Morton's Neuroma

Morning
I have two in my right foot and one on my left.. They don't always give you intense pain, the one on my left foot wasn't as bad as the two on the right.
The reason for this, it depends on the size of the inflamed nerve. As you can imagine, the more inflammation, the more the the nerve is pinched. If you aren't having much pain, could be a good sign in that the MN isn't too big yet and you may not have scar tissue, which also presses on the surrounding nerves... Also, the scar tissue can begin to feel like a pebble is right under your foot.. my advice... rest your foot NOW.... you ll be glad you did...

I ended up with the Neuromas after years of Jazzercise on a floor that had concrete underneath...... Then what really set off the pain was when I went to Zumba........... Now, I do neither of the exercises.... because my feet can't take it..

I was told the Neuromas can go away.. but you'd really have to take it easy on the feet.. Eventually, I ended up getting Cortisone shots... the one for the left LESS inflamed foot feels much better.. the right foot, that had the bigger neuromas still aches.. although not as bad.. Also, I feel like the Cortisone stiffened my foot a bit.. Therefore, after walking a lot, I have to massage it out..

My advice.. Take it easy on the feet and see if you can get the inflammation to do down on it's own. Also, did your podiatrist give you a shoe insert that lifts up the metatarsal (the middle ball of your foot)
the idea of course would be to relieve added pressure.. However, it has to be placed perfectly or it may cause further pinching..

In any event, take care of your feet... I am 49.. and I WISH when I was in my 20s and 30s I had known what good foot care was........... A good Podiatrist will school you on the Do s and Don'ts.. the one I had a the time was pretty worthless.. My new one takes so much more time and taught me about prevention... If only..........

good luck :)

No, but I went and had my doctor check to see if I had one. I didn't have specific sharp pain (warmth, numbness, etc.. but no sharp pains), and the doctor said there was no neruoma (the ball of tissue), just that I had irritated a nerve. It took a long time to feel better, and while I was waiting he told me to lay off running completely and do something without pounding (like bicycling). Ugh.

From what I recall reading about it (in my quest to figure out what was going on with my foot), you get sharp pain primarily from stress fractures. I don't remember whether or not there is any sort of specific location of pain with a neuroma. I didn't have "a" place of pain... it sort of moved around depending on what I did. Walking across the floor one time it might feel bruised in one area, and walking across the floor later the same day it might feel fine, and then 2 hours later feel bruised in a different spot. And the burning in the ball of my foot was annoying. And general discomfort when using the clutch in the car. But nothing I would call "pain"... nor localized to one specific place. But, I was told I didn't have a neuroma. The insinuation was that if I kept running without letting it heal, I would end up with one, though.
I don't know. If you have a neuroma, you have a knot of tissue that your doctor should be able to feel. It may or may not cause "pain". But it will press on nerves, and nerve pain can feel differently at different times. For me, sometimes numbness, sometimes burning, etc. I suppose some people might feel actual "pain", but I don't think that it is the case every time for every person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton's_neuroma

The best description I've heard of Morton's Neuroma in language I can understand is this:

"Morton's Neuroma is a foot condition caused from an abnormal function of the foot that leads to bones squeezing a nerve usually between the 3rd and 4th metatarsal heads. Symptoms of Morton's Neuroma often occur during or after you have been placing significant pressure on the forefoot area, while walking, standing, jumping, or sprinting. This condition can also be caused by footwear selection. Footwear with pointed toes and/or high heels can often lead to a neuroma. Constricting shoes can pinch the nerve between the toes, causing discomfort and extreme pain."

You have a pinched nerve that's being squeezed by the bones on either side of it.
Eventually the pinching will cause a lump to form (swollen thickened nerve - they don't consider this to be a true tumor) and THAT'S when it'll start to feel like you're walking on a marble embedded in your foot.
Right now, you only have the tingling from the pinching but if you let it go on, it will progress to a more painful state.

What to do about it?
You need shoes that will allow your toes to spread out - no pointy shoes.
And no high heels - it only puts pressure on the bones and causes more nerve squeezing.
The other thing you need is something that will support a minor side to side arch just behind the ball of your foot.
A metatarsal pad will do this.
It's hard for me to put into the right words but the pad helps hold the bones of your foot so they arch a little like the surface of a barrel, and that little bit of curve creates a little more space for the nerve between the bones.
That little bit of space un-pinches it and the irritation and swelling (and tingling) goes away.

Shoes with good arch support will help this too.
Honestly - since I've started wearing Birkenstock's (Arizona sandals in summer or clogs in winter) my feet have been pain free and I haven't needed to visit a podiatrist in years.
The older I get I find I'm much less willing to suffer for fashion's sake.

I don't have that but I have "severe arthritis" in my knees. I have broken off cartliage, fluid, many cysts and bone spurs yet I rarely have pain. My knee cap does dislocated occasionally and frequently/several times daily starts to slip out of its socket but incredibly I am not in constant pain.
Consider yourself lucky.

You would know if it was Morton's Neuroma. I had one several years ago and it hurt, really badly hurt. When it got to the point where I could hardly take a step is when I had surgery on it. It is a nerve that is continually being pinched. I'm pretty sure I caused it myself by wearing high heels everyday to work. The surgery was an out patient surgery and I have been fine ever since.

No, my neuroma hurt!