I first noticed a numbness on the bottom of 2 of my toes (3rd and 4th) about 8 months ago. I then soon noticed a burning sensation.....like walking on a pebble, on the ball of my foot......and both of these conditions have stayed with me ever since, although at times I am less conscious of it than other times. 3 weeks ago I started having the same ball of foot pain in my other foot- although not the numb toes. I am male, 54, generally very healthy and not over weight. I am a walker and before this played tennis. Any help/suggestions greatly appreciated.
Classic symptom's of MN...I think I have it too but my pain is more in the toe nails...I wrap my 3rd and 4th toes in thick tissue and it alleviates the pain a lot...I'm gonna get a proper toe spacer soon....and an injection too. I'm 56 and play tennis as well.
Thanks Jack. I have now seen a podatrist (the Dr. didn't have much idea) and they have said MN looks likely. I also have incredibly high arches apparently (that may be the cause I understand). At least hearing it has a name has stopped me being so worried that I have something worse - like diabetes or MS! I have never had anything chronic before and I am amazed how this is affecting me. I will be having an steroid injection but it seems they are often not effective, and further down the road surgery may be the only answer. I hope you get yours sorted. Let me know how the toe spacers and injection works.
I had neuromas and had the surgery.i DO NOT recommend it.now I have nerve damage and will be in constant pain forever.iv been to several doctors who have all said well now it's just about trying to make you comfortable.which is impossible when I spend 8 hours a day on my feet.agin I say do not try having the removed.
Thanks Jack and Lora for responding. I have to say that while I appreciate very much the frankness of your message Lora (and massively sympathise with the plight you are in), it is pretty depressing as I understand that surgery is often the only option to get rid of this condition. Or is that not the case? I have also read that sugery is successful over 80% of the time. But again.....I don't know. My podiatrist is keen that I explore other options (and is not certain yet that it is Morton's and that it may be to do with a trapped nerve in the back as I have a somewhat curved spine). She has also suggested a vigorous programme of yoga (seems odd to me - but I'm trying it). I have also heard that acupuncture may be good for this condition (although I did not hear this from my podiatrist). I feel a bit desperate here to be honest. I guess I have always been very active and healthy and walking (mountaineering and treking) have been a part of my life. I am totally new to forums like this, but I would really appreciate any practical suggestions. Many thanks.
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I Had surgey about six or seven years ago to remove my MN and I have never had pain in that foot since. It was the best thing I ever did. But now I have MN in my other foot but will not hesitate to have surgery again. I tried the injections which did not work for me also had insoles made again did not help. Good luck.
Thanks for this. Good luck with surgery on your other foot.
Sounds like Morton's Neuroma to me, ask your G.P, to refer you to the hospital to have it checked out. I had mine taken out and have never had a problem with that foot since. However my other foot has now started with the same thing but I will not hesitate to have it taken out as well. Good luck.
Hi there, I'm new to this site but I thought I'd add to what you've been talking about. I'm 57 now and for the past ten or 11 years I've had this Mortons Neuroma. Sounds silly but I've only just had it diagnosed properly this year. I should have done something about it sooner but it got left and time went in. I have numbness in the 3rd and 4th toes on my right foot and the horrible burning and feeling of hot needles between and in the toes and it feels like I'm walking on pebbles. At first I thought it was my sock wrinkling up, but it wasn't. I have always enjoyed walking and since my husband retired, we now live in Cumbria and enjoy the Lake District Fell Walking, it's our passion and the thought of not being able to do it really depresses me. I've had umpteen walking boots, socks etc but nothing is comfortable. I always end up taking off my boot after a couple of miles and have to do this several times during the walk. In March this year I was referred to a NHS Podiatrist who confirmed the suspicions I've had for all these years and diagnosed Mortons Neuroma. They fitted me with some Slimflex insoles with arch support and also stuck a firm density sponge pad underneath the insole behind the Metatarsal. They said this was to support it. I didn't think this would do much good but it worked for a while and I was able to walk in reasonable comfort for the first time in years. However, this didn't last long before the pain was back so I tried doubling up on the sponge pad and this gave some relief for another few months. To be honest, I've tried so many insoles you wouldn't believe and I can't get this sponge that the NHS put under the insole for love not money. I've tried other sponges but they just flatten. Anyway, I am going back to the Podiatrist in a few weeks to re-access my feet and see what they can come up with next. I really don't want to have surgery for fear that it might not work and it will prevent me walking. I'd sooner walk with some pain than not walk at all. There seems so very little information about this on the internet other than what the condition is but not how to deal with it. Any information you might have gathered would be gratefully received.
