Teaching Your Mortons Neuroma Some Manners
Weve all known thick-skinned people who dont seem to let anything affect them. It is true that such a person may be able to get through life a bit easier than someone who is easily hurt. However, they can also be rude and insensitive, and need to learn some manners to be able to get along with others. When the nerves between your toes become thick and tender (Mortons Neuroma), it can cause loss of sensation and pain that is very uncomfortable. Thats when you may need a little help to teach them how to behave.
Nerves Bowing to Pressure
We arent talking a polite bow here, more an inevitable reaction to being pinched or injured. Nerves in your feet run along pathways between your toe bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, and there are many places where they can be trapped or pinched by these other tissues. This is aggravated by anything that moves your bones out of alignment or cramps your foot.
Pressure on nerves can result from certain high-impact sports like running, rock climbing, gymnastics, basketball, and tennis. Footwear is also a factor, such as heels that force your weight onto the ball of your foot, or tight soccer shoes or ski boots. If you have any foot deformities such as high or low arches, or bunions and hammertoes, you are more likely to have numb toes and pain.
Taking Turns to Diagnose Mortons Neuroma
Good manners means taking turns: you first! Since there may be no outward indication of what is going on in your foot, your part is to identify the symptoms. You may first notice that it feels like your sock is bunched up under your toes, or there is something in your shoe. Then you might feel a burning pain in the ball of your foot after certain activitieslike a walk to the park in your old worn-out shoes or an evening wearing your favorite stilettos. Your toes may also have a numb, tingly feeling that comes and goes and is worse after activities or shoes that put pressure on your feet.
If this continues more than a few days, its our turn: you need to call us and have our specialists examine your foot. We will press on areas in the ball of your foot, especially between the third and fourth toes, to reveal any thick spot or tender area, or even a clicking sound. We may use X-rays to rule out a stress fracture, or an ultrasound to get a better picture of whats happening in the soft tissues.
Remedies, Please Thank You!
To start with, we will likely have you take a break from your high-impact activities, to give your nerve tissue time to heal. During this time, you can use ice massage to help relieve the pain. Just put a large ice cube in a plastic bag and move it over the tender area. It is best to leave your high heels in the closet for a while, and those pointy-tipped flats as well. You want shoes with plenty of room for your toes and soft insoles to cushion your feet. If the pain is severe, we can recommend the best pain reliever for your situation.
When these methods do not take care of your Mortons Neuroma, we can prescribe padding and inserts that take pressure off your thickened and tender nerve. Custom orthotics designed for your particular foot problems are especially effective at addressing numb toes and ball of foot pain. Other treatments may involve injected pain medication, ultrasound or laser pain therapy, or even surgery to remove the pressure on the nerve or even part of the nerve itself.
Being Kind and Helpful to Your Feet
At Ottawa Foot Clinic, we are not thick-skinned: we dont like to see anyone suffer. If your neuroma goes untreated, it will likely worsen and bring more pain, tingling, or numbness to your forefoot. Let our team be kind to your feet and teach your Mortons Neuroma some manners so it stops bothering you! Call our office on Deakin Street in Ottawa, ON, at (613) 595-9700, or simply request an appointment right on our website.