Understanding Your Foot Pain: Do You Have Morton's Neuroma?
When you are going about your daily life, you may find yourself dealing with a wide variety of different aches and pains that are sometimes confusing or seemingly inexplicable. There are many different orthopedic causes that could be the reason behind some of the discomfort you feel during your daily life. One such possible reason is a little known condition known as Morton's Neuroma. In order to understand whether or not you may be suffering from this orthopedic condition, you need to know what the condition is as well as the symptoms and treatments. Then, if you meet the criteria, you can get the help you need from an orthopedist and get rid of your aches and pains once and for all.
What Is Morton's Neuroma?
Morton's neuroma, also commonly know as intermetatarsal neuroma, is a condition that affects the nerves in the foot. When a person suffers from this condition the nerve tissue in the spaces between the metatarsal bones (the long bones of the foot connected to the smaller toe bones) thickens. This occurs between the third and fourth toe of the foot.
The nerve tissue swells and thickens most often as the result of pressure or repeated high impact movements. Because of this, many athletes develop such conditions as well as people who work on their feet and in jobs that deal with manual labor.
What Are The Symptoms Of Morton's Neuroma?
When a person suffers from Morton's neuroma, one of the most obvious signs of trouble is that they suffer from chronic aching or pain in the ball of their foot. They can also experience numbness or tingling in their foot and toes. Burning sensations are also common among people suffering from Morton's neuroma.
Many times the pain or discomfort of Morton's neuroma can be confusing to the person dealing with it. This is because they often have the sense that they are stepping on something or have a rock, marble, or other lump in their shoe or sock. And, because when the symptoms first start, they can subside when shoes are removed or the feet are massaged, diagnosis and treatment can be delayed.
What Are The Treatment Options For Morton's Neuroma?
If it turns out that you do, in fact, suffer from Morton's neuroma, then there are several treatment options available to you. You can try shoe inserts or other orthotic devices like ankle braces, foot braces and the like that are custom fit by an orthopedic doctor to better distribute your weight throughout your foot and relieve the pressure.
There is a chance that orthotics will not be enough to relieve the pressure and discomfort. In such an instance, corticosteroid injections are also an option. These anti-inflammatory injections can help relieve your pain and swelling but will not necessarily cure your Morton's neuroma.
Surgery is also a treatment option to correct the condition. The surgical procedure chosen depends on how severe and advanced your condition is. A surgeon may plan to simply relieve the pressure from your nerve tissue or the may have to resect or remove all or part of the nerve tissue in question.
Now that you know about Morton's neuroma, you can better understand whether or not you are currently suffering from the condition as well as understand the treatment options available to you to relieve your pain and discomfort. Contact a local orthopedic care center, like Northern Care Inc Prosthetics & Orthotics, for more information.