Reducing the pressure on the affected nerve will often permit good pain relief. Wide fitting shoes, insoles and physiotherapy can be very helpful. In case symptoms persist an ultrasound-guided injection around the thickened nerve and a possibly inflamed adjacent bursa will confirm the diagnosis and most often will eradicate the pain. For the few patients suffering from recurrent/persistent pain, surgery to remove the thickened inflamed nerve will be successful. After a short period of rest, patients can resume walking in wide fitting shoes and pain will settle accordingly.
Morton’s neuroma is a thickening of a nerve that affects mainly the area between the metatarsals 3 and 4 in the forefoot, less often between metatarsals 2 and 3. It might be caused by chronic irritation of the plantar digital nerve, such as being squashed, stretched or rubbed. It disproportionately more often affects middle-aged women but can affect all age and genders. The pain tends to radiate into the toes often causing a burning or tingling sensation and may be aggravated by wearing tight-fitting shoes.
