Latest posts for the topic "Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?"

Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:00:39 GMT

As the season is about to get close I thought I would ask our wise and much traveled ensemble if they could help me.
I posted part of this year and but for my inability to search for the damn thing I have had to type it out again.
Skied from 21 -28 in hired and owned boots with no problems. Like many had to pack it in with the arrival of little Scarlet Fez's for 16 years and have been fortunate to get back into it the last 5 years and have been 7 times since my return. Here lies the problem, started the first year hired boots, then bought my own Boots from Bartlets in Hillingdon and Terry the fitter has spend ages to address my problem, and I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who wants their boots properly fitted.
My problem every year is and you can not replicate if before you go away. Boots fit and feel fantastic for 2-3 hours then the pain from hell starts to arrive. Only my right foot and the pain seems to emulate from underneath and to the centre of my foot. I have now realised that when it starts I have to dash ahead of my friends, get the boot off and get circulation going again. Job done for little while longer. Get into the habit that everytime we have a break boot off etc.
Before I started skiing again I had an operation on the same foot to address a bunion to the side of my big toe. This naturally causes me to when I am on the balls of my feet, the weight on the right foot seems to be centred more towards the next toe where pain seems to originate from. I have tried moulded foot insoles etc but with no difference. I mentioned the problem to a foot specialist in a running shop and he stated that it sounded like Mortons neuroma.Is there anyone out there that could give advise on this or even a possible remedy I would be most gratefull.I may have not made myself very clear but if you have suffered it you will know what I mean.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:04:33 GMT

May have put this in the wrong section. Apologies please move if necessary. )

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:15:13 GMT

I had a bunion removed several year ago and I have never had this problem. With Mortons Neuroma I think it is more common in women due to ill fitting shoes that squash the toes. You also mention 'getting the circulation going again.' Are you sure your right boot fits correctly, maybe you need a wider boot. :?:

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:31:03 GMT

Thanks for your reply. No thought that years ago. Even to the point of having special wide boots and having it blown etc. Thought originally for ages it was that. Even tried wearing a normal sock to see if that would prevent the pain. No change. Agree it normally is associated with the fairer sex but ski boots on the angle of the foot is similar to high heels ( so I have been told) and the pressure on my right foot may underneath slowly but surely cut the blood to the foot and hence the agony. I do not know if it is MN but seeking the views of those better informed than me. Some will say go and see a foot specialist but it is hard to replicate the symptons till you have been wearing boots for 3 hours working your socks off in the cold!

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:41:53 GMT

I have had two operations for Mortons Neuroma, on the same foot. I now have Metatarsalalgia on that foot, as I have lost too much tissue from under the foot, and that has been classed as inoperable. CEM makes me Metatarsal Bar's for both daily walking and skiing. His work impressed my Orthopaedic Consultant.

You need a clinical diagnosis. Any foot specialist will quickly identify the problem and give you a choice of solutions.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:48:08 GMT

No agenda here, but have you considered changing discipline? Snowboarding offers soft boots and now you can buy bindings that can be individually set to cater to the tilt and cant of an individual foot. I am no expert in this, but have been paying attention to Trenchers astute advice. It may be worth looking into?

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:44:44 GMT

tino_11 thanks for the interest but alas at 50 I am a little to mature to change.It is weird that I have no problem with the FOOT in any other activity at all. I am not saying it is MN but I will consider seeing a specialist to clarify it. I would never consider surgery as for my one/two weeks of 'Agonising' pleasure a year it would not be worth it.
Hopefully there is something that can be suggested. Perhaps its just about pain tolerance but it seems to get more managable the longer the ski week goes on.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:57:12 GMT

It was a way out west type of suggestion based on my little knowledge, but as someone with an unaturally high arch to both feet I have no trouble snowboarding. Also your point about no other activities causing this discomfort makes me think that it's not so far fetched. Also 50 is not too late to change anything, I am trying to talk my 67 year old father into hiking up Kilimanjaro next year, he is concerned about altitude. He's fitter than me and has learnt to dive since 10 years with around 600 - 700 dives. Not bad for someone who had not done anything physical for a couple of decades and suffered serious hypotension etc. Think he'd achieve it easier than me!

Good luck with whatever you decide :)

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:05:45 GMT

Scarlet Fez wrote:tino_11 thanks for the interest but alas at 50 I am a little to mature to change.It is weird that I have no problem with the FOOT in any other activity at all. I am not saying it is MN but I will consider seeing a specialist to clarify it. I would never consider surgery as for my one/two weeks of 'Agonising' pleasure a year it would not be worth it.
Hopefully there is something that can be suggested. Perhaps its just about pain tolerance but it seems to get more managable the longer the ski week goes on.

