Morton neuroma

Neuroma is a tumor derived from cells of the nervous system. But Morton’s neuroma is certainly not a tumor. It is rather an abnormal new mass of tissue that thickens and occurs between the toes, especially amid third and fourth toes. You feel acute pain in the sole of the foot when you suffer from Morton’s neuroma. Even, there could be a burning sensation as well as numbness in your foot.

The reason for expansion of nerves is still not evident. Sometimes, the nerve expands due to splayfoot or pes planus, a foot afflicted with a fallen arch and abnormally flattened and spread out, because the nerve tends to draw towards middle instead of remaining in normal position when steps are taken. The women are more prone to have Morton’s neuroma than men because they prefer high heeled footwear due to which the front feet bear more body weight resulting in compression of the nerves followed by nerve expansion in a majority of the cases.

Morton Neuroma Symptoms

Since, Morton neuroma is not a tumor you will not see any compact mass or lump appeared on your body but there will be a burning sensation in your toes. And when you walk, you will feel more pain in the sole of the foot because of the body weight. Wearing tight shoes intensifies the pain in your foot. The symptom of Morton’s neuroma does not become apparent rapidly but takes time. Still, an occasional pain in the toes while walking or executing certain activities is a clear hint that there is something wrong in your foot. Sometimes, you will feel relaxed by massaging your foot but still might feel burning sensation when your foot movement increases. However, gradually, the symptoms will become prominent when you experience persistent pain because of permanent expansion of the nerves.

Morton Neuroma Diagnosis

The chiropodist will first inquire about the symptoms of Morton's neuroma in your foot and would then try to feel the enlarged mass of between the toes. To ensure that your toes are not fractured, your doctor will also take out an x-ray. Similarly, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also be conducted to confirm that the nerve expansion is due to Morton's neuroma. This test will also help the doctor to conclude that the problem should be treated either using old conservative method or through rapid and aggressive technique. Sometimes, according to the condition of Morton's neuroma, the doctor may suggest that operation is mandatory to eviscerate the enlarged nerve.

Morton Neuroma Treatment

There are both surgical and non-surgical methods to treat Morton's neuroma. The doctor will first advise you to change your footwear, including high-heeled footwear used by women, if they give you tight feeling in your toes. Padding is also an effective method to distribute weight concentrated on the expanded nerve. The swelling can be reduced by putting ice bag on it at regular intervals. Similarly, there are medicines and injections to get rid of the pain cause by Morton's neuroma.

There is another method to reduce the pain in which alcohol is injected in the enlarged nerve to make it so hard that you feel much relaxed from acute pain. But, this method cannot be done at home and requires expert hands of the doctor. At one sitting, your nerve would be injected for at least seven times and there should be a gap of one week between two sittings.

While, if you want to undergo operation for morton neuroma treatment then either you would have to do it on the upper part of your foot or on the sole. In both the cases, surgical incision is done. However, you can straightaway start walking once the morton neuroma surgery of upper part of the foot is over. On the other hand, you need crutches for at least 20 days after surgery on the sole.