Hi Janet
I know exactly how you feel and I sympathise. I had a MRI on both feed last week and yesterday was told by my podiatrist that although I have some classic symptoms of Morten's (folded sock/pebble feeling....2 numb toes - at least numb on the bottom of the toe) there is nothing in the MRI to show that it is definitively morton's. She strongly suspects it is to do with my nervous system and may be something trapped in my spine. But she also points out that I have incredibly tight calf muscles and very little flexibility in my legs (despite being pretty fit and healthy). I have very high arches and I've always walked (when going uphill) on the ball of my foot. Clearly, being a keen walker, I have always put a huge amount of pressure there. I don't know how much of this may relate to your situation.
I am now waiting to see a spinal specialist to see what he thinks. My podiatrist has also given another option that she thinks would ease things alot - and that is extending the tendons (I think tendons!) that go to each toe, making me spread my weight more on my feet. Of course I'd rather avoid surgery, but she tells me this is pretty standard stuff. Other than that, I have heard that sthat surgery has worked in most cases (but not all) to remove a neuroma. I have also heard that in some cases simply changing shoes and using insoles works (not for you or me so far it seems!) and a couple of cases of acupuncture helping a lot. Interestingly my highly experienced podiatrist who is a leading foot surgeon, feels that surgury while generally very good should be the last option, and she feels that the underlying causes (at least in my case) are likely to be to do with my gait and posture and that this can be sorted (slowly) through really intensive yoga. While open minded on such things I am not normally given to such holistic measures, but I really can see the sense in what she says. I have been trying yoga for a while, but it is hard to get the right practice......I am alos looking into that. Whatever else, it seems to be doing me some good generally!
Ummmmh it's a head ache alright all of this. I am fit for my age, always walked and exercised but my feet have got steadily worse over time. Bunions, Long Second toes, and this Mortons. Presuming it is that, the Podiatrist wasn't absolutely certain. When I go back in a few weeks she might refer me to a specialist and then I might get somewhere. Thanks for your reply.
Hi again. As we seem to be in remarkably similar positions I was just wondering how you are getting on? I have now had an MRI on my lower spine and am awaiting results. Meanwhle the balls of both my feet remain, to varying degrees, very sensitive and range from being a mild irritant to driving me rather crazy! Recently I had to travel for work to Bangladesh, and passing through Dubai airport I called into a chemist and brought an Italian sort of metatarsal support product. It is a jelly like consistency. I don't wear it all the time, but when my feet are at their sorest it certainly helps. I wonder if this is the kind of thing you were looking for. I could send the name but if I do so the forum may think I'm advertising so I'm lothe to do that. I have also now found an excellent yoga teacher and simply exercising and massaging the foot in the way she suggest has certainly helped. All best. Mike
Hi,
It has taken almost 2 years to be taken seriously, but I am finally having an MRI scan tomorrow, not to see if I have a Morton's Neuroma (got that diagnosis by ultrasound several months ago) but to try and fathom out why I am getting severe burning pains on the top of my foot, from behind affected toes up to the ankle bone.
I have to admit, I self-diagnosed a Morton's Feb 2013, when I was in so much pain and desperation, but my doctor said that was wrong and pointed to my big toe joint as to the site of a neuroma! The previous December he had done blood tests to rule out a whole host of causes of pain and numbness in the ball of my foot (for which I was very grateful) but, as my blood pressure was high and circulation poor I was put on diuretics and blood pressure pills and sent for several foot x-rays which showed nothing!
My history -
Early 2012 I was getting odd pains in both feet. When I went on holiday in the May, wearing trekking sandals for the first time in years, I ended up in agony after clambering about rocks in Cornwall. The pain in both feet continued long after the holiday and, with various people suggesting Plantar Fasciitis, I finally went to my doctor. I saw a locum, instead, who listened to my sorry tale, said he would sort out the worst foot first, then said "I can give you an injection for that!" and promptly went about it! Everyone I knew, including my father, who had suffered this afliction, had been told about the injection, but all had been told it was a last resort as it was one of the most painful things known to man, and can cause the plantar fascia to tear!
I was not given any options or advice or alternatives - in went the needle, straight into the heel, and into the desk went my nails, the other hand in my mouth to stop me crying out! He even wiggled the needle about! It must have lasted several minutes! However, after 3 days of agony and barely able to stand, the pain suddenly cleared and I was fine (the other foot healed itself after that scare!).
Then, one day in October, I went up on the balls of my feet to reach for something when I felt, and heard, something snap. After a few moments of immobility, I gingerly put my foot down - but there was no pain. However, over the course of the next few days I developed a strange sensation - it felt like the carpet had become sticky. This sensation then turned to a feeling of walking on bubblewrap, just under the ball of the foot. It was several weeks later that the pain started and I was limping wherever I went.
I was in so much pain by December 2012 that I'm not surprised my blood pressure was so high! However, at no time did the doctor suggest my plantar fascia could have torn. To cut a long story short, it was not until last December that I was given an ultrasound scan which showed up several tears. By that time I had given up on my doctor and got myself booked in with a lovely podiatrist, luckily on the NHS. She had been pushing for me to have an MRI scan since September 2013 - and it is finally happening tomorrow!
