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Is this morton's neuroma?

Posted , 21 users are following.

miklish
miklish

I first noticed a numbness on the bottom of 2 of my toes (3rd and 4th) about 8 months ago.  I then soon noticed a burning sensation.....like walking on a pebble, on the ball of my foot......and both of these conditions have stayed with me ever since, although at times I am less conscious of it than other times.  3 weeks ago I started having the same ball of foot pain in my other foot- although not the numb toes.  I am male, 54, generally very healthy and not over weight.  I am a walker and before this played tennis.  Any help/suggestions greatly appreciated.  

2 likes, 31 replies

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  • jack717
    jack717 miklish

    Posted

    Classic symptom's of MN...I think I have it too but my pain is more in the toe nails...I wrap my 3rd and 4th toes in thick tissue and it alleviates the pain a lot...I'm gonna get a proper toe spacer soon....and an injection too. I'm 56 and play tennis as well.
    • miklish
      miklish jack717

      Posted

      Thanks Jack.  I have now seen a podatrist (the Dr. didn't have much idea) and they have said MN looks likely.  I also have incredibly high arches apparently (that may be the cause I understand).  At least hearing it has a name has stopped me being so worried that I have something worse  - like diabetes or MS!  I have never had anything chronic before and I am amazed how this is affecting me.  I will be having an steroid injection but it seems they are often not effective, and further down the road surgery may be the only answer.  I hope you get yours sorted.  Let me know how the toe spacers and injection works.
    • ukulele_girl
      ukulele_girl miklish

      Posted

      I Had surgey about six or seven years ago to remove my MN and I have never had pain in that foot since. It was the best thing I ever did. But now I have MN in my other foot but will not hesitate to have surgery again. I tried the injections which did not work for me also had insoles made again did not help. Good luck.
    • miklish
      miklish ukulele_girl

      Posted

      Thanks for this. Good luck with surgery on your other foot.
    • joanne50026
      joanne50026 jack717

      Posted

      Hi Jack, i haven't been on this site for a long time and you wrote this over a year ago, I was just wondering how your MN is going, I have tried a lot of things without success, you said you wrap you toes in tissue, do you wrap them seperately or together and do you tape it on? I'm thinking of getting a toe spacer, are you having any luck with that?

  • lora88054
    lora88054 miklish

    Posted

    I had neuromas and had the surgery.i DO NOT recommend it.now I have nerve damage and will be in constant pain forever.iv been to several doctors who have all said well now it's just about trying to make you comfortable.which is impossible when I spend 8 hours a day on my feet.agin I say do not try having the removed.
    • penelope09654
      penelope09654 lora88054

      Posted

      hi.  just read your post.  I have had the same experience as you.  I am in constant pain and I don't know what to do.  I have not been given much hope.  I have more pain now than I ever had with the MN and that was pretty bad.  I am so desperate to find a solution.  but who can help?
    • jane1975
      jane1975 lora88054

      Posted

      Hi there i had a mortons neuroma removed in november 2014 after suffering for 5 years, it is now june 2015 and have been in constant pain ever since i had it doen.

      i wish i had not had the surgery as i feel i am in more pain now than i was before,

      when i went back to the doctor she said she thought my transverse arch had collapsed as it felt like i was walking on the bone so sent me for a scan, i just got the results back and it shows i have a bursa in my foot with fluid and inflammation around the scar tissue so i am in the process of been reffered back to the surgeon to see what can be done next,

      To all people thinking of having surgery i would just think if u can manage with it then dont jump in and have it try alternative things first like insoles or pads to cushion your foot leave surgery as a very last option.

  • miklish
    miklish

    Posted

    Thanks Jack and Lora for responding.  I have to say that while I appreciate very much the frankness of your message Lora (and massively sympathise with the plight you are in), it is pretty depressing as I understand that surgery is often the only option to get rid of this condition.  Or is that not the case?  I have also read that sugery is successful over 80% of the time.  But again.....I don't know.  My podiatrist is keen that I explore other options (and is not certain yet that it is Morton's and that it may be to do with a trapped nerve in the back as I have a somewhat curved spine).  She has also suggested a vigorous programme of yoga (seems odd to me - but I'm trying it).  I have also heard that acupuncture may be good for this condition (although I did not hear this from my podiatrist).  I feel a bit desperate here to be honest.  I guess I have always been very active and healthy and walking (mountaineering and treking) have been a part of my life.  I am totally new to forums like this, but I would really appreciate any practical suggestions.  Many thanks.
    • tracy10304
      tracy10304 miklish

      Posted

      Hi Miklish. I, too, have had MN surgery and am in more pain today than before my surgery. Constant stinging nerve pain.  My neuroma was pretty good size, and clicked when I walked. I'm not sure I could have stood not to have it removed, however it SMARTS ALL the TIME. AS I TYPE THIS, I see that this post was from over a year ago. Oh well...  Let us know. Did you have the surgery?  If so, how did it go??
  • ukulele_girl
    ukulele_girl miklish

    Posted

    Sounds like Morton's Neuroma to me, ask your G.P, to refer you to the hospital to have it checked out. I had mine taken out and have never had a problem with that foot since. However my other foot has now started with the same thing but I will not hesitate to have it taken out as well. Good luck.
  • janet44839
    janet44839 miklish

