7 New Treatment Options For Morton’s Neuroma

What Is The New Treatment For Morton’s Neuroma?

Morton’s Neuroma treatments are wide-ranging and new treatments keep coming up regularly to help you deal with your crippling foot pain.

There are home-based treatments which in my opinion may not necessarily lead to Morton’s Neuroma cure but rather help you alleviate the pain.

There are also medical treatments performed by specialist doctors. These include both invasive (surgery) and non-surgical treatment options.

I am sure you will agree with me that non-surgical treatment options for Morton’s Neuroma are the most preferred. I know I would rather go for the non-invasive types.

Because many people prefer this type, medical researchers are constantly trying to come up with new effective treatments.

Among the new treatments, you will find those that require you to visit the doctor’s office and have the procedures performed on you.

There are also alternative types that you can simply purchase and use, like orthotics, footwear, etc.

I will address the subject of orthotics and the best types you can buy to give your feet the needed comfort.

Today let us look at the new treatments that require a doctor’s visit.

A quick reminder that the information you are about to read is not a “prescription” from me to you. I am simply trying to show you that there are other treatment options being developed.

The information is meant to inform you so that when you visit your doctor you may be able to ask about other options you have discovered here and find out if they are the best options for your neuroma.

I’m glad that’s out the way…

Let’s move on with the new treatment options

Non-Surgical, Minimally Invasive Treatment Options For Morton’s Neuroma

1. CNTX-4975 (Trans-Capsaicin) Injection

This is the new injection developed by Centrexion Therapeutics. CNTX-4975 is based on Centrexion’s proprietary STRATI™ technology (Synthetic TRans Capsaicin Ultra-pure Injection), an ultra-pure, highly potent, synthetic form of trans-capsaicin (medicine derived from the chili plant). CNTX-4975 is meant to be injected directly into the site of pain (using ultrasound-guided technology) to provide a quick onset, large reduction and long duration of relief from mild to severe pain without affecting touch sensibility or position sense.

CNTX-4975 works by selectively targeting the capsaicin receptor to swiftly inactivate only the local pain fibers transmitting signals to the brain. Because of a short half-life, STRATI™ is cleared from the body within 24 hours. This approach provides pain relief that can last for months until the ends of the local pain fibers regenerate while maintaining normal sensation, such as pressure, touch, and position.

It eliminates the risks of toxicities of NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and injected corticosteroids. It also removes the risk of other side effects such as abuse and addiction, normally associated with opioid treatments.

As of July 2017, the clinical trial results of this drug indicated that CNTX-4975 provides a clinically meaningful pain reduction in patients with Morton’s Neuroma.

2. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) Therapy

Radiofrequency Ablation is an established medical procedure that has been used to treat patients with chronic conditions such as back pain, neck pain, arthritis, abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia).

When it comes to treating Morton’s Neuroma, The Center for Mortons Neuroma specifically uses Ultrasound-guided RFA. It uses high-frequency radio waves to heat up the Neuroma nerve to 90 degrees Celsius. This process destroys the protein and prevents the nerve from transmitting any pain.

The Pros Of This Procedure

• It is Minimally invasive
• Uses ultrasound guidance to ensure proper positioning of the needle
• You can resume moderate low impact activity the following day
• You don’t need to be admitted into the hospital for this one

Side Effects?

According to the Center for Morton’s Neuroma, there are rare side effects associated with this procedure. However, you experience these.

• Bruising around the incision area
• Numbness or lack of feeling

These should clear up within a few days.

Relief From Morton’s Neuroma Pain?

It is expected to occur within a week of performing the ablation procedure but complete relief may take longer. If your pain has not completely gone after 7 weeks you can have another procedure after which your pain should disappear.

In rare cases, the pain will persist after the second procedure. In that case, the Center For Morton’s Neuroma recommends that you have a different ultrasound-guided ablation procedure.