You are still young enough to decide that if you want to get another 30 years or so skiing, that it is worth doing whatever it takes.

From what has been discussed above, if you choose to avoid surgery, then a visit to CEM would seem to the next best step. I would also consider that to be a reasonable alternative, even if you were considering surgery. Bandit has been through the same process, made the effort, and achieved a result.

From a pure engineering point of view, there is no reason why a ski boot should hurt, when trainers or day shoes do not. It isn't logical.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:09:06 GMT

Hi,
I have never suffered with any foot problems apart from skiing. I always found hire boots extremly painfull as a child with loss of circulation, cramps, and on one occasion loss of feeling in the toes for about six months afterwards.

Once i moved onto my own boots the problem got a little better but it wasnt untill i discovered pro feet that i have truely been able to ski pain free.

They spent 3 hours adjusting,grinding,blowing,custom insoles to get a good fit. Best money i have ever spent.

If i go straight into an agressive,steep,cruddy or icey slope first thing i can still get cramps however as long as i have a half hour cruise first thing i find the boots are like a glove for the rest of the day and i dont even undo or take them off at lunch time.
Might be worth spending some money and getting somebody qualified to have a look. Unfortunatly a lot of shops have so called book fitters but in my experience a really knowelable one is like rocking horse poo.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:24:40 GMT

Scarlet Fez, I'm assuming that you've read up on Mortons Neuroma. If so, you will know that once the nerves become damaged, they won't spontaneously become repaired. If your feet become damaged as a result of poorly fitting boots, then there is the risk that impairment will be permanently carried forward and affect all other activity. The surgery I had 2x was to remove damaged nerves, so most of the toes on 1 foot have no feeling. Without a clinical diagnosis, you don't know what needs fixing, to make the pain stop. It may be another issue entirely.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:16:23 GMT

Like Bandit I have had 2 neuromas removed from 1 foot, but had this done before I started skiing. The first 2 times I had hired boots and kept getting them changed until I found a pair that were comfortable. When I bought my boots due to the numbness in your foot that you are left with, I chose boots that with hindsight were too big. My last 2 ski trips have been an experiment with different and numerous insoles and even a different thickness of socks for each foot, and although this is probably not a perfect solution, I find that I am getting to a point where I can keep my boots on all day in reasonable comfort, instead of them being either too loose or too tight.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:36:55 GMT

God I'm rubbish searching on this thing! CEM works for a specialist sports foot company in the Bicester area, can someone remind me of the name of it please?
The daft thing about my problem is that up until the pain starts my boots fit me like gloves, but once the devil pain comes I know I need to get the boot off for a bit. Once its off and pressure relieved, Im fine ok within 5 mins for a couple of hours with no problems.
Enough of my problem Im boring you!

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:41:53 GMT

Scarlet Fez

Cem can be contacted here.....

http://www.solutions4feet.com/

It's his biz )

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:55:26 GMT

Thanks very much.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:58:08 GMT

Taken me ages to get the details of the operation I had on my foot from my own Doctor!!
It was a Chevron Osteotomy to the first digit on my right foot, so armed with that I will see if I can get an appointment with Cem to see if that could have any bearing on my yearly agony!! Streuth it creeping up again, yippee!!

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:27:53 GMT

Went and and saw CEM, he was very thorough and did his best and yes it cost me a quid or two but at the time he did say that he felt that my problem stemmed from a severe lack of flexability in my ankles which then puts incredible pressure on the underside of my toes or something like that.
Result was that even with new footbeds and other minor adaptions and efforts to expand the flaxability of my ankle it made no difference! After 3-4 hours the 'horror' pain returned. Never mind got used to the fact that at any given moment I whip the boot off and start again. Excellent week in Soll was had.
If you have problem feet, I would even though it didnt help me recommend CEM as it will not be through lack of trying or knowledge that your 'problems' will not be rectified.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:41:04 GMT

I have neuroma related pain in both feet. Custom fit ski boots did not help. After 3 years of agonizing experimentation, I found the only solution was to switch to snowboarding. The real key was to use bindings with a toe strap. Snowboard bindings that strap over the top of my foot were just as bad as ski boots. I hope this this message will save someone else from having to go through years of trial and error.

Re:Mortons Neuroma - Agonising pain! Anyone help?

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:33:25 GMT

Welcome to J2ski :D I have had 2 Mortons Ops, and I have my ski boots modified to take account of the post op problems. It's good to hear that it's possible to get relief from the pain, though I'm not sure I could cope with your solution )