tissue is taken away. They can do this with an incision on the top or the bottom of the foot. When injections or surgical procedures are used, it’s still vital that you stay with the wider footwear or it may possibly just occur again. Employing a metatarsal pad in the long run can also be preferable to stop it occurring again.