Morton's Neuroma

bad luck.  I have suffered for years with this pain and in the end I was persuaded to have the op.  The pain I have now is just constant and not the electric shocks.  I am kept awake all night with horrible burning pains and I cannot drive ( right foot) because pressure, even light, on the pedals is terribly painful. Plus other shooting, random pains.  I bitterly regret having the op but maybe I was just unlucky with a very unsympathetic surgeon who just dismissed my complaints with 'well I did my job so I don't know what the problem could be '.  I was not offered injections as I was told they would not help me. I really hope you find a solution.  I also used to love jogging and lots of aerobic, energetic exercises plus walking.  All in the past now.I have had orthpaedic insoles etc but nothing helps!  good luck! and maybe you WILL be a lucky one!!

Thanks Penelope09654. Any feedback is good feedback. As much as I want this gone I am not keen to rush into anything.

Sorry to hear your opp didnt go well- How unfortunate!

I wear orthotics too, but they don't seem to do much other than enable me to walk 1km as opposed to 500m!

Any excercises that could maybe help?

Yes. Calf stretching exercises, which will affect the foot. Put your hands against the wall and bend the other leg until you feel the calf muscle in the bad leg tighten. Stretch until it just begins to hurt, but no more. Do this for 30 seconds. Then do the other leg - prevention is always a good idea! Do three sessions on each leg three times a day. This exercise was given to me by an NHS physiotherapist, and I really wish I'd been told about them earlier. 

I'm not sure what to say to you but if you look back to my comments 21 days ago it will tell you of  my experiences.

I've been in pain for years and it has taken all this time to get someone to listen to me. I don't think the pain you are suffering is totally down to Mortons. Pins and needles could be neuropathy.

I had injections in both feet 7-8 months ago and they helped, but the pain was not where the Mortons was and consequently the pain has returned into this area. I have been told it could be a  Metarso-phalangeal planter plate problem but as yet I haven't followed this trough.

I don't mean to sound negative just don't rush into anything.

Your surgeon did not do his job. His job is to make an accurate diagnosis and offer a curative management plan such as others can do. I believe that he has failed to do both. He assumed the privileged responsibility of treating you for which he is handsomely paid. His job is not to perform useless ritual surgical procedures, and instead a continued responsibility rests with him to bring you back to health.

I'm just reading all these latest comments with my foot in agony and sympathising with you all.  When out walking, the main pain starts at the beginning of the scar where I had my op for a supposed MN which turned out not to be that.  It then radiates across the top of the foot and then underneath.  The pain is worse now than before I had the unecessary surgery.  Some days aren't too bad,but today, the deep burning is awful and massage and ice packs only temporarily help.  I' wondering if i'm stuck with this for the rest of my life.  Do you think the calf exercises will help and does anyone have any suggestions for pain relief apart from the usual painkillers?  Am just wondering if arthritis has set in.

I think you are right. The worst thing is the arrogance of the man.  I pinned lots of hopes on that op and accepted that I would have numbness between the toes....this had to be better than pain!  I have that plus all the other agonies!!  I must try to find another opinion but my GP was quite pessimistic so I have not made much effort.  good luck to EVERYONE

sounds a bit like my experiences.  I think I did have a mn but I assume that during the op something got damaged in my foot, hence the plethora of nasty pains and sensations that I experience. At night my foot feels as though it is on fire and I cannot sleep at all.  Nothing seems to help. I will try exercises as suggested.  thanks

It is not unlikely that you now have a "real" neuroma , caused by the surgical injury to the nerve which was cut. A good starting point would be to inject the "beginning point" of the pain (in the scar) with a combination of steroid and local anaesthetic. If the pain is promptly abolished (by the local anaesthetic) then you have a diagnosis. Cortisone is often effective in treating "post traumatic neuromas".

My operation was only 4 months ago.  Could a "real" neuroma have occurred in that short space of time?  I was wondering if that might be the case.  The surgeon did remove a fatty fibrous tissue and said it wasn't a neuroma.  I'm not sure what the difference is.  It was also in the second web space which I believe is more unusual for a proper neuroma.  I'm told that the ball of foot pain is metatarsalgia, but that isn't as bad as the top of foot pain at the site of the op which I'm now experiencing.  If it carries on I'll have to go back for some advice.  Thank you for your helpful advice.

I am new to this forum but hoping you can help. I had MN surgery on my right foot between my 3rd and 4th toes ion 4/3/15. I ended up getting 2 infections in my foot and a hypertrophic scar. But I didn't have the neuroma pain any longer. I have been gradually increasing my exercising and went on a 10 mile hike last Friday and woke up with my foot killing me in exactly the same place where the neuroma was. Could this be a stump neuroma already? I thought my orthodics may have aggravated but after not working out for the past 3 days, I still have the pain. You mentioned cortizone injections may help with this. Do you have more information or any other advice? I really don't want to have surgery again. This weekend I am going to Glacier National Park and will be hiking 10+ miles twice while I am there. I am so worried about going now. Please help!

Most, if not all, "Morton's neuroma" surgeries work by numbing (anaesthetising) the underlying pathology, not resolving it. Therefore it is not unusual for re-expression of the pathology later, which seems to be your case. I do not think that you will make the GNP, I am sad to say.

It's two months since my operation. I've had a letter saying that pathology did identify it as a true neuroma, and the other test you mentioned, about the local anaesthetic, held true. I've no idea why I developed one, other than I've been told I have very mobile bones in my foot. I still have some swelling, and occasional tiny shooting pains on the surface of the skin that I associate with scar repair from previous operations. The numbness takes a bit of getting used to, and the foot still aches from time to time, but I have not had the neuroma pain again and I can walk a long way once more. I do think, as you say, it's a procedure that needs a lot of thought before you undergo it, but I could not carry on as I was. I would like to know what you suggest as treatment instead of the op. 

Interesting. Last week a technician allegedly identified via US, 2 MNs in my left foot, one between 2nd/3rd measuring 1.5cm, one between 3/4th measuring 1cm. I refused the offer (which was quite insistent) of steroid injections in both, partly because unsure of the correct diagnosis, partly because I was uncomfortable with a general technician performing the procedure. I will be pushing to see a specialist foot and ankle consultant.