Morton’s Neuroma

Morton's Neuroma Q&A

What is Morton’s neuroma?

Morton’s neuroma is a bundle of thickened nerve tissue in your foot, most commonly between the third and fourth toes. When you have this kind of neuroma, it often feels like you’re standing on a pebble or bunched-up sock.

Morton’s neuroma often causes sharp pain, stinging, burning, or numbness in the ball of your foot. Sometimes, the pain may shoot into your toes as well. Although it feels like a bump, Morton’s neuroma doesn’t typically cause an obvious outward bump that you can see on the ball of your foot.

What causes Morton’s neuroma?

Morton’s neuroma can develop when there’s unusual pressure on any of the nerves leading to your toes. This pressure can happen for a variety of reasons, with some of the most common factors being:

• Biomechanical foot issues, like flat feet or hammertoe
• Nerve trauma due to injury
• Improper footwear, such as shoes that force you onto the balls of the foot constantly
• Recurrent foot stress, like running

Your Toetal Podiatry specialist performs a comprehensive foot exam and may use the in-office digital X-rays and ultrasound machine to rule out other conditions and diagnose your neuroma. By observing your footwear and asking questions about your lifestyle, the podiatrist can often find the cause of your neuroma, too.

What is the treatment for Morton’s neuroma?

The Toetal Podiatry team uses a comprehensive treatment approach to plan your return to full function. They customize your treatment for your particular lifestyle and personal needs. Some of the novel nonsurgical treatment approaches for Morton’s neuroma include:

• Custom foot orthotics with special neuroma pad modifications
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
• Stem cell injections
• Hyaluronic acid injections

If you have a stubborn neuroma that doesn’t improve with nonsurgical treatments, you may need a minor surgical procedure in the Toetal Podiatry office.

The podiatric surgeons perform cryosurgery, which freezes and shrinks the neuroma. This procedure is far less invasive than a surgical nerve excision, and it requires much less downtime as well.

The Toetal Podiatry team can relieve your Morton’s neuroma pain with little-to-no downtime, so make your appointment online or call the office to schedule your consultation with a friendly podiatrist now.