Project Description
Morton’s Neuroma
Morton’s Neuroma is a painful condition which can affect the ball of your foot. It happens when a nerve in your foot is damaged or irritated and often happens between the 3rd and 4th toe.
The pain can feel like a shooting, stabbing or burning pain and is also often described as a sensation of a small pebble stuck in your shoe. It is most common in middle aged people, especially women and the cause is not properly known.
Rachel Miller is a highly experienced podiatrist who treats many patients for Morton’s neuroma. Please see below if you want more detailed explanation of Morton’s neuroma, its symptoms, causes and treatment.
Call 020 8348 5553 to make an appointment
Symptoms of morton’s neuroma
Morton’s Neuroma’s symptoms are similar to metatarsalgia and can include:
- a shooting pain in the ball of the foot extending to the toes
- a sensation of walking on stones
- burning
- numbness and tingling between the toes
- the pain can come and go and also can be persistently chronic
Three quarters of sufferers are female and the condition is common in people between the ages of 40 – 50 but can occur in all ages.
Causes of Morton’s neuroma
Morton’s Neuroma is sometimes called Morton’s metatarsalgia. It is a benign neuroma, a growth of nerve tissue, and the thickening of the nerve may be due to it being compressed or stretched.
It may be that the anatomy of the bones in the foot affect the development of Morton’s neuroma and the wrong footwear can be a contributing factor to aggravating the condition in some people.
Morton’s neuroma affects one of the plantar digital nerves that run between the long bones (metatarsals) in the foot. It commonly found in the nerve between the third and fourth metatarsal bones and can cause pain and numbness in the third and fourth toes. It can also affect the nerve between the second and third metatarsal bones, causing symptoms in the second and third toes. It is mostly only found to affect one foot. There can be other factors that contribute to compressing the nerve such as inflammation of the joints, bursas and fatty deposits called lipomas.
Treatment of Morton’s neuroma
Treatment of Morton’s neuroma include:
- medication
- footwear advice
- stretching and strengthening exercises
- rest
- ice
- pads
- orthotic insoles
A biomechanical assessment from an experienced podiatrist can help diagnose the condition and you can be given guidance, preventive methods including good footwear advice. A bespoke orthotic insole can be prescribed which may help support to the foot and prevent the metatarsals from dropping. This may help to reduce and prevent compressing the nerve.
Contact the Centre for an appointment on 020 8348 5553
Rachel Miller is a highly experienced podiatrist specialising in biomechanics and orthotic insoles who sees many patients with Morton’s neuroma. Her clinic is in the Highgate Health Centre every weekend on either Saturday or Sunday and every Tuesday. Contact the Centre for an appointment on 020 8348 5553. For clinic directions and maps see the Contact page and for information about orthotic insoles and biomechanics see the Biomechanics page.
Conditions that can benefit from a biomechanical assessment include:
- Heel pain
- Ankle injuries
- Metatarsalgia
- Sports injuries
- Bunions
- Plantar fasciitis
- Hypermobility
- Flat feet/high arches
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Overuse injuries
- Knee pain
- Back pain
- Sprained ankles
- Stress fractures
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome
- Morton’s neuroma
- Heel pad syndrome
- Haglund’s deformity
- Hammer toe and mallet toe
- Sever’s disease
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome
- Patella Tendinopathy
- Osgood-Schlatter disease