Overview
This is a painful condition affecting a small nerve in the foot. It occurs when the five long bones that run the length of the foot get pushed together, pinching the nerve in between. This friction on the nerve causes it to thicken and inflame causing pain. The condition gets its name from an American surgeon, George Morton.
Causes
The cause of this problem is often due to impingement of the plantar nerve fibres between the metatarsal heads and the intermetatarsal ligament. It is entirely a biomechanical phenomenon. Differential diagnoses include stress fracture, capsulitis, bursitis or ligament injury at the metatarsal-phalangeal joint, a tendon sheath ganglion, foreign-body reaction and nerve-sheath tumour.
Symptoms
The most common symptom of Morton’s neuroma is localized pain in the interspace between the third and fourth toes. It can be sharp or dull, and is worsened by wearing shoes and by walking. Pain usually is less severe when the foot is not bearing weight.
Diagnosis
The most common condition misdiagnosed as Morton’s neuroma is metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint synovitis. When pain occurs in the third interspace, the clinician may misdiagnose the condition as Morton’s neuroma instead of MTP synovitis, which may manifest very much like Morton’s neuroma. MTP synovitis is distinguished from Morton’s neuroma by subtle swelling around the joint, pain localized mainly within the joint, and pain with forced toe flexion. Palpation of the MTP joint is performed best with a pinching maneuver from the dorsal and plantar aspects of the joint to elicit tenderness of the joint. Other conditions often misdiagnosed as Morton’s neuroma include the following. Stress fracture of the neck of the metatarsal. Rheumatoid arthritis and other systemic arthritic conditions. Hammertoe. Metatarsalgia (ie, plantar tenderness over the metatarsal head) Less common conditions that have overlapping symptoms with Morton’s neuroma include the following. Neoplasms. Metatarsal head osteonecrosis. Freiburg. steochondrosis. Ganglion cysts. Intermetatarsal bursal fluid collections. True neuromas.
Non Surgical Treatment
You may be able to treat this problem at home. Avoid wearing tight, pointy, or high-heeled shoes. Choose well-fitted shoes with plenty of room for your toes. Put ice or a cold pack on the area for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your skin. Take anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce pain and swelling. These include ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) and naproxen (such as Aleve). Rest your feet when you can. Reduce activities that put pressure on the toes, such as racquet sports or running. Try massaging your foot to relax the muscles around the nerve. If these steps do not relieve your symptoms, your doctor may have you use special pads or devices that spread the toes to keep them from squeezing the nerve. In some cases, a doctor may give a steroid shot to reduce swelling and pain. If these treatments do not help, your doctor may suggest surgery.
Surgical Treatment
Majority of publications including peer review journal articles, surgical technique description and textbooks promote surgical excision as a gold standard treatment. Surgical excision is described as the most definitive mode of treatment for symptomatic Morton?s neuroma with reported success rates varying between 79% and 93%. Various surgical techniques are described, essentially categorised as dorsal versus plantar incision approaches. Beyond this the commonest technical variation described as influencing the outcome of surgery involves burying and anchoring transacted nerve into soft tissue such as muscle.
Prevention
Wearing proper footwear that minimizes compression of the forefoot can help to prevent the development of and aggravation of a Morton’s neuroma.
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