Traumatic Neuroma

The primary cause of Morton’s neuroma is any sort of irritation, injury or pressure to the nerve tissues attached to the toes. High heeled shoes have been said to be the cause of Morton’s neuroma in females.

Symptoms:

In case of Morton’s neuroma, no signs can be found that appear outwardly. The only symptom that is evident in all the cases is the presence of pain although the nature of the pain is different with different individual. Some people describe the pain as burning or stinging- right between the second and fourth toes where the ball is found that spread to the toes. Some describe it as a shooting pain. Some people also experience numbness in their foot.

Tests and diagnosis:

Morton’s neuroma is a bit tricky to diagnose since a lot of other conditions also have the same symptoms. For Morton’s neuroma, your doctor may want to press your aching foot and look for a spot where it hurts the most. During this time, you might feel the bones in your click. Your doctor may also want to run a few imaging tests, to ensure that your harrowing condition has a name and that is called Morton’s neuroma. Firstly, your doctor will order an X ray of your forefoot to cross out other factors that may be the cause of your pain. With the help of ultrasound, internal tissue damages specially neuromas can be detected. Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is another way to find out if there are any neuromas in the foot. MRIs often detect neuromas in people with absolutely no symptoms whatsoever.

Different procedures

In extreme conditions, doctors might suggest drugs, injections and even surgery-

1. Injections: Doctors may give you powerful steroid injections such as orthotics and corticosteroid to relieve the pain.

2. Surgery: There are two types of surgery doctors usually perform on patients with Morton’s neuroma- decompression surgery and nerve removing surgery. In decompression surgeries, doctors cut adjacent structures of the affected nerve that create an extra pressure on the foot and with doing so relieve the pain. Doctors may even opt for total removal of the nerve that has been affected by this disease. The only risk with surgeries is that if not successful, the toes can lose all kinds of sensation in them forever.

3. Anti-inflammatory medications: To bring back the swelled nerve to its former condition and relieve the pain, you take anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen. You can also go for naproxen.