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Morton's Neuroma.....Anybody here dealt with it??? (Read 92 times)

redrum


Caretaker/Overlook Hotel

    My sister is getting back to running again and has battled Morton's Neuroma before.  She is very frustrated by it and literally wants to have it surgically removed.  She said she literally feels what seems like a jelly bean under foot between her MN toes.

     

    She has researched herself but not much for folks running related so I figured I'd ask here & see if anybody has dealt with it and what the result was.......or how they're dealing with it currently.

     

    Thanks in advance.

     Randy

      I have a Morton's Neuroma that I've dealt with for a few years.  My podiatrist did a cortisone shot a couple of years ago which helped with the pain immensely. He also put a metatarsal pad under my shoe insert, which helped relieve the pressure off the nerve.  Those two things solved the pain for a couple of years.  I had another flareup about a month ago.  My home-grown solution this time was to tape a cotton ball between the two toes, which helped spread the toes more than normal and helped remove pressure from the nerve.  It worked really well, and my podiatrist was surprised that such a simple solution would work.  The next step would be alcohol injections, which actually kill the nerve in that part of the foot.  They are moderately successful I've heard, but the shots themselves are painful.  Surgery would be the last resort I would think.

      Take Charge. Train Harder. Suck Less. No Excuses.

      Jnfr Jogs


        I suffered what I thought was Morton's Neuroma, then Dr. Google led me to metatarsalgia - here is a link instead of giving you a wall of text description.

         

        http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metatarsalgia/DS00496/DSECTION=symptoms

         

        I started using insoles with sections of gel cushioning at the ball of the foot and heel and the pain began to ease immediately. I also stopped going barefoot around the house for a couple of weeks while healing. I put cushioned insoles into my casual shoes which seemed to make the healing go faster.

         

        Now it only flares up very infrequently - usually if I try to increase my mpw too quickly with more than 1 long run/week.

        redrum


        Caretaker/Overlook Hotel

          Wow, that metatarsalgia sounds almost identical.  Scary.

           

          And I'll definitely tell her about the cotton ball trick.  We'll see if that does anything for her.

           

          We know it's hereditary as our mother, grandmother, aunt, etc all have it.  Aunt just had hers surgically removed at the age of 65.  But mixed results.  Some occasional numbness but better than it was.  Of course sister is a little leary of jumping right to surgery.

           

          i don't have it (Thank God) but I certainly have plenty of other aches & pains.

           

          Thanks for the feedback so far!!!

           Randy

          muppy


            I've had it for a few years, one thing that helped a little was loose shoelaces in the front of that shoe.

             

            I suffered through it for a few years and finally went to a doctor. For me I would get the tingling numb feeling, and then it would go to it feels like you're stepping on a nail every step you take. First Dr. figured out I had it wanted to do surgery right away. Went for a second opinion, and tried the orthotics and the metatarsal pads, didn't seem to help. Last December I got surgery to remove it, it went well the doctor said it was a "rather large neuroma" (so I guess I'm above average at something after all!)

             

            I was off work for three weeks, and not running for four weeks. Dr. said I would have a slight numbness to the toes  which I don't really notice. Overall I'm very glad I had it done!

            GinnyinPA


              My husband has had both a neuroma and metatarsalgia - different feet and a few years apart.  A shot only helped for a short while.  What eventually helped were wider shoes and prescription insoles.  The neuroma was caused by too tight shoes.  The metatarsalgia was either age or diabetes related.

              akshayv


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                ForceD


                  I've got it pretty bad in my left foot. I tried most of the things mentioned above with little relief. When I realized that it was being aggravated by shoes that aren't wide enough...I actually cut holes in both sides of the shoe so that my forefoot could spread out more. That helpped tremendously.

                   

                  Dan

                  Running since March 1976

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                  "I run mostly to see things, to explore places I don't know. And the places I do know,...then I get a sense of the weather, the shifting light, the seasonal changes; it can be pleasurable even when you hurl yourself into the teeth of nature." -- Ed Koren, Runner and Cartoonist for New Yorker magazine, 2006 interview for RW magazine

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                  The road belongs not to the swift, but to those who keep running.

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                  akshayv


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