Mortons Neuroma

Overview

A nerve in the foot becomes irritated and thickened in the ball of your foot, which can cause severe pain. When your toes are squeezed together too often and for too long, the nerve that runs between your toes can swell and get thicker. This swelling can make it painful when you walk on that foot. It usually occurs in between the 3rd and 4th toes (about 65% of cases)

Symptoms

• A “burning” sharp pain and numbness on the bottom of the foot that may radiate into the toes
• The pain is increased by walking or when the ball of the foot is squeezed together and decreased with massaging.
• Walking with Morton’s neuroma is like there’s a small stone stuck under your foot.
• Tingling, pricking, or numbness with no apparent long-term physical effect, commonly known as pins-and-needles

Causes

• High-heeled shoes – Ill-fitting footwear that squashes the toes together. A condition more common in females than males
• High-arched feet
• Flat feet – the entire sole comes into complete, or near-complete, contact with the ground
• A bunion – a localized painful swelling at the base of the big toe that enlarges the joint.
• Hammer toe – a deformity within a joint of the second, third, or fourth toe causing it to be permanently bent
• Some high-impact sporting activities
• Injuries – an injury or trauma to the foot may lead to a neuroma

Treatment

• Using an ice pack on the affected area
• Massaging the foot and affected toes
• Orthotic Arch support including metatarsal raise that supports the front arch of the foot, off-loading pressure from the nerve
• Broad and deep toe box shoes
• Resting the foot by taking a break from high impact activities like running, sports etc. which put repetitive pressure on the neuroma until the condition improves
• Bodyweight management
• Strengthening exercises for intrinsic muscles of the foot

Product Solution

• Customised Orthotic footwear is recommended incase of severe mal-alignment leading to tired achy legs
• Cold pack / Heat pack
• Therapeutic Socks
• Calf support