Morton's neuroma - foot pain

Hey guys -

I had been having some foot pain between my 2nd and 3rd right toes and went to a podiatrist who said I have Morton's Neuroma there probably caused from an overuse injury. I remember injuring that area in late December walking all around NYC in snowboots I hadn't worn in a long time. I also think working out in Vibram Five Fingers made this worse as there is no cushioning in the shoe.

Anyone know any natural methods to try to treat this? He didn't recommend surgery and gave me metatarsal pads to put in my shoes and wanted to shoot cortisone in the area but I said I wanted to see how the pads went first.

Is this something a 50% DMSO/50% Distilled water mixture could treat/help?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I have no idea why someone would run in those 5 finger shoes. Worse are the people who run barefoot. They go so slow and are barely getting a workout. Sure, we weren't meant to run with shoes but we also weren't meant to run on cement. These people just kind of scurry along and it's not much better than walking fast.

ngb wrote:I have no idea why someone would run in those 5 finger shoes. Worse are the people who run barefoot. They go so slow and are barely getting a workout. Sure, we weren't meant to run with shoes but we also weren't meant to run on cement. These people just kind of scurry along and it's not much better than walking fast.

ngb - I usually was very smart. I actually have never run in them. I only used them for weight training. The one day I got it in my head I should jump rope in them, I almost tore my achilles tendon and caused this forefoot pain I'm stuck with. The Achilles injury healed nicely with rest, but this pain between my 2nd & 3rd toes is not going away hence the Dr. visit.

Anyone reading this should be really careful about using Vibrams in an impact bearing activity unless they are extremely light bodyweight wise.

ok, i have had mortons neuroma, before and successfully fixed it. it was caused by way too much walking in old shoes.

wat happens is the bonees sqeezing the nerve between the 3rd and forth metatarsals, causes the nerve to become inflamed, and then it gets exponentially more inflamed as the nerve increases in size it takes less and less contact with the bones to become more inflamed, and eventually its so inflamed it sends neuralgia type pain up ur leg which basically feels like the revers of sciatic pain, where the electrical feeling pain shoots up ur leg instead of down ur leg.

a way to test if u have it is too squeeze the foot from putting pressure on the sides and see if this replicates this unique pain.

so my first question is does the pain shoot up the leg, and does it feel sort of electrical, and does this pain occur each time u take a step, and when u squeeze the foot together.
if its just pain in ur foot, then this doesnt really fit the profile, although im sure a podiatrist (if they are good) will be able to tell. he should have squeezed ur foot to test it.

all that being true, wat worked for me was a piece of foam like a little dome being placed in between the 3rd and forth mtatarsal to spread the bones, and take the pressure off the nerve so it can shrink down to its original size at which time the pain will go away, and it will be finxed until it gets re-inflamed. i started with the foam, then i went to a free health clinic at my university and gotorthotics with this foam incorperated.

a metatarsal pad is the right shape, butwhether it works will depend on its positioning, which shouldbe the 3rd and forth metatarsal.

i realise ur probably treating it right, but i wanted to reiterate that no other treatment should be neccessary if this is being done right.

im not sure if cortico steroids can actually reduce inflammtion on a nerve.

hope this helps.

rofl wrote:ok, i have had mortons neuroma, before and successfully fixed it. it was caused by way too much walking in old shoes.

wat happens is the bonees sqeezing the nerve between the 3rd and forth metatarsals, causes the nerve to become inflamed, and then it gets exponentially more inflamed as the nerve increases in size it takes less and less contact with the bones to become more inflamed, and eventually its so inflamed it sends neuralgia type pain up ur leg which basically feels like the revers of sciatic pain, where the electrical feeling pain shoots up ur leg instead of down ur leg.

a way to test if u have it is too squeeze the foot from putting pressure on the sides and see if this replicates this unique pain.

so my first question is does the pain shoot up the leg, and does it feel sort of electrical, and does this pain occur each time u take a step, and when u squeeze the foot together.
if its just pain in ur foot, then this doesnt really fit the profile, although im sure a podiatrist (if they are good) will be able to tell. he should have squeezed ur foot to test it.

all that being true, wat worked for me was a piece of foam like a little dome being placed in between the 3rd and forth mtatarsal to spread the bones, and take the pressure off the nerve so it can shrink down to its original size at which time the pain will go away, and it will be finxed until it gets re-inflamed. i started with the foam, then i went to a free health clinic at my university and gotorthotics with this foam incorperated.

a metatarsal pad is the right shape, butwhether it works will depend on its positioning, which shouldbe the 3rd and forth metatarsal.

i realise ur probably treating it right, but i wanted to reiterate that no other treatment should be neccessary if this is being done right.

im not sure if cortico steroids can actually reduce inflammtion on a nerve.

hope this helps.

rofl,

Thanks for the response. He did squeeze and examine my foot like you said, although I do not feel a shooting pain going up my leg like sciatica at all. And it's definitely between my 2nd and 3rd toe. My 3rd and 4th are fine. The pads he gave are helping though. He said he could give me a cortisone shot in the area to give me relief and I passed on it.

I wasn't given the foam to place between the toes though and I'm gonna follow up and ask him about what you said. I often feel like my toes need to be spread apart more. It feels to me like they pinch in and I need to stretch them/pull them apart.

It's definitely annoying though because you feel it with every step.

My question to you is do you always wear the pad/foam or do you eventually get rid of it?

no u misunderstood, (or i confused u ) either way, wat i meant is a piece of foam between the 3rd and forth metatarsal bones, not the toes, this is half way along ur foot, i suppose for u it could be between the 3nd and third, its possible for u the nerve is in a different place.

and no, now the nerves not inflamed any more, i dont need to wear the orthotics or foam, which both do the same thing, which is to spread apart the bones taking pressure off the nerve allowing it to uninflame ( if thats a word)

its a exponential reaction from too much walking, or bad shoes. once the nerve shrinks back down to size, it should stay that way until u aggravate it again, but hope fully u learnt ur lesson with those shoes.

I had that some years ago...got the cortisone shot and it went away, never to return. One cortisone shot is not bad, it's when you get them multiple times that it becomes detrimental.

mistyisland wrote:I had that some years ago...got the cortisone shot and it went away, never to return. One cortisone shot is not bad, it's when you get them multiple times that it becomes detrimental.

Thanks misty. So far, the pads are helping, but when I take them off I feel a twinge of what I felt before. I may just try the shot. I just don't want it to be a recurring thing.