There’s a saying that when something is annoying, it amounts to, “A pebble in your shoe.” So, imagine there’s a foot condition that involves that very same symptom — the feeling like there’s a pebble in your shoe — except there's nothing there.
This strange sensation is due to nerve inflammation, which can make it feel like a foreign — and annoying — object is in your footwear.
Called a Morton’s neuroma, our team at Neuhaus Foot and Ankle has ample experience in diagnosing and treating this common foot issue, which affects at least five times more women than men (more on why in a moment).
Technically, the term neuroma refers to a tumor, but that’s not the case with Morton’s neuroma.
Your feet have five metatarsal bones that run the length of your foot to each of your toes. Between these long bones is what we call a web space where your common digital plantar nerves pass through on their way to your toes.
When you develop a Morton’s neuroma, there’s nerve irritation or entrapment that can lead to swelling and inflammation in the nerve. This occurs most often in the ball of your foot between your third and fourth toes. However, it can happen less commonly between other toes, too.
Women are more prone to Morton’s neuromas because of footwear — they are more inclined to wear high heels with pointy toes that place too much pressure on the balls of their feet and create nerve entrapment issues.
In the title of this blog, we reference one of the most commonly described symptoms — the sensation that there’s something in your shoe, such as a pebble, a marble, or a fold in your sock.
However, there are other symptoms of this neuropathy, including:
Since high heeled shoes with pointy toes are the primary culprits behind Morton’s neuromas, it may come as no surprise that these symptoms can flare when you’re wearing these types of shoes.
We can treat your foot issue if it is related to Morton's neuroma. We emphasize the importance of early intervention because we can often reverse the nerve inflammation if we catch it early enough.
Conversely, the longer your Morton’s neuroma goes untreated, the more your chances are of developing more problematic nerve damage.
In the early stages, we typically recommend:
If these measures fall short, we may have to get more aggressive with a radiofrequency (RF) ablation. During this procedure, we use RF energy to burn the nerve to stop it from sending signals.
If your Morton’s neuroma fails to respond to nonsurgical treatment, we can perform a quick procedure in which we remove the diseased portion of the nerve and decompress it. This surgical approach has an 80-95% success rate, so it’s a great solution if other treatments aren’t effective.
If you want to figure out whether you’re dealing with Morton's neuroma and what your treatment options are, we invite you to contact one of our 13 locations in Tennessee to schedule an appointment with one of our podiatry specialists.