3.Cryotherapy Ablation

The Center For Morton’s Neuroma performs Ultrasound Cryotherapy (aka Cryoablation). This procedure is similar to Radiofrequency Ablation, except in this case they turn the temperature and introduce the ‘freeze’ element to the neuroma. Medical Nitrous Oxide is used to generate an extremely cold temperature to selectively destroy the inflamed nerve. Ultrasound guiding helps with precision.

The nerve freezing is performed 2 to 4 times for a maximum of 3 minutes per procedure. This also depends on individual cases.

You will be advised to reduce impact, cover the incision spot, ice and elevate your foot. You can return to your normal activities in 2 days’ time. Relief will be expected within 2 – 4 weeks. If there is no pain reduction then you may need to repeat the Cryoablation procedure.

The Pros Of Cryoablation

• Pain relief may be faster than The Radiofrequency option
• Reduces the chances of Neuroma resurgence which may occur with other procedures such as surgical neuroma removal

Side Effects Of cryoablation

These are rare as in the case of RFA. But you can expect some of the following:

• Bruising
• Frostbite
• Lumpy feeling in the insition area but it will usually go in 3 to 6 months

4. Ultrasound-Guided Neurolytic Injections

This procedure also works to destroy the neuroma nerve and prevent it from transmitting any pain. The agent of destruction, in this case, is a sclerosing agent (usually concentrated alcohol). Yep, they get it so drunk it won’t live to tell the tale.

Relief is normally almost instant. However, if the pain persists you may be advised to repeat the injection for a period of 5 -10 days.

Please note that there is a common type of alcohol injection (sclerosing) where low alcohol concentrates are blindly injected into the neuroma area.

The type of procedure explained here is very different from the traditional sclerosing because firstly, this procedure uses ultrasound guiding. Secondly, it utilizes high alcohol concentrations. Ultrasound-Guided Neurolytic Injections will kill the neuroma and according to the Center For Morton’s Neuroma, there is an 85+% efficacy rate assisted with this procedure.

The Pros Of Ultrasound-Guided Neurolytic Injections

• The neuroma dies and rarely ever regenerates – if it managed to do so it will be after 6-8 years
• There are few to none complications associated with this procedure

Minor numbness can be expected and it will probably last for 6 months.

5. Ultrasound-Guided Radio Platelet Rich Plasma Injections

The Center For Morton’s Neuroma uses this method:

• As the last resort before surgical removal of the neuroma, is all other conservative treatment options have failed to give you relief.
• If the patient, also has other conditions coexisting with Mortons Neuroma – These include plantar fasciitis, arthritis, bursitis, capsulitis. In addition to treating Morton’s Neuroma, this treatment will also treat any of those conditions as well.
• To quicken the recovery of the patient after having Morton’s Neuroma surgery
• To treat any complications that may result from Morton’s Neuroma surgery

Watch this short video to see Dr. Pearl inject the patient with PRP

6. Ultrasound-Guided Stem Cell Therapy

This is an emerging medical treatment called Regenerative Medicine. This procedure uses your own stem cells extracted painlessly from your pelvic bone. These are re-injected together with plasma platelets from your own blood. They are meant to repair damaged body tissues. In this case your nerve.

7. Ultrasound-Guided Corticosteroid Injections

This procedure is common and has been widely used to treat Morton’s Neuroma. However, at the Center For Mortons Neuroma, instead of blindly injecting the patient, they ensure needle precision through ultrasound guiding technology.

Conclusion

I have covered 7 new treatments for Mortons Neuroma. There are some of them which are not completely new but the techniques employed are different from the traditional methods. I recommend that you try the Center For Mortons Neuroma if you live in the United States of America or if you can afford to fly there. Simply check out their website and make an appointment.

They have the best customer service and there are lots of testimonies about the effectiveness of their procures which are largely non- surgical.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found this article useful. If so please share it and help others.

I would love to hear from you.

Go ahead and share your experiences, thoughts or anything at all in the comments section below.

If you have Morton’s Neuroma, I wish you a quick recovery and a pain-free life.

If you don’t have it yet please take care of your feet!