What Is The Best Treatment Option For Mortons Neuroma? (Surgery Or No Surgery?)

What Is The Best Treatment For Morton’s Neuroma?

Have you been diagnosed with Morton’s Neuroma and you want to know what route to take to completely get rid of this problem?

I know it can be hard deciding because you want a treatment option that will eradicate your foot pain for good.

You may already know that there are many treatment options but which one will really work for you. And will your neuroma go away and never come back?

I am going to show you 2 broad treatment options and show you the pros and cons of both. You will be able to decide which one suits you best. These treatment options are surgical and non-surgical.

I will tell you right away that I personally prefer a non-surgical option. You will see why…

Let us examine these 2 options further.

Option 1: Conservative Non-surgical Treatment Option

When you have just been diagnosed with MN, your doctor will most likely start by prescribing you non-surgical treatments. The most common are the following:

1. Switching your footwear – to more comfortable wide fitting shoes that give your toes enough room.

2. Foot Orthotics – specialized shoe inserts that help to correct your foot’s mechanical imbalances such as the arching of feet.

3. Anti-inflammatory medications

4. Localized injections. Injections with anesthesia, corticosteroid, and alcohol (sclerosing) are commonly done.

However, there are many other different injection procedures that are meant to be highly precise, targeting the actually affected nerve. These are done through ultrasound guidance at The Center For Morton’s Neuroma in Massachusetts.

The procedures include the following:

• Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy
• Cryoblation Therapy
• Ultrasound-guided Neurolytic Injections (A better alternative to the usual Alcohol Sclerosing)
• Ultrasound-guided Radio Platelets Rich Plasma Injections
• Ultrasound-guided Stem Cell Therapy
• Ultrasound-guided Corticosteroid Injections (there is a difference between this one and the normal Corticosteroid injections)

For more information on these procedures read this article: 7 New Treatment Options For Morton’s Neuroma

These treatment options are the most important ones among the conservative alternatives. If done correctly they can actually get rid of your MN pain for a considerable amount of time.

The good news is that you won’t have to do all of them. You can have only one procedure done and that would be enough. If on rare unfortunate cases one treatment does not work, then you can proceed to the next option as per the doctor’s advise.

The other good news is that if you already have the surgery but you still experience pain, you will get help at The Center  For Morton’s Neuroma. they will recommend Ultrasound-guided Radio Platelets Rich Plasma Injections. It will help you heal better and resolve any complications resulting from Morton’s Neuroma surgery.

In case you need some assurance here a quick testimonial from Matt who had a severe Morton’s Neuroma case. He had 2 neuromas surgically removed from one foot. You can imagine the pain that must have been for Matt.

He was treated at The Center For Morton’s Neuroma with Ultrasound-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy and Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy.

Watch this short video for  Matt’s testimonial

 

Option 2: Morton’s Neuroma Surgery

With this option clearly, you will have your neuroma surgically removed. This should be the last resort when the non-surgical treatment options have failed.

If you want to see how the surgery is done, watch this short Morton’s Neuroma Surgery Video.

I must say it looks quick from the video. But I will admit it scared me thoroughly!

The surgery removes the neuroma and there are fairly high success rates. That means surgery is not always successful. Surgery has its own disadvantages:

1. There is no guarantee that the neuroma will be gone for good. Some people have had success with MN surgery but in most cases there are complications.

• Excruciating chronic pain
• Permanent  numbness of the toes
• Swelling – as a result of surgery, swelling can be expected.  However, in some cases, swelling persists for a long time.

2. Wrong surgery – this is when the wrong space is operated on. It can lead to complications such as infection, the formation of neuroma stump and the development of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

3. Complications arising from the wrong surgery may require you to undergo a corrective second surgery, putting your foot under more trauma. And what if the second surgery fails to alleviate the pain?

4. Post-surgery immobility – because surgery is highly invasive it results in considerable immobility afterward. The recovery process can be long and tedious. You won’t be able to walk normally for some time. Some people recover quite quickly (2-4 weeks). In some cases, recovery may go beyond 6 weeks. During that period, you will need to be very cautious and limit your activities.

5. Unsightly scar(s) – even if you recover fully, the operation will leave you with scars. Well, if I had no alternative but to undergo MN surgery, I wouldn’t mind the scar much if it meant being completely pain-free.

However, because there are non-invasive treatment options, no thanks to scars! I am saving up for a non-surgical procedure at The Center For Morton’s Neuroma.

Other post-surgical complications

• Stiffness
• Toe disability or weakness or deformity
• Poor /delayed healing

How To Minimize Pain After Morton’s Neuroma Surgery

I believe that your doctor will give you a list of guidelines and precautions to follow.

Here are some of the things you can do after surgery to ensure a proper recovery process

• Rest as much as you can
• Avoid putting any pressure on your foot – your doctor may give you crutches to assist your walking if he deems it necessary.
• Keep your foot elevated as much as possible
• Take antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication as prescribed by your doctor

Will The Morton’s Neuroma Pain Come Back?

Depending on the severity of your case, you may expect the neuroma pain to come back. There may be reasons for this.

• It may just be temporary pain that will eventually disappear when your foot has healed completely.
• If you had surgery but still feel pain, it may be that you developed a stump neuroma
• You went with the non-surgical treatment option but still feel pain – maybe the treatment option did not work for you. Consider having another treatment option.

Conclusion

I have shown you 2 broad treatment options for  Morton’s Neuroma:

Non-surgical and surgical treatments.

Ideally, surgery should be the last resort when non-surgical options have failed. All of Morton’s neuroma cases are different. But I believe that surgery should be the last thing you want to have.

I wish you all the best in your quest to find the best treatment for your Morton’s Neuroma.

Go ahead and share your treatment experiences in the comments below.