Many people complain of a feeling of discomfort in the legs. However, not all of them turn to the doctor in time. Nevertheless, any delay can threaten with dangerous health consequences. One of the rather serious leg diseases is Morton's neuroma, which causes severe pain in the foot area.
Neuroma Morton - clinic of the disease
This term means a thickening in the area of the nerves of the foot. This pathology is benign. In the case of such a formation, the bones and ligaments begin to press on the nerve fibers, which leads to the development of inflammatory processes.
The bones of the foot are displaced in a certain way, which provokes the development of this pathology. Among the risk factors are also called excess weight.
Signs of this disease bring a person considerable discomfort, because they manifest themselves in the form of shooting pains, burning, numbness, tingling.
Typically, the site of localization of this disease is the area between 3 and 4 fingers. Sometimes this thickening is located between 2 and 3 fingers. In other places such neuroma is rarely detected. Also, infrequently it can be diagnosed immediately at two stops.
Causes of the development of the disease
The main reason for the appearance of the pathology is that the nerve fibers located in the foot are compressed by ligaments and bones.
Why does this happen? The main reasons are:
- Wearing narrow and uncomfortable shoes. In this situation, the bones of the metatarsal are shifted to each other, which causes compression of tissues and nerve fibers.
- Use of shoes with heels. In this case, the entire weight of the trunk is transferred to the pads located near the base of the fingers.
- Acute traumatic injuries and hematomas at the site of localization of nerve fibers.
- Transverse flatfoot. Among the many factors in the development of this pathology is the fracture of metatarsal bones.
- Wrong gait. If you tilt the foot inside while walking, you can cause tension of the nerve, which provokes its damage.
- Obliterating pathology of the legs.
- Lipomas, which are benign lesions in the foot.
- Higher loads. This especially applies to the forefoot. Usually this happens due to intense sports activities.
- Infectious and autoimmune pathologies. It's about the diseases that cause inflammation in the foot.
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Symptoms of the disease and complaints of patients
In case of development of this disease, the following symptoms are observed:
- Pain sensations. Usually appear after a person spent some time on his legs, and with the development of pathology this period will be reduced. At night, uncomfortable sensations appear quite rarely.
- Shooting pain in the region of 3 and 4 toes.
- Tingling and burning in the area of the foot.
- Feeling the presence of a foreign object in the shoes.
- Gradual increase in signs. They do not occur suddenly, but after a certain time.
- No visible changes in the foot. Morton's neuroma is not a tumor. This is more the accumulation of inflamed nerves in the shell, and therefore the appearance of the foot in this disease does not change in any way.
- Appearance of pain at rest. This is typical for the most neglected cases of the disease.
Diagnostic methods
Diagnostic activities begin with a patient interview. Of great importance are his complaints and the location of pain. Also, the doctor must necessarily ask what type of footwear the patient prefers to wear.
To clarify the diagnosis, you should examine the foot. The sole of the foot is squeezed with fingers to determine the location of the localization of pain. In some cases, the doctor manages to find a site of numbness.
To exclude the presence of other diseases, it is necessary to perform an X-ray examination. In especially difficult situations, MRI( magnetic resonance imaging) is performed.
How to treat Morton's neuroma
Treatment can be conservative, based on reducing pain and discomfort, or operative when medication or therapeutic remedies do not help. Below we consider both methods in more detail.
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Conservative therapy
If there is no change at the pathology site, this method of treatment can be used. It consists in excluding pressure on nerve fibers. For this, the usual shoes are changed to a freer and more comfortable one. Also in this case, the use of orthopedic shoe models is shown.
Orthopedic insoles, custom-made, can also be used to treat this pathology. They have many positive reviews from people using them to treat Morton's neuromas. These insoles are available and easy to handle.
With their help, it is possible to effectively solve such problems:
- to reduce the load on the forefoot area of the foot, and due to this, normalize the state of the transverse arch;
- reduce pressure of bones and ligaments on the damaged nerve, which allows to stop the development of the disease;
- to eliminate the inflammatory process in nerve fibers and tissues, which significantly reduces or completely eliminates pain;
- to restore the structure of the foot, which provides a normal gait.
If you start using insoles in a timely manner, you can get rid of this disease conservatively and avoid surgery.
Surgical intervention of
If conservative therapy does not produce proper results, an operation is performed. During this procedure, under local anesthesia, the metatarsal canal is opened. Then dissect the neuroma and remove a part of the nerve.
This operation can cause numbness between the fingers, which is temporary. If the perineural space expands, then this sensation is absent.
The average cost of such an operation is approximately 20,000 rubles.
Rehabilitation usually takes 10-12 days. During this period, the patient should wear the right shoes, and the foot should provide peace. Even the next day after surgery, a person can make short walks.
It is worth highlighting yet another approach to the treatment of the Morton neuroma. However, this modern technique is used comparatively rarely, since it involves an increase in the rehabilitation period.
This method is in osteotomy 4 metatarsal bone. The disease is treated by getting a nerve compression. The procedure involves the displacement of the head of this bone, which is achieved by artificial fracture. The advantage of such an operation is the absence of scars.
Traditional methods of treatment of Morton's neuroma
At home, you can use folk remedies. However, such recipes only help to get rid of pain, but are not a panacea for this pathology. Therefore, they can only be used as an auxiliary:
- Wormwood juice. You need to take a bitter wormwood, grind it to make a gruel, and attach it to the foot. Above you can fix a bandage. Pork fat and salt. To soften the nerve fibers in the foot, you need to make a warming bandage.100 grams of pork fat mixed with a tablespoon of salt, then rub this composition into the place of localization of pain and wrap it with a bandage.
Consequences and Forecast
If a disease develops for a long time, and a person does not seek help from a specialist, the consequences can be the most serious. Painful sensations will only increase, and the site of inflammation will increase.
As a result, Morton's neuroma can only be cured by surgery. Therefore, with the appearance of the first signs of pathology, it is necessary to get a doctor's consultation. This will get rid of the disease with conservative treatment methods.
Prevention of disease
Preventive measures should be aimed at reducing the burden on the forefoot. This can be achieved through the right choice of shoes: do not wear too tight shoes and better abandon models in high heels.
Also of great importance is the timely prevention of transverse flatfoot.
Mortom's neuroma can cause serious discomfort to a person, because it is accompanied by very unpleasant symptoms. To prevent the progression of the disease, it is very important when you have any signs of going to the doctor.
Timely diagnosis and proper treatment will keep your feet healthy.
The telecast "Live healthy!" Mortom's Neuroma. Why do legs hurt? :