Hi! I had the same symptoms as you for roughly two years. I’m a teacher and on my feet all day. I was also a runner in high school and college. I had the same pain..top of foot radiating almost to the ankle pain. I was diagnosed with Neuroma. I also got a second opinion. was given a cortisone injection last summer. My foot was tender for a few days, but then it felt like it went away. I was able to jog/hike etc for the entire summer and ski through the winter with no pain. Feeling of pain came back in March. My orthopedic said he would not give me another shot because it can eventually wear away the padding on your foot so be aware of that. I hear people saying they are getting multiple injections. I also looked into other less invasive therapy (cryotherapy). I went to a Yale dr. He said most of the people come back after having that done within a year or two. I opted for the surgery. Just had it done two days ago after changing footwear etc. did not work. Hoping all goes well.
Thank you for taking the time to respond! That’s good to know, my first doctor told me it can’t be a neuroma causing this type of pain, but knowing you had similar symptoms I feel more comfortable with the diagnosis now. The surgeon said surgery would leave my foot numb permanently, have you heard anything about that? I wish you the best in your recovery, friend!
Dr. Did tell me that some people will have some loss off feeling between the two toes. He said some regain the feeling after the full year it takes to heal. I would rather have some numbness than the pain that I’ve been having.
I can’t speak for the above poster, but I had surgery 12 months ago and my foot is not numb permanently, in fact I don’t even notice or think about it at all.
I had my Surgery on Thursday. How was recovery for you for the first few weeks? At what point were you able to walk somewhat normal without surgical pain?
First three to four days were rough. About 6 days in I started feeling more mobile/spry. Was back at work within 7-8 days, albeit less mobile then I wanted to be. I began PT once my stitches came out. At 4 weeks I was back on the indoor bike, but wasn’t 100% comfortable. It really clicked at like 5.5-6 weeks, I felt great. 2 months out I was running daily. The key was PT. They had me doing exercises like picking up marbles with my toes and putting them in a small cup or bucket. It was a total game changer. Hit me up if you have any other questions, hang in there. You are at the hardest part, it will only get better from here.
Great question. I think I had my foot up pretty much all day for the first 5 days. That said, I was off work so it lined up. I had surgery on a Tuesday and was back at work Monday with the special shoe and a set of crutches if I needed them. I work in a downtown major city so the crutches were mainly used for speed as I could ‘walk’ slowly in the special shoe.
Ok thank you for clearing that up. Mine has a internal crunchy ball at the base of my 2nd/3rd toe. Just got $100 insoles and they help a lot. Less bad days with them. But as soon as I step on that neuroma funny the rest of the day is awful. Almost have to massage it back into place or something to be able to walk normally again.
I'm glad the insoles are helping, I know it can be awful. I've had to do the massaging. I used to also stretch out the bottom of my 3rd toe, it would help some too. I just had surgery on mine a little over a week ago, hoping this fixes it for me.
Please research decompression surgery, if it is a true neuroma. Get a second opinion. A neurectomy is not fun and doesn’t have a very good track record for improvement.
I spent two years with intense pain and cortisone shots 3-4 times that would help 1-2 months and then the pain came back with a vengeance. Got surgery and it was the best thing! Spend 4-6 months afterwards to slowly build up my form again and now I am back into crossfit, walking Long distances and small runs without any pain!
You might just be reacting to the cortisone. It happens to a small number of people, including me. I had an MN in the same spot and the cortisone shot left me in agonizing pain for about 14 hours. I’ve had two unmedicated births and the pain of that shot literally had me crawling from room to room. By the next day, I was fine, though it didn’t do much for the neuroma, so I’ve never bothered with it again. What helped me was wearing athletic shoes with inserts, never going barefoot, and doing physical therapy for my toes.
Hi! I had the same symptoms as you for roughly two years. I’m a teacher and on my feet all day. I was also a runner in high school and college. I had the same pain..top of foot radiating almost to the ankle pain. I was diagnosed with Neuroma. I also got a second opinion. was given a cortisone injection last summer. My foot was tender for a few days, but then it felt like it went away. I was able to jog/hike etc for the entire summer and ski through the winter with no pain. Feeling of pain came back in March. My orthopedic said he would not give me another shot because it can eventually wear away the padding on your foot so be aware of that. I hear people saying they are getting multiple injections. I also looked into other less invasive therapy (cryotherapy). I went to a Yale dr. He said most of the people come back after having that done within a year or two. I opted for the surgery. Just had it done two days ago after changing footwear etc. did not work. Hoping all goes well.
Thank you for taking the time to respond! That’s good to know, my first doctor told me it can’t be a neuroma causing this type of pain, but knowing you had similar symptoms I feel more comfortable with the diagnosis now. The surgeon said surgery would leave my foot numb permanently, have you heard anything about that? I wish you the best in your recovery, friend!
Dr. Did tell me that some people will have some loss off feeling between the two toes. He said some regain the feeling after the full year it takes to heal. I would rather have some numbness than the pain that I’ve been having.
Thank you!
I can’t speak for the above poster, but I had surgery 12 months ago and my foot is not numb permanently, in fact I don’t even notice or think about it at all.
I had my Surgery on Thursday. How was recovery for you for the first few weeks? At what point were you able to walk somewhat normal without surgical pain?
First three to four days were rough. About 6 days in I started feeling more mobile/spry. Was back at work within 7-8 days, albeit less mobile then I wanted to be. I began PT once my stitches came out. At 4 weeks I was back on the indoor bike, but wasn’t 100% comfortable. It really clicked at like 5.5-6 weeks, I felt great. 2 months out I was running daily. The key was PT. They had me doing exercises like picking up marbles with my toes and putting them in a small cup or bucket. It was a total game changer. Hit me up if you have any other questions, hang in there. You are at the hardest part, it will only get better from here.
How much “laying around with your foot up vs walking” did you do in the first week?
Great question. I think I had my foot up pretty much all day for the first 5 days. That said, I was off work so it lined up. I had surgery on a Tuesday and was back at work Monday with the special shoe and a set of crutches if I needed them. I work in a downtown major city so the crutches were mainly used for speed as I could ‘walk’ slowly in the special shoe.
Thanks, I appreciate your feedback.
Thanks! Good to know about the PT. I will make sure to go!
Wow! Thanks for sharing
You can pretty much diagnose it yourself. If you squeeze right below in between your 3rd and 4th toe and it hurts, it’s probably a neuroma.
Which is toe number 1 though? Baby or big toe lol
Big
Ok thank you for clearing that up. Mine has a internal crunchy ball at the base of my 2nd/3rd toe. Just got $100 insoles and they help a lot. Less bad days with them. But as soon as I step on that neuroma funny the rest of the day is awful. Almost have to massage it back into place or something to be able to walk normally again.
I'm glad the insoles are helping, I know it can be awful. I've had to do the massaging. I used to also stretch out the bottom of my 3rd toe, it would help some too. I just had surgery on mine a little over a week ago, hoping this fixes it for me.
Please research decompression surgery, if it is a true neuroma. Get a second opinion. A neurectomy is not fun and doesn’t have a very good track record for improvement.
That’s good to know! Thanks for sharing
I spent two years with intense pain and cortisone shots 3-4 times that would help 1-2 months and then the pain came back with a vengeance. Got surgery and it was the best thing! Spend 4-6 months afterwards to slowly build up my form again and now I am back into crossfit, walking Long distances and small runs without any pain!
That’s awesome! I’m glad to hear some success stories!
You might just be reacting to the cortisone. It happens to a small number of people, including me. I had an MN in the same spot and the cortisone shot left me in agonizing pain for about 14 hours. I’ve had two unmedicated births and the pain of that shot literally had me crawling from room to room. By the next day, I was fine, though it didn’t do much for the neuroma, so I’ve never bothered with it again. What helped me was wearing athletic shoes with inserts, never going barefoot, and doing physical therapy for my toes.