I am a life-long time runner who has done many marathons. About a year and a half ago I started developing tingling and pain in the ball of my foot about. The pain gradually got worse. I saw a podiatrist and learned that I had a Morton’s neuroma. I was given some neuroma pads to try to take the pressure off it, but it still continued to bother me after I would run. Eventually I went to the doctor again and I was told that I would have to stop running.
I really don't want to stop running. For this reason I went and got a second opinion from an orthopedic surgeon. He recommended that I have surgery on my foot to remove the Morton's neuroma. I'm still not sure if this is the right approach because I am concerned that surgery can alter my foot in someway that might change my running biomechanics. Is that something I should really be concerned about?
Thanks!
Henry B.
San Jose, CA
A painful Morton's neuroma certainly can disrupt your ability to run. The swollen nerve on the bottom of the foot can cause tingling and burning pain. But in addition this pain can get worse. In the initial stages of the development of then neuroma, many patients will say that they have tingling foot pain that is intermittent and only happens following long runs.
But over time, the continual irritation of the neuroma makes the nerve swell and the pain becomes more frequent. The nerve endings in the painful neuroma become over active. Then you start to have pain when you're simply sitting in a chair, driving your car, or even while relaxing reading a book.
Surgery can be an effective treatment for a Morton's neuroma that is keeping a runner from running. Basically the nerve is removed and you get numbness in the area where you previously had pain. That is the biggest concern is explained by surgeons before you have surgery.
But there are other risks to surgery. The one that is particularly relevant to your concerns is that in order to remove the neuroma the most common surgical approach involves cutting of the intermetatarsal ligament that stabilizes the forefoot. This ligament is not sewn back together once the nerve has been removed.
Because you have essentially removed a ligament in the ball of the foot, you can have a small amount of foot instability that was not present prior to surgery. This is not a “surgical complication” but is just a consequence of the surgery as it is normally performed. The only other alternative is to place a surgical incision on the bottom of the foot. However a painful surgical scar on the bottom of the foot can be even more disruptive to your capacity to run than the Morton’s neuroma.
If you are really considering having surgery in order to surgically remove the Morton’s neuroma, you have to make sure that you discuss your running activity in great detail with your sports medicine surgeon. You have to make sure that your surgeon understands how much you run, which surfaces you prefer to run on and, for what distances. As long as you understand the biomechanical implications of the surgery and you and your surgeon agree that it is the best option for you, it may be appropriate to proceed with surgery to remove the neuroma. If you're not convinced that neuroma surgery is right for you then you should try all of the other alternatives to surgery to make sure that you have tried the less invasive options that can better preserve your ability to run.
Dr. Christopher Segler is a sports medicine surgeon and runner. He is 14-time Ironman triathlon finisher. His practice focuses on the rapid treatment of running injuries, and a rapid return to running for his patients in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question about a painful neuroma that it is affecting your ability to run, you can reach him directly at 415–308-0833. You can also learn more about Morton’s neuroma at AnkleCenter.com and alternatives to neuroma surgery at DocOnTheRun.com
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