Fox Mill Foot and Ankle Center

1860 Town Center Dr., Ste. 220
Reston, VA 20190
703-391-0211

Foot Problems

You are in Foot Problems > Vascular Problems > Neuroma. Featured topics include:
Acrocyanosis • Alcoholic Neuropathy • Chilblains (cold feet) • Erythromelalgia • Ischemic Foot • Neuroma • Spasms • Venous Stasis

Certain activities such as running, tennis, soccer, or use of tight-fitting shoes may cause the metatarsal bones to lean in toward one another, temporarily pinching a nerve.

If the nerve is irritated it can swell, becoming a larger "target" upon which the bones may press. As the process continues, the nerve becomes chronically swollen, scarred and damaged.

The damaged nerve is frequently called neuroma, or Morton's Neuroma, after the physician who first described it. The nerve most commonly involved lies between the second and third or third and fourth metatarsal heads (ball of the foot). The intermetatarsal nerves travel along the underside of the foot, between the metatarsal bones. As they approach the ball of the foot they pass under a thin ligament connecting the head of the metatarsal bones. This produces a tight canal defined by the metatarsal heads and ligament.

Treatment for a newly developed Neuroma is directed at relieving pressure
on the nerve, using wider shoes, arch supports to limit pronation
(rolling in of the foot) and antiinflammatory medication.

Treatment for a newly developed neuroma is directed at relieving pressure on the nerve, using wider shoes, arch supports to limit pronation (rolling in of the foot) and antiinflammatory medication.

If symptoms persist, the inflamed nerve will frequently respond to a series of two or three steroid injections, combined with an arch support or functional orthotic. If this fails to reduce the pain sufficiently, surgery is recommended as a definitive treatment.

The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which adds up to about 115,000 miles over a lifetime. That's enough to go around the circumference of the earth four times.