Morton’s neuroma issue

Yes. I've been dealing with a MN for over ten years. In the right shoes it doesn't bother me at all, but I have yet to figure out how to determine ahead of time what the "right shoes" will be. Like you, I read that you needed to have a wide toe box and I tried the Altra Torin. Those were by far the worst shoes I'd ever tried for my neuroma--in most shoes I could get least 4-6 miles before having a real problem, but in the Altras I had to turn back after half a mile.

After much experimentation, it seems to me that a narrow toe box actually works better for me. A wide toe box that lets the toes splay out makes the neuroma worse. My two cents' worth.

go to a podiatrist. I'm not kidding. The longer you hold off the less training you'll be getting in.

Try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49B6m5BsW_8

This really works, trust me.

I am concerned though that you might have a stress fracture in one of your metatarsals. Have you explored this?

otter wrote:

Try this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49B6m5BsW_8

This really works, trust me.

I am concerned though that you might have a stress fracture in one of your metatarsals. Have you explored this?

Thanks for the video - will try that for sure! Hadn’t really thought of a stress fracture, I guess because I don’t have any actual pain or tenderness. Forgot to mention I tried metatarsal pads too, but no help there.

I've been dealing with this for over a year now. I've tried neuroma pads, cortisone shots and wider shoes. They all help but it stills flares up pretty regularly to the point where it's pretty irritating but manageable. Contemplating doing the surgery since there isn't really anything to train for right now.

It will never go away. It will get worse.

Go see a good orthopedic sports medicine surgeon. Get the neurectomy from the top of the foot and you can be back running in 4 weeks. Then you will have no more needle sharp pain whenever you step on a pebble.

the knife works wonders wrote:

It will never go away. It will get worse.

Go see a good orthopedic sports medicine surgeon. Get the neurectomy from the top of the foot and you can be back running in 4 weeks. Then you will have no more needle sharp pain whenever you step on a pebble.

This is what I ultimately had to do as well. Mine had gotten to the point where I couldn't walk for more than 10 minutes without pain. 4 weeks is not a given though. Mine ended being pretty severe when they went in so I was off closer to 8 weeks and could only tolerate tiny amounts of running for a few months later. Years later, I have zero issues unless I spend all day in extremely narrow shoes.

I would try that lacing trick above. Switching to Altra's and lacing the way above eliminated the small amount of pain I felt post surgery. I was returning to running from scratch though, so I think that helped deal with the transition to zero drop.

I've posted this on MN threads at least a dozen times over the years. It worked for me, buying me XC/indoor track seasons before having surgery.

I ripped athletic tape in half long-ways to make it about 1/2" wide. I then taped the two offending toes together at the base, as close to the webbing as possible without letting it rub the webbing raw. I then used another strip to tape them together toward the end, last knuckle, of the two toes.

My unprofessional theory was that it made the two bones that were grinding back-and-forth on the nerve move as one unit and reducing the grinding. It seemed to work. My pain went from 9-10 to 2-3 and many times 0. And when 2-3 it was not every step like it was when untreated. I feared messing with the natural movement might cause a stress fracture or another problem, and is something you should watch if it gets sore, but I never had an issue.

When I had the nerve removed, the surgeon said it should be about the size of a hair on your head. He then showed it to me and it was almost like a shoelace from the years of grinding and swelling.

Good luck. Along with IT band, plantar fasciitis. and a few others this is one of the tough to solve running maladies.

I should have mentioned during recovery I walked with a boot to get around and I walked as much as possible. I started slow treadmill running when the doctor told me to stop wearing the boot. I stopped taking pain meds a day or two after surgery. The pain was just a dull ache. There was no more sharp needle.

When I ran a marathon six weeks post I took prodigious quantities of Vitamin I. Two before start and then one advil every 30 minutes.

The only strange thing is getting used to the numbness. And being careful not to forget that there is still a toe there. Have to be careful when clipping toenail because it there’s no feeling to tell you where to quit cutting.

Thanks all for the feedback! Glad to know it’s not just me. Have a few good suggestions to try. It’s just so weird that wide shoes actually aggravate it. Even weirder because when I wear the ultimate wide shoes (ie bare feet) I’m fine. Go figure......

I saw a physical therapist for this and he did some great things pushing bones around and then told me how to get a similar result when it comes back.

Basically, I need more separation between the bones at the base of the toes. So whenever it flares up, he suggested I do two things. First, use yoga toes, rubber toe spacers that look like they belong in a spa. This helps by spreading out the bones on my forefoot. Then for step two (or really whenever), I push my forefoot into the ground and twist back and forth like I’m rubbing something into the ground. The pressure means some bones are pushing down while others are not as I twist, so they loosen a bit.

Plus, I don’t look for shoes with a wide toe box, I look for shoes that don’t tend to get concave and form a u shape as they wear. You want the forefoot to consistently stay flat, not subtly roll inward from both sides pushing bones together.

Works for me anyways.

I agree with the last on two aspects specifically that I do.

I too believe that the insole of the shoe getting too indented which he called caving in and forming a U. The bulk of your weight is towards the midline of your foot and your shoes become concave. I had some shoes I loved because they had formed to the bottom of my foot but after like 1000 miles (obviously way too many anyways), I didn't realize the concavity was also pinching and caused the onset of my MN.

Secondly, I also flex my toes and twist them especially in the shower when warm which seems to loosen things up nicely.

Hth

I tried this, made mine way worse.

Things which helped mine: shaving calluses on the bottom of my feet, and insoles

The thing that solved it was rubber toe separators. Put two on the offending foot before going to sleep. I typically wake up in the night with them hurting at some point and take them off, but fall asleep with them on.

When it flares up, I put the toe separators back on for a few nights and it goes away.

Re hoka’s the podiatrist I saw recommended them for mn, something about the rocker sole

Free_the_thigh wrote:

I tried this, made mine way worse.

Things which helped mine: shaving calluses on the bottom of my feet, and insoles

The thing that solved it was rubber toe separators. Put two on the offending foot before going to sleep. I typically wake up in the night with them hurting at some point and take them off, but fall asleep with them on.

When it flares up, I put the toe separators back on for a few nights and it goes away.

Re hoka’s the podiatrist I saw recommended them for mn, something about the rocker sole

Sorry to hear that. This shows what a fickle issue this condition is. Look at how many different ideas and strategies this has drawn on thread after thread over the years. This works, this doesn't, try this, don't do that. Of course no one knows what helps/hurts until they try it.

Good luck and keep doing what helps. I eventually had the nerve removed and have not had any issues for many years since.