Continuing to run with a Mortons Neuroma okay?

I have posted this several times on this site.

I had the nerve removed, but prior to that I bought an indoor season by doing the following:

Tear athletic tape long-way reducing the width by 50%. Tape the two toes together, once at the base and again at the ends. Go run. This makes the two toes that grind the nerve move as one. Reducing the grinding action on the nerve nearly eliminates pain. At least it did for me. I am not sure of any long-term damage this could do to the bones of the feet/toes, but it did not harm me in any way over the 2-3 months that I did it 4-5 times a week. I taped for workouts or hard runs, and just put up with the pain for recovery runs. I was worried about damage to the bones so I alternated some.

I hope this helps.

Not patient enough to do all the patches. Had it removed never bothered me again. Life is too short to run with that pain. What I was doing wasn't running as the pain was causing me to roll out and run on the outer edge of my foot.

lhancock wrote:

How about some pros and cons on surgery for the Morton's neuroma?

the surgeons I know all recommend it, oddly enough.. ;-)

I've had neuromas for forty years, had a couple of bad years but running unhindered and mostly pain-free for the last few decades.

What's worked well for me is a trick Johnny Halberstadt at the Boulder Running Co. showed me: cut a small circle of orthopaedic felt and stick it to the bottom of the inner of the shoe, just behind the metatarsals. It usually takes a few tries with each new pair of shoes to get the pad situated just right, but once it's there, it lifts and separates the metatarsals and relieves the pressure on the neuroma. This helps with the pain and helps prevent further damage.

Placement of the pads is critical - this is why any consumer product except a custom orthotic probably won't work. Doing it yourself allows for cheap trial-and-error until the pads are exactly right.

I tried some expensive custom orthotics, but they didn't work as well as the pads, so junked them.

it's critical to have plenty of room in the toe box of ALL your shoes, running, bike, and work/casual. Compression of the metatarsals is a factor in this injury. Make sure to get running shoes with excellent forefoot cushion, that's the primary characteristic I look for these days; and replace them often. Try running on softer surfaces - grass, dirt roads, or synthetic tracks. Concrete is a terrible surface to run on..

Also, be careful of running with the pain. A few years ago, I didn't put the pads in a new pair of racing shoes, and consequently tore a calf muscle because I was compensating for the neuroma pain by altering my pushoff. Stupid stupid stupid.

I use these inserts in all my work and casual shoes:

For the surgery, I do respect those surgeon's opinions. However their judgement may not be accurate, since they might be among the good/lucky ones..

Actual studies on the surgery,

65% pain-free after 5 years, but the same percentage have mild or major shoe-wear restrictions.

Those odds aren't good enough for me.

A newer study,

82% excellent or good, but 71% restrictions with footwear.

I must be one of the lucky ones. After surgery a was fitted with soft flexible orthotics with a metatarsal support pad. Never have any problems. I can wear spikes and racing flats without orthotics along with casual shoes without any orthotics.

The wide toe box/shoe suggestion worked for me. I saw a podiatrist who told me to try wider shoes first. That was all I needed. I can run barefoot pain free but if I wear normal width running shoes the pain is too much.

Agree with those that mentioned tow separators - sleep with them. Make sure all the shoes you wear are not too tight in width.

I had a neuroma but avoided the shots. I soaked my foot in ice water each time it flared up and after every run. I kept it in there as long as I could stand it. After a few weeks I could run longer and longer without the neuroma flaring up and then eventually it went away. I also loosened the laces on my shoes to free up more room in the toe box.

For the ice water, I doubled up two really big Ziploc bags. I kept ice in the inside bag and added water after my run or during the flare-up. The second bag was just to prevent leaks. Having it ready to go was nice because when I had a flare-up it felt like my foot was just set on fire.

When the neuroma acted up on my run and I had no ice water handy I would kick my shoe off and pull my toes apart with my fingers until the pain subsided.