Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › Foot/Ankle › Help please: morton’s neuroma

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    • 03/01/2016 at 2:18 am #71551
      AvatarAdam Neary
      Participant
      Has anyone had success healing a Morton’s Neuroma? I’ve got a self diagnosed Morton’s Neuroma between my 3rd and 4th metatarsal. I find this is often described as an “inflamed nerve”. Also as a “thickening of the nerve tissue”. A lot of the “treatments” I find online seem to treat it like inflammation – Ice it.
      If it is inflammation:
      1) Why describe it as a “thickening of the nerve tissue”?
      2) What’s the best treatment in a post ice world, given that Compression of the nerve is listed as a cause of the problem?
      If it is not inflammation, but a legitimate growth of nerve scar tissue, how is it that the growth seems to sometime go away when people stop compressing/irritating the nerve?
      (I haven’t had an MRI, but I’m fairly sure its a neuroma and not a stress fracture due to
      1. the location between the toes
      2. The feeling of “clicking” when I put weight on it
      3. that when I read it is often caused by tight shoes, I cut the sides off my shoes and my feet spilled out both sides.
      4. I’ve been doing a lot (for me) of jumping and sprinting in these very minimalist(Feiyue) shoes
      )
    • 03/01/2016 at 7:12 pm #76316
      AvatarAdam Neary
      Participant
      Ok, Here is what I’ve got so far:
      Further research revealed that Morton’s Neuroma is both inflammation (lymph materials causing pressure) and a build up of scare tissue. (This link was very helpful: http://www.mortonsneuroma.com/mortons-neuroma-science/ As well as This one : http://www.mortonsneuroma.com/treatment-conservative-options-mortons-neuroma/) The the scare tissue is a response of the nerve to irritation rom pressure. Importantly, neither the size of the neuroma, nor the amount of scare tissue is correlated with pain and many people have these without knowing it. It is thought that the pain may be related to demylination of the nerve. So my treatment plan has three prongs:
      1. Help the Lymph system do it’s thing: Movement, picking things up with my toes, and inversions with leg and foot movement.
      2. Create space in the foot: Ball/bottle rolling, stretching, and massage aimed at spreading the foot.
      3. Remyelination of the nerve: Strength and conditioning studies have shown that high rep, low weight movements that mimic key variable, like angles, acceleration, speed, etc (read use the same nerve pathways) cause myelination of those pathways and increase strength by increasing the efficiency of the motor pathway. Under this theory, I’m pursueing the recommend toe strengthening PT (Though no rational is given for it’s effectiveness, I think it may be a combinatiuon of helping the lymph system of the foot, and this myelination effect.) I’m worried that the neuroma is so far down the foot that doesn’t inervate any muscle. I do have numbness in the inside of the 4th toe and outside of the 3rd toe, though I can still feel things. I’m hoping that spending time focusing on feeling from that region may similarly reinforce the myelination of that nerve.
    • 03/05/2016 at 3:26 pm #76322
      AvatarNathan Richer
      Participant

      In addition to lots of foot care work -see MWOD videos for their foot care videos – you will need a subscription:

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/tuesday-february-4th-2014/
      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2014/01/pro-episode-59-reclaiming-those-gnarly-feet/
      http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/sunday-april-13th-2014/
      http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/saturday-august-9th-2014/
      http://www.mobilitywod.com/daily/friday-april-3rd-2015/
      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2013/05/the-flat-feet–solution/

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2013/08/pro-episode-38-mwod-pro-user-request-friday-femurs-straight-but-feet–ducked-the-mwod-approach/

      http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/08/episode-07-bro-your-navicular-bone-dropped/

      I would also try Correct Toes: https://nwfootankle.com/products/10-correct-toes/grid

      they are a cheap solution and i wore them only at night during sleep, and when i walked barefoot around the house.

      the other thing to do is to find shoes which do not mash your toes together, which unfortunately are 99% of the shoes out there. check out the nwfootankle.com site for recommendations of brands. the more your feet are mashed together, the more Morton’s presents itself.

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