I think I have Morton's Neuroma. Which shoes and inserts
 

I have been having a shooting pain when I roll up onto the ball of my left foot. My last two toe's are numb as well. After searching I am wondering if it is Morton Neuroma. Does anyone have this? I am wondering what would be a good athletic shoe and what inserts work best. Is there anything thing else you do for this? TIA

Chris

A link
 

Someone posted this link a few days ago in another thread - you should check it out!

http://www.triggerpointbook.com/mortons.htm

/Deb

A good anatomically oriented yoga teacher could help you with this. Likely an Iyengar teacher.

Its something to take seriously. You might want to consult a specialist.

Chris - I'm so sorry to hear you might have Morton's Neuroma! I've had it in both feet and eventually had surgery on both feet (at different times). The first time I had surgery after hurting for about a year. The second time, I waited more like 2 or 3 years but finally decided to do the surgery. It was kind of a disaster but both my feet are good now. The second time, before surgery, I got the shots and they actually worked for about a year. When it started hurting again, I tried the shots again but they only lasted for about a month.

Definitely go see a podiatrist. I hope you don't have Morton's Neuroma, but, if you do, you need to have it treated.

I've never heard of yoga to help Morton's Neuroma but I like Jane's suggestion to check that out. Yoga is so wonderful for so many things.

Metatarsal support is very important. I have orthotics that have extra metatarsal support and I always add metatarsal support in shoes that I don't wear the orthotics with (even now).

Let me know if you have any questions.

I'm not Chris, but I have a question fro you, Karen. How do you add metatarsal support to shoes in which you can't or don't wear the orthotics? Is the metatarsal support an OTC product you buy? I've been experimenting with this, as I seem to have a longer second metatarsal in my left foot, but not a neuroma from it. The moleskin suggestion on that link above seems to be working, but I'm curious about your supports, too.

Thanks,
Amy

Hi Amy - yes, I just add a metatarsal support that's OTC - you just stick them onto the existing liner in the shoe. I've tried several and they all seem to work fine. The point is the have support under the ball of your foot and they all do that. I have found, though, that some of them stick in the shoes better than others. I've tried Dr. Scholl's as well as others that I can't think of at the moment.

I'm glad you don't have a neuroma!

I have one in my right foot and yoga toes, from yogapro.com have really helped me a lot. Also icing with frozen water bottles. I've had several different types of injections over the years, but I refused surgery. My mom had the surgery on both feet and still has problems.

The conservative approach has worked better for me. Shoes with good arch support and lots of cushioning are the best for me. I wear custom orthotics in some of my shoes and Superfeet greens in some others. The yoga toes are the thing that has helped the most.

I have Morton's Neuroma in my left foot. The pain was excruciating at times, to non-existent at other times. Barefoot walking hurt a LOT, especially going down stairs. I finally went to a docotor (after years) when my foot above my numb last two toes became bruised from the neuroma! I went to a podiatrist and got inserts that cost a fortune but that unfortunately did not help.

I have yogatoes, and they do seem to help somewhat, though I'm anything but consistent with their use.

What has helped me most is switching to Keen shoes. These are the first shoes I've ever owned in which my feet have felt comfortable. I have a job that allows me to dress very casually, so these work perfectly for me. I cannot say enough about how much these shoes have helped my feet.

For workout shoes I wear Ryka currently, but haven't really searched around much. Since switching to Keens I have no pain (with very rare flare ups), so the hour or so per day I spend in non-Keens doesn't seem to bother the neuroma.

I do also have Superfeet inserts for my non-Keen sneaks that seem to help somewhat as well.

Dansko shoes are supposed to be extremely comfortable as well.

http://www.keenfootwear.com/
http://www.superfeet.com/
http://www.dansko.com/html/default.aspx

Good luck! (And if you go the "I need new shoes" route, have fun shopping :) )
Wendy

Thanks guys for all the replies so far. I might be jumping to conclusions and just might have a pulled tendon or something but after fighting with hip bursitis for over 6 months last year I was wanting to get on top of this before it became a bad problem. I wear NB 854's and I love them but they are heavy for step and kickboxing so I bought a running shoe and it seems like in no time the support was gone so I do need to buy some new 854's for my walking and everyday(I get to wear jeans and tennies at work)but I need to find some aerobic shoes that have support in the ball and I am going to look into the inserts. A podiatrist is a day off of work and 4 hour drive each time so I will go that route if needed but if I can prevent it from becoming too much of a problem I would like to try other alternatives first. Thanks again.

Chris

Thanks for the tip on the Keen's, Wendy. I've been eyeing them, but your post may have pushed me over the edge on buying them.

Wendy - any Keen's in particular that you recommend? Thanks!

