Health Topics for Sports Medicine

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

UI Family Care

Morton's Neuroma

A nerve swells when it is pinched between bones. The swelling is called a neuroma. A pinched nerve in the foot is called Morton's neuroma. It usually affects the nerve between the third and fourth toes and sometimes the nerve between the second and third toes. Wearing shoes that are too narrow or having large bony joints in the foot can cause neuromas to form.

Symptoms of Morton's Neuroma are gradual and include:

• Pain felt between the third and fourth toes. The pain comes and goes starting from the outer side of one toe to the inner side of the adjoining toe.

• Severe pain felt when tight shoes are worn. When barefoot, there may be no pain.

• Pain resembling a mild electric shock.

• Numbness and radiating pain in the affected toes.

• Pain continues unless treated.

What you can do:

• stop any activity that makes the condition worse

• ice massage the top of the foot

• wear wide, soft shoes

• wear a foam rubber pad in the shoes under the sole of the foot to spread bones apart (This reduces pressure on the nerve.)

• take ibuprofen or aspirin for relief of pain and inflammation (These medications should not be taken without approval from your healthcare provider if you have an ulcer, kidney problems, an allergy to aspirin, or are on a blood-thinning medication.)

• seek medical help if the condition keeps returning

Sometimes injections of cortisone are given around the nerve to reduce swelling. If discomfort persists, surgery may be needed to remove the neuroma. Recovery time for a Morton's neuroma is typically 1 to 2 weeks, though it often comes back. After surgery, recovery may take 6 weeks.

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