Morton’s Neuroma and how it can be caused by the Morton’s Toe
In the last week I have appeared on radio shows in Sacramento (KAHI-AM 590), Baltimore (WNAV-AM 1430), and Boston. (WNTN-AM 1550). Each time someone contacted me from these towns and had a question about a Morton’s Neuroma and is it the same as the Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) .
I have written about this a lot in my book Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot and on this site.
Basically a Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) can be the major cause of a Morton’s Neuroma.
A Morton’s Neuroma was first written about by Dr. Thomas George Morton in 1875. It is a abnormal thickening or swelling of a nerve, resulting in shooting pains into the toes or ball of the foot
In the 1920’s thru 1950’s Dr. Dudley J. Morton who taught at the Yale and Columbia Medical Schools, and who was considered to be this country leading authority on the human foot, stated that a problem with one bone in your foot, (Morton’s Toe) was the major reason for most foot problems. In 1935 his book The Human Foot he explained about the Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) , and how it can cause a Morton’s Neuroma, due to the abnormal stress the Morton’s Toe puts on the medial plantar nerve, which lies on the bottom of the foot between the metatarsal bones. It is just a coincident that two famous foot problems were named after two different doctors named Morton.
Foot surgery for a Morton’s Neuroma should be a last result. Most doctors are not aware of the relationship between the two and how treating the Morton’s Toe can elimate the need for foot surgery for the Morton’s Neuroma many times. I write alot more about this in this web site, Just click on Neuroma to read more.
Dr. Burton S. Schuler,
