Morton’s Neuroma, also referred to as intermetatarsal neuroma is a painful condition which involves thickening of one of the nerves leading to your toes, most commonly the nerve between the third and fourth toe due to compression and irritation of the nerve.
Symptoms of Morton’s Neuroma:
Morton’s Neuroma can cause tingling or burning sensation in your toes, which becomes worse when you walk. It may also cause numbness or a feeling that something is inside the ball of your foot or that you’re standing on a pebble. The symptoms begin gradually and the pain may be temporary at first, however, with time the symptoms become worse as the neuroma enlarges and becomes permanent.
Causes of Morton’s Neuroma:
Anything that causes compression and irritation of a nerve can cause neuroma. Common factors that lead to its development include wearing high heels or ill-fitting and tight shoes especially the ones that have a tapered toe-box. Other causes include sport activities which involve running or jogging and injury or trauma to the area. People with foot deformities like flatfeet or hammertoes are at a higher risk for developing this.
Treatment of Morton’s Neuroma:
The treatment varies with the severity of your condition. For mild neuromas, shoe-modification is usually the first recommendation. This requires avoiding high heels and tight shoes and using foot pads to reduce pressure on your foot. If conservative treatment fails, steroid injections can be helpful. For severe condition, surgical methods like decompression surgery or surgical removal of the growth may become necessary if other treatments are not providing pain relief.
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