Is that Feeling of Bunched Up Sock Under Your Feet Ruining Your Run?
When you are out walking or running, do you stop to check your socks to see if they are bunched up underneath your feet, but only to realise that they are fine? Sometimes you notice that it hurts, particularly after a hard run. Pain and the feeling of something underneath of feet is a typical symptom of Morton’s Neuroma, a common condition for runners wearing shoes that are not suitable.
What Is Morton’s Neuroma
Also known as intermetatarsal neuroma, this problem happens when your body tries to protect your nerve cells in your leg. Commonly, the body creates a fibroid casing around the nerve, so that friction and impact will not damage it further. When that happens, you can feel like there is something pressing against your feet, along with a dull ache when you walk.
How You Get It
Aside from shoes, running with the wrong biomechanics can also trigger this neuroma to happen. Nerve damage can occur when there is enough repetitive impact, so running without proper support will cause swelling around the nerve. Hence, poor running skills with inadequate shock absorption are also culprits. As Morton’s Neuroma is a result of chronic threat of nerve damage, the problem will slowly manifest itself. You might initially feel a squeeze between your third and fourth toes, which will then move onto pain when walking. If left untreated, the swelling will be visible, and harder to treat. When the neuroma becomes inflamed, the pain can become unbearable.
Treatment and Prevention
The best way is to avoid getting Morton’s Neuroma, as well as treating it, is by investing in good and properly fitted footwear. A shoe fitting professional can make sure that your toe box is wide enough for your toes, especially if you have deformities such as hammertoes or bunions. Your running shoes should have enough support and shock absorbing properties, so that your leg is spared from the impact when you run. And if you know that you have flat or high arched feet, come see us and get a pair of custom made orthotics. We can customise the type of materials based on your needs.
Other ways such as resting and icing the area can help alleviate the swelling. The last treatment option, which is also the most undesirable one, is surgery. Doctors can either do a decompression surgery to remove the structures around the swelling, or a neurectomy by cutting off the neuroma. Both surgery options carry risk, and you may require more time to heal after the procedure. SA Running Injury Clinic strongly recommends trying the non- invasive options first.