I love them all :)
http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.c...&ref=multi-pic

http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.c...&ref=multi-pic

http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.c...&ref=multi-pic

http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.c...&ref=multi-pic

http://www.zappos.com/n/multi_view.c...&ref=multi-pic

I use Zappos.com because I can try them on and wear them around the house for several days to see if I really like them. Sierratradingpost.com sometimes has the styles I like for a lot less--these shoes are pretty expensive, but worth it IMO.

I should mention that my feet get pretty hot (and smelly) in the enclosed sandals, but I love them so much I don't care! The clogs were my first pair, and what made me a Keen fan.

I am always looking for a good, yet attractive, walking sandal. Would those pink ones be too floppy for long distances, do you think? They're very cute. The orchid color ones would work, but they look like every other hideous walking sandal. With advances in technology, you'd think they could come up with a sleek walking sandal these days.

Try Dr. Scholl's gel inserts in your aerobic and everyday shoes. Make sure that the shoes have enough room to move your toes and that they don't apply pressure on top of your foot. Take the inserts with you when you buy shoes. If you can, stay away from high impact until the pain goes away. It may just be a pinched nerve.

If you can, don't wear the same pair of shoes everyday. Alternate between 2 or more pairs for few weeks.

For Morton's foot, make sure that the support stays under the first metatarsal and doesn't reach the second. This means that you can't put the support under the ball of the foot. Morton's foot and Morton's neuroma are 2 different unrelated conditions.

Morton's Neuroma is, strictly speaking, a pinched nerve. The nerve gets pinched between either the 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th metatarsals.

So far just the moleskin plus wearing arch support (or Keens, high profile Birks, NB 1121) seems to be enough. One wouldn't think a little moleskin pad could make much difference but it seems to thus far.

My understanding is that people with Morton's foot are more prone to neuromas, because of the underlying structural issues. Maybe I've got that wrong?

Amy

Keen's are definitely clunky,but that's part of what I like about them :) Love that toe guard--they have saved me on many a hike from stubbed toes.
I have the pink ones (Bali) in orange and they are too floppy for long distances. Occasionally on my lunch break I'll take a brisk walk, and if I happen to be wearing my Balis that day they're fine, but I'd chose the other style (Venice) over them if I had the choice.

I haven't seen anything linking Morton's foot and Morton's neuroma but I would imagine wearing high heels on a regular basis may predispose people with Morton's foot to a lot of problems.

There is very little information about Morton's foot. I found out I had it when I started running again and noticed that my feet were hyperpronating (ankles caving in). I did some research and found out about Morton's foot. The primary symptoms are back pain and poor posture because the body tilts forward and rounds the back to compensate for the instability. With time, the ankles and knees cave in, the arches in the feet collapse, and the hips start having problems. The doctor that described Morton's foot is working now in Europe and has designed special shoe inserts which appear to be the only remedy available.

A lot of what I do in my exercise program seem to have helped to compensate for it unknowingly. I workout barefoot (including plyometrics) and focus on stabilizing my knee and ankles during any activity (keeping knees above ankles and tracking with the toes with little to no forward movement). I avoid heavily engineered shoes and run in Easy Spirit walking shoes. It is the only pair of shoes that I can run in after spending a small fortune on running shoes. I work on strengthening my feet using bands to keep the arches strong. I avoid ab workouts that focus too much on contracting the ab muscles and prefer movement that put the core muscles under tension while mostly stretched. The abs muscles are anchored into the chest muscles and tend to pull the entire body forward when shortened which is the last thing that I need. I also do routine work to strengthen the back to avoid back pain.

I wish I had more information for you but these are the things that worked for me. And I tossed my birks last year (worst shoes for me) and I avoid high heels as much as possible. I avoid arch support in general (I have normal arches) and rotate shoes on a daily basis to force the feet to adjust. You have to figure out by trial and error what works for your feet based on their overall stucture. You have to keep in mind that you need to strengthen your back, hips, knees, and feet to avoid problems, more so than a person with normal feet.

Have you ever heard of Chung Shi shoes? Although I don't suffer with Morton's Neuroma, I do have bunions and they've really helped me get through long days on my feet (I work in a hospital). They're only available at Foot Solutions but they really took the time to help me get the right fit for my foot (and without being pushy) I didn't purchase them right away (they cost over $200.00) but once I saved enough money to give myself a gift, I think they're well worth every penny. They also help my lower back. They're not just negative heel shoes either. Hard to describe but worth the effort to at least try a pair on at your local Foot Solutions store.

I like my Chung Shi shoes even better than MBT's!

Tam

Steroid injection at the podiatrist
 

I tried metatarsal pads when I had Morton's Neuroma - they helped a little but not enough. Regarding yoga - it doesn't work - you will be barefoot and it will only make it worse.

After a couple of months I went to a podiatrist that I knew. He gave me a steroid injection to shrink the neuroma. It did not hurt me and it helped so much. It's been almost a year and I am pain free.

You can try the pads but if they don't work -- go to a podiatrist.