Physiotherapist update: October 2019 Rina van der Merwe, Physiotherapist MORTON’s NEUROMA Definition: A painful condition that affects the ball of your foot, most commonly the area between your third and fourth toes. Athletes complain about a sharp, burning pain in the ball of the foot (more specifically the 3 rd and 4 th toes) that occur after jogging for 20 minutes. It involves a thickening of the tissue around one of the nerves leading to your toes. Symptoms: Numbness down the insides of the third and fourth toes, and pain under the ball of the foot which gets worse as you run. Burning, tingling or numbness in the ball of the foot that can also radiate to toes. “Like walking on a pebble, have something in their shoe or like their sock is bunched up.” Overtime, the symptoms progressively get worse, become more often and last longer. Cause of symptoms: Foot structure (eg. flat feet, high arch, bunions, hamer toes) Repetitive pressure on ball of foot Shoes without proper cushioning Treatment options: * Rest, ice * Proper footwear (cushioning, …
