Tingling numb feet/recently dx'd with mortons neuroma in both feet

I've struggled with how to write suggestions on recovery/rehab because the steps you take depend on the specifics of your injury and which of my previously mentioned prevention steps work. That said, here's some ideas on recovery.

Time off and orthotics can help, but they don't address the root cause, which is a shoe that is too narrow.

The reason orthotics help somewhat and in some cases is that the extra arch support spreads out the impact points so the impact isn't quite so much on the metatarsals. They can also provide more metatarsal support, but again, that's much closer to addressing the problem, but you wouldn't need the metatarsal support if your shoes were wider.

Old shoes don't wear out evenly. The middle of the forefoot loses cushion faster than the edges. Thus, old shoes can contribute to MN. Runners with MN should change shoes more often.

To heal, your metatarsals need space to splay out. That means ALL your shoes need to be wide, not just your running shoes. This is an important step that gets overlooked. Yes the impact is less, but it's still impact and your foot is trying to heal. If you're willing to pay $300 or more for orthotics, then you really should invest in wider casual and dress shoes. OTHERWISE, YOU ARE JUST REINJURING THE FOOT IN YOUR NON-RUNNING SHOES.

Barefoot is great for prevention, but problematic for healing. The area is sore and inflamed, but walking barefoot gives it no protection. So again, you are reinjuring the area by walking barefoot. You need wide shoes with some arch support to spread out the impact. Later when you have healed, you can start walking barefoot as a prevention step. If you go barefoot for a while and the next day your MN flares up, you haven't reached the point you can go barefoot yet.

A metatarsal pad on the bottom of the foot *might* help. They're inexpensive, so you might give it a try. You can also try the opposite approach. Cut a hole about the size of a nickel out of the insert directly under the sore spot. I found this to work better than a metatarsal pad when it comes to healing because it helps take the pressure of impact off the sore spot. (If this works, put an insert in your casual shoes and cut it out as well.)

Medically, Epsom salts soaks help speed blood to the area. The feet have poor circulation compared to the rest of the body. These hot soaks will help circulation carry away the waste products of healing.

Ibuprofen (two 200m tabs 4x/day) will help, but don't continue this dosage for more than a couple weeks. Long term ibuprofen use has been linked to liver damage. Off and on use for severe injuries until they are healed is fine.

Yes, there are those who say ibuprofen slows healing... but my 20+ years of first hand experience says it helps with this type of injury.

If you have an Aloe Vera plant at home, an Aloe Vera wrap will help. You split open a blade of Aloe like a hot dog bun, place the clear meaty inside over the sore spot, wrap the entire area with Saran wrap (to prevent leaking) and then wrap your whole foot with ace wrap to keep it in place and wear it overnight. You can only do this at night because the Aloe is slippery and will move around in spite of your taping. It will be messy. It works AMAZINGLY WELL on foot, ankle, calf, arm, etc injuries.

Elevate your foot whenever you can to help circulation.

Good luck.

Oh, I forgot to mention this.

Use a liniment. You'll need to use it on the top and bottom of the metatarsals. The purpose is to increase circulation in the foot. You want to apply the liniment 2-3 times a day.

I use Thermaflex. It's a veterinary liniment for horses, and it can be a bit strong on some people's skin. I'd suggest you go to a pharmacy and ask the person behind the pharmacy counter to recommend a liniment for you.

Thank you. Your experiences and suggestions are both encouraging and helpful! I am in the process of breaking in custom orthotics which have a met pad along with a pair of Ultras. I am starting to notice a slight improvement (5th day). As far as the cryosurgery goes, I will consider this option if conservative methods prove not to work.

thank you again! Stay healthy and I wish you all the best!

Thank you!

Thank you Your suggestion did cross my mind however I am pretty sure I am dealing with some aggravated neuromas

Wishing you the best

Thank you

all the best man

Fisky. Thank you. This additional information you provided was extremely helpful particularly the issue of going barefoot! I am sure that I will be returning to your posts(as well as the other posts) until I get this all figured out!

Thank you. You as well!

I got the same thing @ the same time (give a week), the Olympics had just started and I went down to my local mall where my local supermarket was situated at one end. I was wearing a pair of 1970s styled white leather adidas shoes and "thin socks." I noticed in the glass of one of the stores that I was slouching as I walked past so I straightened up and the next second, ping. Ouch, I couldn't put my left foot down. The next day I went to my local sports clinic and the receptionist asked me what I had done, I explained what had happened and one of their podiatrists just happened to be talking to the other receptionist at the same time and she took me straight away and concluded it was some sort of morton's neuroma. She said I also had lots of calluses on the bottom of my feet and once some of that was removed about 40% of the pain went within 2 hours. Which says that it is a unsettling of the metatarsals. She gave me some forefoot padding (part of an orthotic) and told me to only walk for two weeks and do some cross training. I also bought some cheap foot spreaders. After a while I started doing walk-jogs, and then slowly returned to running after 4 weeks, after 2 weeks of semi normal training the tingle returned returned so I bought one of those cheap callus-sanders off the net for $10 and the tingle immediately declined.

Nerves in the lower legs can be influenced by the back.

If it comes back I will get prolotherapy on it.

I didn't lose too much fitness, just post 5.5 mile endurance. Speed took about 3 days to come back.

Whilst injured try to go on a diet, it makes you recover quicker and do plenty of core work.

Sophie0513 wrote:

Fisky. Thank you. This additional information you provided was extremely helpful particularly the issue of going barefoot! I am sure that I will be returning to your posts(as well as the other posts) until I get this all figured out!

I thought about your problem while driving home from today's workout. I had put on my spare shoes without socks and the feeling was glorious. I could wiggle my toes inside the shoe.

While you're healing, try going sockless in all your shoes. It's equivalent to going from a women's standard B shoe width to a D width. You should be able to wiggle your toes, which means your metatarsals have enough room to splay out on impact.

Yes, you may get blisters, but blisters are easy to fix... and temporary.

Yes, your shoes may get smelly. Washing them with a cup of white vinegar in the wash will fix that... or just soak them in white vinegar and rinse them out.