Suggest Treatment For Neuroma On The Forefoot Area

Posted on Sat, 12 Sep 2015

Question: Hello, I have a unique case, I have been diagnosed with Neuroma's which have have been plaguing me for the past 5 years. Over time it has gotten worse and worse. Cortesone shots and other things did not help. I finally went to another doctor and he took an xray and noted that the toes in my feet were crushing the nerve in the 2nd and 3rd toes. This is actually happening in both feet. The dr. prescribed an orthodic which does not appear to work very good so I went a foot shoe specialist who gave me a birkheart insert - this seems to help a little but my real problem is that as long as I wear sandles my feet only bother me around the neuroma's - however, if I put socks on it feels like my feet want to go numb- I can feel the nerve on the bottom of my foot when I press around my ankle. Drs are baffled by this as I was tested for neuropathy and that was ruled out. It feels like when I walk there is no padding on the bottom of my feet - like I am constantly walking on rocks - and around the toes where the neuroma is it's half numb and very sensitive.
Any ideas - suggestions - this has everyone baffled -

Answered by Dr. Noble Zachariah (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
A few suggestions.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome and thanks for your query.
I understand your concern and you have realised without my telling that it is a difficult problem to treat. Since you have unpleasant sensation when there is pressure on he area of the neuroma, one simple thing you could try is to wear an insole with the area which comes in contact with the neuroma cut out to avoid any pressure on it. Other options would be to try injecting a local anesthetic into the lesion and see if it relives the symptoms. If it relieves, then the neuroma can be ablated but you are at risk of losing sensation over the area supplied by the nerve. You will have to decide which of the two would be better.
Another option is to try Neurontin ( gabapentin) which is a prescription medicine.
Hope one of these suggestion would be helpful.
Best wishes,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Noble Zachariah (7 hours later)

I will look up the Neurontin to see what it is - but there is one more thing I needed to mention - I also have an issue with my lower back which the doctor said is causing numbness in the large toe and small toe - it's the same on both feet - so to handle that situation who would I go to see for this issue - a neurologist or someone who is an expert on back issues - putting the two together makes a perfect storm for having very uncomfortable feet -when I am sitting during the day - I normally don't have both of the issues (big toe shooting or electrical impulses) but it's more noticeable when i am laying down - and what about feet feeling numb when I put on socks or shoes - what causes that problem?

Answered by Dr. Noble Zachariah (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Due to pinched nerves at the back

Detailed Answer:
The pain radiating from the back is likely to be due to pinched nerve by the degenerated discs in the spine. Both the back specialist and the neurologist would be able to treat it.
The pain on putting on the shoes is likely to be due to the pressure on the neuroma

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar