Morton's Neuroma

I had this in my left foot for 15 years. Initially running aggravated it after about 5 miles. Low fit alpine race boots were not good for it. Bike cleats and big climbs were hard on it. I started skinning a lot. I had all boots pressed out in the forefoot. It got to the point where the foot came out of the boot and into the snow 2-3 times between Paradise and Muir to relieve pain.

Mine was large, between 3rd and 4th toes counting big toe as #1. I never had an MRI. A trained foot Dr. could locate it immediately with a physical exam.

I did the whole progression....wider shoes, boot work, pads, cortisone, alcohol injections, then surgery. There is a lot of conservative therapy propagation going around by a lot of "foot doctors" who get paid for just that, for example one said "oh yeah, metatarsal pads cure this easily", another suggested foot massage, another the alcohol injections, orthotics, etc. Some of this might work for mild cases, but in severe cases, a good Dr. should tell you that they rarely work for athletes. In my case, none of that did anything. Cortisone got me through a few months of two seasons.

So I had it taken out. It is not a difficult procedure nor in my opinion very painful. But you need to baby that foot for quite a long time. Ex, 4-6 weeks off it. I had mine done on May 15. No skinning all summer. Light hiking moving to moderate hiking by late August. Through the first ski season, it hurt some, and a 18 mile flatish tour caused it to flare up in February. But, it was always better than before surgery, and now in season two, it has been a non-issue. My surgeon (an orthopedic MD foot specialist, not a podiatrist) told me flat out, the foot will never feel exactly like the other one, and that the recovery would take quite a bit of time. That is spot on. Overall I am happy. I'll also try to stay off the risers on long tours. Thanks for that tip Jake. Feel free to PM if you want to discuss more.

Thanks for the inout David. I'll let you know if I need some more information.

Great vibe of community and sharing on this thread!  I'm hoping someone can enlighten me on foot pain I've been experiencing recently.

I'm 70 and do mellow tours on skinnies & leathers, no heel risers (45 days this winter).  The past four times I have gone more than about three miles uphill, I have been stopped by intense pain in my right heel, with fairly rapid onset.  The first few times just felt like a bad blister, tho there was just redness, no broken skin.  Yesterday the pain felt like a hot nail being driven from my heel towards my ankle.  I found a flat dry rock and investigated.  About where the tendons broaden, about an inch above the sole, was a roughly horizontal irregular thin pulsating bulge about an inch across.  It looked a bit like a worm burrowing just beneath the skin, which was red, but unbroken.  The pain gradually subsided with my weight off, but I had to stop a couple times for about a half-hour on the return, which was the first time the pain has continued and worsened on the way down.  I was nearly crying by the time I reached Paradise, but it's not even sensitive to touch this morning.

Great vibe of community and sharing on this thread!  I'm hoping someone can enlighten me on foot pain I've been experiencing recently.

I'm 70 and do mellow tours on skinnies & leathers, no heel risers (45 days this winter).  The past four times I have gone more than about three miles uphill, I have been stopped by intense pain in my right heel, with fairly rapid onset.  The first few times just felt like a bad blister, tho there was just redness, no broken skin.  Yesterday the pain felt like a hot nail being driven from my heel towards my ankle.  I found a flat dry rock and investigated.  About where the tendons broaden, about an inch above the sole, was a roughly horizontal irregular thin pulsating bulge about an inch across.  It looked a bit like a worm burrowing just beneath the skin, which was red, but unbroken.  The pain gradually subsided with my weight off, but I had to stop a couple times for about a half-hour on the return, which was the first time the pain has continued and worsened on the way down.  I was nearly crying by the time I reached Paradise, but it's not even sensitive to touch this morning.

Mohair bug egg.

Great vibe of community and sharing on this thread!  I'm hoping someone can enlighten me on foot pain I've been experiencing recently.

I'm 70 and do mellow tours on skinnies & leathers, no heel risers (45 days this winter).  The past four times I have gone more than about three miles uphill, I have been stopped by intense pain in my right heel, with fairly rapid onset.  The first few times just felt like a bad blister, tho there was just redness, no broken skin.  Yesterday the pain felt like a hot nail being driven from my heel towards my ankle.  I found a flat dry rock and investigated.  About where the tendons broaden, about an inch above the sole, was a roughly horizontal irregular thin pulsating bulge about an inch across.  It looked a bit like a worm burrowing just beneath the skin, which was red, but unbroken.  The pain gradually subsided with my weight off, but I had to stop a couple times for about a half-hour on the return, which was the first time the pain has continued and worsened on the way down.  I was nearly crying by the time I reached Paradise, but it's not even sensitive to touch this morning.

Sounds like an irritated achilles tendon insertion point. For me, this was caused by right calves and hamstrings. Stretching the calf muscles and making sure to warm up helped me.

I have had this condition for almost 2 years now.  Initially, I was prescribed Voltaran topical gel to apply 4 times a day.  I was skeptical, but it helped.  After almost a year of that, I got tired of using the stuff and went back to my orthopedic doctor who didn't seem very helpful.  I switched to a foot and ankle doctor who is also a skier.  He started me on a series of cortisone injections which helped, but the biting, stinging pain has always come back after a month or so.  I am about at the end of that option because the cortisone can permanently damage and reduce healthy tissue in the area causing other issues.  I have custom orthotics in my ski boots and had some made for my street shoes which has helped some, but not eliminated the problem.  I live on the lake and spend a lot of time in sandals and flip flops in the summer, which really increase my pain.  So, my next step is called sclerosing.  The doctor does a series of 3 - 8 injections a week apart of an alcohol solution.  This basically deadens and kills the nerve in the offending area, but also results in numbness in that area.  It is a very low risk procedure that is over 80% effective.  I'm going to have it done after ski season is over.  I guess the biggest risk of surgery is after they cut the offending nerve, it can sometimes try to grow back and curl in on itself making the problem worse than before surgery, so I am very hopeful the sclerosing will be successful.  My doctor is Dr. Bierman and he has an office in Covington, but I believe he has a couple other offices in the area.

So have you gone forward with sclerosing shots? Dod they do anything for you? The cortisone shots I got did;t really do much and now I am starting to feel the neuroma with just walking around, which I did;t feel before. The doctor I am going to recommended we try cortisone first and see how that goes and then the sclerosing shots next. Curious to see what you think. Thanks.