    Posted

    Hi there, I'm new to this site but I thought I'd add to what you've been talking about.  I'm 57 now and for the past ten or 11 years I've had this Mortons Neuroma.  Sounds silly but I've only just had it diagnosed properly this year.  I should have done something about it sooner but it got left and time went in.  I have numbness in the 3rd and 4th toes on my right foot and the horrible burning and feeling of hot needles between and in the toes and it feels like I'm walking on pebbles.  At first I thought it was my sock wrinkling up, but it wasn't.  I have always enjoyed walking and since my husband retired, we now live in Cumbria and enjoy the Lake District Fell Walking, it's our passion and the thought of not being able to do it really depresses me.  I've had umpteen walking boots, socks etc but nothing is comfortable. I always end up taking off my boot after a couple of miles and  have to do this several times during the walk.  In March this year I was referred to a NHS Podiatrist who confirmed the suspicions I've had for all these years and diagnosed Mortons Neuroma.  They fitted me with some Slimflex insoles with arch support and also stuck a firm density sponge pad underneath the insole behind the Metatarsal. They said this was to support it. I didn't think this would do much good but it worked for a while and I was able to walk in reasonable comfort for the first time in years.  However, this didn't last long before the pain was back so I tried doubling up on the sponge pad and this gave some relief for another few months.  To be honest, I've tried so many insoles you wouldn't believe and I can't get this sponge that the NHS put under the insole for love not money.  I've tried other sponges but they just flatten.  Anyway, I am going back to the Podiatrist in a few weeks to re-access my feet and see what they can come up with next.  I really don't want to have surgery for fear that it might not work and it will prevent me walking.  I'd sooner walk with some pain than not walk at all. There seems so very little information about this on the internet other than what the condition is but not how to deal with it.  Any information you might have gathered would be gratefully received. 
    • miklish
      miklish janet44839

      Posted

      Hi Janet

      I know exactly how you feel and I sympathise. I had a MRI on both feed last week and yesterday was told by my podiatrist that although I have some classic symptoms of Morten's (folded sock/pebble feeling....2 numb toes - at least numb on the bottom of the toe) there is nothing in the MRI to show that it is definitively morton's. She strongly suspects it is to do with my nervous system and may be something trapped in my spine. But she also points out that I have incredibly tight calf muscles and very little flexibility in my legs (despite being pretty fit and healthy). I have very high arches and I've always walked (when going uphill) on the ball of my foot. Clearly, being a keen walker, I have always put a huge amount of pressure there. I don't know how much of this may relate to your situation.

      I am now waiting to see a spinal specialist to see what he thinks. My podiatrist has also given another option that she thinks would ease things alot - and that is extending the tendons (I think tendons!) that go to each toe, making me spread my weight more on my feet. Of course I'd rather avoid surgery, but she tells me this is pretty standard stuff. Other than that, I have heard that sthat surgery has worked in most cases (but not all) to remove a neuroma. I have also heard that in some cases simply changing shoes and using insoles works (not for you or me so far it seems!) and a couple of cases of acupuncture helping a lot.Interestingly my highly experienced podiatrist who is a leading foot surgeon, feels that surgury while generally very good should be the last option, and she feels that the underlying causes (at least in my case) are likely to be to do with my gait and posture and that this can be sorted (slowly) through really intensive yoga. While open minded on such things I am not normally given to such holistic measures, but I really can see the sense in what she says. I have been trying yoga for a while, but it is hard to get the right practice......I am alos looking into that. Whatever else, it seems to be doing me some good generally!

    • janet44839
      janet44839 miklish

      Posted

      Ummmmh it's a head ache alright all of this.  I am fit for my age, always walked and exercised but my feet have got steadily worse over time.  Bunions, Long Second toes, and this Mortons.  Presuming it is that, the Podiatrist wasn't absolutely certain.  When I go back in a  few weeks she might refer me to a specialist and then I might get somewhere.  Thanks for your reply.
    • miklish
      miklish janet44839

      Posted

      Hi again. As we seem to be in remarkably similar positions I was just wondering how you are getting on? I have now had an MRI on my lower spine and am awaiting results. Meanwhle the balls of both my feet remain, to varying degrees, very sensitive and range from being a mild irritant to driving me rather crazy! Recently I had to travel for work to Bangladesh, and passing through Dubai airport I called into a chemist and brought an Italian sort of metatarsal support product. It is a jelly like consistency. I don't wear it all the time, but when my feet are at their sorest it certainly helps. I wonder if this is the kind of thing you were looking for. I could send the name but if I do so the forum may think I'm advertising so I'm lothe to do that. I have also now found an excellent yoga teacher and simply exercising and massaging the foot in the way she suggest has certainly helped. All best. Mike
    • penelope09654
      penelope09654 janet44839

      Posted

      hi Janet  I am new to this forum.  I had the MN op almost 2 years ago.  I had been in awful pain for years and was made to feel so optimistic about having the MN removed. Sonce then, I have been in even worse pain and the surgeon has just said that 'he removed the neuroma, so he had done his job'!  I have constant burning and shooting pains in my foot. I cannot drive for very long because even slight pressure on the controls is agony. My GP does not know what to suggest.  I am so depressed.  I was so active...skiing, walking, fitness classes.  Now all this is just awful.  think carefully about having operations such as this.  I feel very let down.  good luck with it all
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