April 23, 2009

Morton's Neuroma

Yesterday I decided to go ahead and have an MRI to see if I have a stress fracture in my foot. It is just not getting better. This week even riding my bike bothered me a lot more than it did last week. Today I met with the doctor to see what was going on with me foot.

Well, it is not a Stress Fracture it is a neuroma. Take a look at the link. Basically it is the swelling or enlarging of the never that runs between the toes along the ligament that connect all of the toes or bones. (Does that make sense?).


It is very common in women because most women wear high heel and narrow shoes. That does not apply to me. I have a couple of pairs of shoes with maybe a 2 inch heal but only one pair is narrow. My shoes of choice are very comfortable, roomy and flat. It is the running that caused it. The doctor I saw this time is Gloria Beim. She wrote The Female Athlete's Body Book, she has been the team doctor for the US Cycling Team as well as the US Olympic Team. (She knows her stuff!)

Dr. Beims says I have two, one is where it is on the picture and a smaller one is developing on the other side of the same bone towards the outside of my foot. She knows I really want to run a marathon and get active as quick as possible so she is treating me aggressively. She gave me a cortisone shot today and I see the physical therapist tomorrow. She said to stop doing anything at that hurts (but I can still ride my bike to work since it is .75 of a mile each way). Dr. Beim said in about 1 week to try running a short distance and see how it feels. If it hurts, stop if it feels good then the next day try to go a little further.

Dr. Beim also said that I might need 2 or 3 shorts of the cortisone and the worse case scenario would be surgery to remove the nerve all together. For now I think I will hit the pool instead of the road and the trail - at least for the next week.

5 comments:

GreenStyleMom said...

ouch! My foot has been bothering me in the same place! I've been hoping mine is just a bruise and will go away in a few days...

I wonder if I got mine from running in old shoes?

Dr. Andrew Schneider said...

Another good solution would be to get a good, supportive insole that has a metetarsal pad/raise. You won't find one at a pharmacy, but you likely will at a specialty running store or a shoe store like Foot Solutions. The metatarsal raise will help to support the metatarsal archa and separate the metatarsal bones to take pressure off of the neuroma. If you already have an orthotic, you should have your doctor add a metatarsal support to it.

Good luck with reaching your goals!

Carrie said...

wow - good to find out that it isn't a stress fracture! that would have put you out for a lot longer. Sounds like you have found yourself a good Dr. and hopefully with the therapy you'll be back to running in no time!

Cuba Paul said...

That is one real painful problem. I had a stress fracture in my foot a few years back about playing football (soccer for you) and it was not a pleasant experience.

Anonymous said...

I've had foot problems forever. Two bunionectomies, hammer toe surgery. Now, I have had severe pain in the ball of my foot. The podiatrist gave me a cortisone shot that has alcohol in it to kill the nerve. Well, now I have a severe hammer toe that kills.I think it is a neuroma that is pulling the tendons and causing my toe to bend. It wasn't like that before the shot.