Morton’s neuroma are the painful swelling of tissue around digital nerve near ball of toes where it passes beneath the ligament. Most commonly seen between 3^rd and 4^th web space.

Any repeated undue pressure or irritation can cause the nerve to get thickened and result in neuroma formation. There are various factors that can cause the neuroma formation.

• Prolong use of tight or high heel shoe
• Activities like running or racket sports, ballet dancing
• Flat arched feet
• High arched feet
• Hallux valgus
• Hammer toe
• Post trauma

You may feel burning intermittent pain at ball of toes with feeling like standing on pebble or pebble within your shoe although there is no palpable mass. You may feel tingling or numbness radiating to toes and difficulty in walking due to pain.

Any pain at ball of toes with difficulty in wearing shoe and pebble like feeling within shoe is warning to visit a specialist foot and ankle surgeon.

Your doctor may ask you regarding the pattern of pain and examine your foot to elicit tenderness at different site for possible diagnosis by palpating ball of toes, manipulating toes and compressing fore foot. Compression may elicit symptom and there may be clicking feeling between toes.

Treatment depends on the severity of symptom. Your doctor may advice conservative treatment first, like arch support metatarsal pad to offload the ball of foot and release pressure on nerve. If conservative treatment does not work then following are the options.

• Local infiltration of steroid
• Release of tight tissue band around nerve
• Excision of nerve