I had been referred to a consultant in July. He made the first mention of a Morton's Neuroma before he even checked me out. He got me an appointment with a specialist, who gave me a steroid injection between the toes under ultrasound guidance. He was hesitant about it, saying he didn't want to hurt me, but I think he realised I was serious when I said sometimes the pain has been so bad in my foot that I would have welcomed amputation!
That was in October. Last month I saw the consultant again, who was surprised that the injection had made no difference as mine is only a small neuroma. He could see my toes don't touch the ground when I walk, so there must still be an odd swelling underneath. The burning pain on top of my foot has everyone baffled, hence the reason he has agreed to an MRI - to rule out anything nasty.
The only way I can describe my pain - after the sharp burning, when I can't keep my foot still, it then feels as if someone has beaten me over the top of the foot with a bunch of stinging nettles! I then can't bear anything to touch that area, especially bedclothes. I suspect it may be Complex Regional Pain Syndrome - that is the only condition that matches.
By the way - the first thing my podiatrist diagnosed was tight calf muscles, something I have inherited from my mum. She had special insoles made for me and gave me a calf loosening excerise to do. I never realised that the pain I got in my calves on walking hard and fast, actually has a name - shin splints - and is caused by tight calf muscles.
I apologise for the length of my post, but it is the first time I have written it all down and so few people, including medics, seem to have heard of Morton's Neuroma. Surgery has been mentioned to me - but as a last resort as it carries its own risks of course.
Hi All
I went to see the surgeon last week about my Morton's Neuroma. He told me having a MRI is a waste of time as it doesn't alway's show up. Anyway I got a letter yesterday to say they will do the operation in March. I am so pleased as I had my other foot done several year's ago and have had no pain in that foot since.Roll on March!
Finally got the results of my December MRI scan today. Not only do I have a Morton's Neuroma, bursitis and a torn plantar fascia, but they have diagnosed a stress fracture in the 4th metatarsal! That must have been the snap I heard and felt, way back in October 2012! No wonder my whole foot was horribly swollen for so many months! The consultant (a different one this time) looked shocked when I said the symptoms had been with me for over 2 years!
Now I have to keep the weight off my foot as much as possible for the next 4 to 6 weeks to let the fracture heal! After over 2 years of walking on said fracture, what damage have I caused my foot?? Is resting it now simply a case of shutting the door after the horse has bolted?? Luckily I work at home, at a computer. But I am well aware sitting around is not healthy, so I have walked the mile to our village post office, when necessary, thinking it was doing me good and keeping my foot moving as the burning pain can be quite severe if I have been resting it too long!
Just don't know what I should do for the best any more!
I had mortons neuroma together with scarf akin ostotomy at beginning of October. I guess everyone is different but my own experience has not been good. I certainly would not go down the route of removal of neuroma should I ever get another one. The original feeling of a marble under foot and pain up leg has gone but I now have a dreadful feeling in both toes as though they are fused together and impossible to move and the whole area is more painful than before op. The bunion area is improving very slowly but still experience a great deal of sharp nerve pains and very uncomfortable to walk. Like many other people who love to walk I have been very disappointed with the outcome. Think very carefully before having any operations on your feet.
hi. just read your post. I have had the same experience as you. I am in constant pain and I don't know what to do. I have not been given much hope. I have more pain now than I ever had with the MN and that was pretty bad. I am so desperate to find a solution. but who can help?
hi Janet I am new to this forum. I had the MN op almost 2 years ago. I had been in awful pain for years and was made to feel so optimistic about having the MN removed. Sonce then, I have been in even worse pain and the surgeon has just said that 'he removed the neuroma, so he had done his job'! I have constant burning and shooting pains in my foot. I cannot drive for very long because even slight pressure on the controls is agony. My GP does not know what to suggest. I am so depressed. I was so active...skiing, walking, fitness classes. Now all this is just awful. think carefully about having operations such as this. I feel very let down. good luck with it all
Hi all
I had an ultra sound on my right foot and was told I have two MN, I have my operation on the 9th March. Having already had my left foot operated on several
years ago with great success, I feel after trying everything else to ease the
pain this is my only option. One thing I did try was a pair of flitflop boots and I must say they did help, but I cannot wear them through the summer so will go
ahead with the operation. Wish me luck and I will keep you informed. xxx
After 5 years of suffering with what felt like a rock in the ball of my foot. Searching many doctors for an answer finally a podiatrist convienced me that I had a neuroma between my 2nd and 3rd toe. I had the surgery exactly 4 weeks ago. Took it easy the first 2 weeks. Did everything I was suppost to. I am still on crutches! Everytime I try to more than a little pressure on foot I get a sharp piercing pain in the top-center of my arch. My toes are stiff. Is this normal? My doctor told me that I would be back at work after 2 weeks. I can't walk and having to take more leave than expected. Very Depressing.