What are the symptoms of Morton’s neuroma?

Treasure Valley Foot Doctors Explain How to Identify Morton’s Neuroma and Your Treatment Options

Morton’s neuroma may be a common condition, but it can make everyday life painful and worsen over time if left untreated. If your feet are feeling tender—or you can’t shake the sensation of a pebble in your shoe—you may have a nerve problem that Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle’s experienced team of Meridian podiatrists can help you treat. Here’s how to take steps in the right direction for proper healing.

Most Common Symptoms of Morton’s Neuroma

Morton’s neuroma is a medical term used to describe the inflammation of a nerve that runs along the bottom of both of your feet. Inflammation causes the nerve and surrounding soft tissue to become thick and swollen, making it difficult to walk and causing pain that gets worse with movement or while wearing certain types of shoes. Neuromas are sometimes called nerve tumors, but they’re non-cancerous.

Morton’s neuroma causes additional symptoms including:

graphic-of-Mortons-Neuroma | Experienced Idaho Podiatrist

Numbness

Swelling in, around, or between the toes

Tingling—like pins and needles—in your foot

Pain that starts between your toes when you stand up or start to walk

Pain that becomes more noticeable when you wear high heels or shift the balance to the balls of your feet, like standing on tiptoes

These symptoms may appear suddenly or gradually increase in intensity. While Morton’s neuroma-related pain is often described as sharp or stinging, some people find that this type of inflammation can cause a more unusual sensation—that of a sock that’s bunched up inside their shoe, or the feeling of a pebble underneath their feet.

How Our Foot Care Specialists Diagnose Morton’s Neuroma

Neuromas are common but not always easy to self-diagnose. Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle’s team of experienced foot doctors identify, diagnose, and treat many cases of Morton’s neuroma each year. Here’s our approach.

Physical Examinations

Morton’s neuroma is characterized by tenderness and inflammation. In some cases, the inflamed nerve can be identified by touch. During a physical examination, your podiatrist may:

Review your medical history.

Ask questions about your symptoms, including what they feel like and what they first started.

Inquire about activities such as your favorite sports and other forms of movement.

Use their hands to apply a light amount of pressure on the space between the bones of your toes, then ask you to stand, walk, or otherwise move around.

Imaging Tests

Most cases of Morton’s neuroma can be diagnosed with a physical examination and don’t require the use of any other diagnostic tests or procedures. However, if you’re at risk for another foot-related condition, we may ask that you take an imaging test to rule out other possibilities. An X-ray, for instance, helps ensure that you don’t have a stress fracture in either foot or haven’t begun to develop the early warning signs of arthritis.

How the Skilled Podiatrists at Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle Treat Morton’s Neuroma

Every case of Morton’s neuroma is different, but it almost never goes away on its own. Before prescribing medication or referring a patient to surgery, the professionals at Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle try to understand your unique needs, habits, and lifestyles. In some cases, a neuroma can be relieved through a combination of anti-inflammatory drugs and a simple change in footwear.

Other common treatment methods include:

Icing

If your symptoms are mild and your neuroma appears likely to resolve without surgery or prescription medication, we might recommend that you regularly apply ice or cold packs to the affected foot. Icing, which is both simple and cost-effective, can gradually reduce inflammation and relieve unpleasant sensations.

Custom Orthotics

A custom orthotic is a prescription device that we create that could be an insole, a padded insert, or an entire shoe. Since orthotics are made to fit the contours of your feet, they can fix gait and pressure-related problems that either cause neuromas or worsen Morton’s neuroma-related symptoms.

Physical Therapy

Another way to manage Morton's neuroma symptoms is through various forms of physical therapy, such as exercises designed for muscle strengthening and to increase flexibility and circulation. This recommendation might also be combined with MLS laser therapy or in a post-operative recovery plan

Corticosteroids

A corticosteroid is a type of prescription medication that helps relieve and reduce neuroma-related inflammation. Usually administered by injection, we often try other non-invasive methods before recommending this treatment to reduce possible cortisone side effects and gauge the number of applications to your specific needs.

Surgery

Only a small percentage of patients with Morton’s neuroma patients need surgery, a procedure known as a neurectomy. However, we might recommend it if your symptoms are severe or if your inflammation doesn’t respond to other forms of treatment. Although there are potential risks with any type of surgery, most neuroma-related procedures are minimally invasive and have relatively short recovery times. During your surgical consultation, our team explains the process thoroughly so you have a complete understanding of what to expect.