NEUROMA TREATMENT
Morton's Neuroma Treatment in Billings, MT
That burning, tingling sensation in the ball of your foot? It could be a neuroma — and we have effective treatments that don't always require surgery.
What Is a Morton's Neuroma?
A Morton's neuroma is a thickening of the tissue surrounding a nerve in the ball of the foot, most commonly between the third and fourth metatarsal bones. It is not technically a tumor — the nerve sheath thickens in response to chronic compression and irritation, creating a painful mass that presses on the adjacent nerve.
The condition is more common in women than men, likely due to high-heeled and narrow-toed shoe styles. Activities that place repetitive pressure on the ball of the foot — running, court sports, and standing for long periods — also increase risk. As the neuroma grows, symptoms become more frequent and severe.
Neuroma Symptoms
Burning Pain
A sharp, burning pain in the ball of the foot that often radiates into the third and fourth toes. The pain typically worsens with activity and tight shoes, and improves with rest and shoe removal.
Tingling & Numbness
A sensation of tingling, prickling, or numbness in the toes adjacent to the neuroma. Some patients describe it as an electric shock sensation shooting into the toes.
Pebble-in-Shoe Feeling
A persistent sensation that something is wadded up inside the shoe or that you are standing on a small stone, even when nothing is there. This is one of the most characteristic symptoms.
Relief When Barefoot
Symptoms often diminish when you remove your shoes and massage the ball of the foot. This pattern of shoe-related pain is a strong indicator of neuroma versus other forefoot conditions.
Burning pain in the ball of your foot?
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Conservative Care
The majority of neuromas respond well to non-surgical treatment, especially when addressed early:
- Wider shoes — A shoe with a broad, deep toe box reduces compression on the metatarsal heads and gives the nerve space
- Metatarsal pads — Placed behind the metatarsal heads to spread the bones apart and reduce pressure on the nerve
- Custom orthotics — Provide metatarsal support, redistribute forefoot pressure, and address biomechanical factors contributing to nerve compression
- Corticosteroid injections — Reduce inflammation and swelling around the nerve, providing weeks to months of relief. Typically limited to 3 to 4 injections per year.
- Alcohol sclerosing injections — A series of injections that chemically reduce the nerve tissue, offering a less invasive alternative to surgery for some patients
Neuroma Excision Surgery
When conservative treatment does not provide adequate relief — typically after 3 to 6 months of consistent non-surgical management — surgical excision is a highly effective option:
- Outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia with sedation
- The thickened nerve is excised through a small dorsal (top-of-foot) incision
- Patients walk in a surgical shoe immediately after surgery
- Return to regular shoes in 3 to 4 weeks, full activities by 6 to 8 weeks
- Success rate exceeds 85 percent for pain resolution
Expected trade-off: permanent mild numbness between the affected toes, which most patients consider an excellent trade for eliminating the burning, shooting pain.
Why Choose Rimrock Podiatry for Neuroma Treatment?
Accurate Diagnosis
Forefoot pain has many possible causes. We differentiate neuromas from capsulitis, stress fractures, metatarsalgia, and other conditions to ensure your treatment targets the actual problem.
Conservative First
Most neuromas respond to non-surgical treatment. We exhaust conservative options before recommending surgery, and many of our neuroma patients avoid the operating room entirely.
Experienced Surgeons
When surgery is needed, our board-certified surgeons perform neuroma excision as a routine outpatient procedure with consistently high patient satisfaction rates.
Injection Expertise
Corticosteroid and alcohol sclerosing injections are performed in-office with precision. Many patients achieve lasting relief through injection therapy alone.
Frequently Asked Questions About Morton's Neuroma
What does a Morton's neuroma feel like?
Most patients describe the sensation as standing on a pebble or a fold in their sock. Other common descriptions include burning pain in the ball of the foot that radiates into the toes, tingling or numbness in the third and fourth toes, a feeling that something is bunched up inside the foot, and pain that worsens in tight shoes and improves when you take your shoes off and rub the area.
Will a Morton's neuroma go away on its own?
Morton's neuromas rarely resolve completely on their own, but symptoms can be significantly reduced or eliminated with conservative treatment. Changing to wider shoes, using metatarsal pads, receiving corticosteroid injections, and wearing custom orthotics can provide lasting relief for many patients. Without any treatment, neuromas tend to progressively enlarge and worsen.
How is a Morton's neuroma diagnosed?
Diagnosis is primarily clinical — your podiatrist will examine the foot, reproduce the symptoms by pressing between the metatarsal heads, and perform a Mulder's click test. Ultrasound can visualize the neuroma and measure its size. MRI may be ordered in atypical cases to rule out other conditions such as stress fractures, capsulitis, or metatarsophalangeal joint disorders.
What happens during neuroma surgery?
Neuroma excision involves a small incision on the top of the foot between the affected metatarsal heads. The thickened nerve tissue is carefully identified and removed. The procedure takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes under local anesthesia with sedation. You go home the same day in a surgical shoe and can typically return to regular shoes in 3 to 4 weeks.
Will I have numbness after neuroma surgery?
Yes. Because the nerve that forms the neuroma is removed during surgery, you will have permanent numbness between the affected toes. Most patients find this numbness is mild, barely noticeable in daily life, and far preferable to the burning, shooting pain the neuroma was causing. The numbness does not affect walking, balance, or athletic activities.
Related Conditions
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