My wife and I woke in the morning and she said, “Since last night, my second and third toes are tingling.” I know what you are thinking but as you get older, the romantic night gets less and less. Well, back to the subject at hand!!!! I asked her did she injure her foot while working out and she said no!!! I look at her and gave her foot a firm squeeze from side to side and I felt some clicking. She had a neuroma!!!!

A neuroma is a nerve that gets thickened from overuse, shoes and injury. The nerves that get affected are the digital nerves which innervate or give sensation to the toes. They are not motor nerves. They are sensory nerves. Symptoms of a neuroma range from pain to tingling and numbness in the toes. It usually occurs in the second and third toes, and symptoms can be in the third and fourth as well as the fourth and fifth toes.

My wife came to the office where I took an x-ray and performed an ultrasound. X-rays are taken to make sure that no fracture is present. Ultrasounds are becoming a great diagnostic tool to evaluate soft tissue masses. On my wife’s ultrasound, a neuroma was seen and she was properly diagnosed.  After the ultrasound, she proceeded to tell me that I would be sleeping on the couch because I squeezed her foot to hard!

I explained to her the treatment options. Some of the options were changing her shoes, padding the foot, cortisone injections, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and sometimes surgeries. I suggested that she get a cortisone injection and use anti-inflammatories. She really did not want the injection but I explained, basically schmoozed her, into getting the injection. This would give her the most immediate relief from her symptoms. She got the injection and I padded her foot. Well, I saw her at home and during dinner I asked her, “How is your foot?” She said it was a little sore but it was 90 percent better. I told her she would need some orthotics, which are custom arch supports, because this would take the pressure off the area of the foot where the neuroma was present.

So, I am not in the doghouse with my wife and she was pretty impressed that I diagnosed her problem. She realized how painful a foot condition could be. Also, she realized how important feet are in regards to everyday activity. It is now a few days later and she told her aunt how much better her foot has been since the injection.

Do not let numbness in your feet get ignored. Visit our in office Howell and let Affiliated Foot and Ankle Center diagnose and treat your condition. Just as a side note, please do perform any of the exams that were portrayed in this blog…Thanks!

By Dr. Jasen Langley

www.footdoctorsnj.com