What Is Morton’s Neuroma?

What is Morton’s neuroma?

Short answer: Morton’s neuroma is painful thickening and fibrosis around a common plantar digital nerve in the forefoot, usually in the third intermetatarsal space. It is not a cancerous tumour.

The nerve runs between the metatarsal heads toward adjacent toes. Repeated compression, traction and irritation can produce perineural fibrosis and degeneration. Many clinicians therefore regard it as an entrapment neuropathy rather than a true neuroma.

The third webspace is most common, followed by the second. One foot can contain more than one symptomatic interspace, and imaging can also identify a neuroma that is not the actual pain source. Diagnosis must connect symptoms, examination and imaging.