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Get evaluated when forefoot burning, toe numbness, or ball-of-foot pain starts limiting your walking comfort.
Get evaluated when forefoot burning, toe numbness, or ball-of-foot pain starts limiting your walking comfort.
Trusted podiatry care for Morton’s neuroma, forefoot nerve pain, toe tingling, and pressure-related foot symptoms.
Our team can help you confirm coverage and next steps before your visit.
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About Neuroma
A foot neuroma is an irritated or thickened nerve, most often in the ball of the foot between the metatarsal bones. Morton’s neuroma commonly affects the space between the third and fourth toes, but similar nerve irritation can occur in other intermetatarsal spaces.
Neuroma symptoms often appear when pressure squeezes the forefoot. Narrow shoes, high heels, repetitive impact, foot structure, bunions, hammertoes, inflammation, or prior injury may increase irritation around the nerve.
Pain often develops in the ball of the foot and may radiate into the toes.
Burning, numbness, tingling, or electric sensations may spread into nearby toes.
Tight toe boxes and high heels can increase pressure on the irritated nerve.
Treatment depends on nerve irritation, foot structure, footwear, and symptom severity.
Morton’s neuroma is not usually treated as a classic tumor. It is commonly described as thickening or irritation around a digital nerve in the forefoot.
Because forefoot pain can also come from stress fractures, capsulitis, arthritis, metatarsalgia, bunions, hammertoes, or plantar plate problems, an accurate diagnosis matters before treatment.
Anatomy Guide
A neuroma often develops where a small digital nerve passes between the metatarsal bones in the ball of the foot. With repeated compression, the nerve and surrounding tissue can become irritated and sensitive.
The most common location is between the third and fourth toes, but symptoms may occur in other web spaces depending on foot structure, pressure pattern, footwear, and activity.
Common Symptoms
Neuroma symptoms often worsen with walking, standing, running, narrow shoes, or high heels. Many patients feel relief after removing the shoe and massaging the forefoot.
Pain may feel sharp, hot, electric, aching, or shooting in the ball of the foot.
Toe tingling, pins and needles, or numbness may occur when the nerve is irritated.
Many patients feel like they are stepping on a small stone, fold, lump, or bunched sock.
Symptoms may worsen in tight shoes and improve in wider shoes or when barefoot.
Types and Patterns
The most familiar foot neuroma is Morton’s neuroma, which most commonly affects the nerve between the third and fourth toes. Similar nerve irritation can also develop in other toe spaces.
Some patients have intermittent symptoms only in certain shoes. Others develop persistent burning, tingling, or numbness that limits walking, exercise, work activity, and shoe choices.
Morton’s neuroma usually affects the nerve between the third and fourth toes and can cause burning pain, numbness, and a pebble-like sensation.
An interdigital neuroma can develop between other toes when a digital nerve is compressed or irritated.
Symptoms may appear only in narrow shoes, during long walking, or after high-impact activity.
Symptoms that keep returning may suggest ongoing nerve irritation and should be evaluated before pain becomes more limiting.
Diagnosis and Evaluation
Diagnosis starts with symptom location, shoe history, pressure pattern, physical exam, and tests that help reproduce the pain. Imaging may be used to rule out other causes of forefoot pain.
Your provider reviews pain location, shoe triggers, activity level, numbness, tingling, and prior injury.
The ball of the foot and toe spaces are checked for tenderness, clicking, pressure pain, and sensation changes.
Foot structure, walking pattern, shoe fit, toe box width, and pressure distribution may be assessed.
X-rays, ultrasound, or MRI may help rule out fracture, arthritis, soft tissue masses, or other forefoot conditions.
Your plan may include shoe changes, padding, orthotics, injections, therapy, or surgical consultation.
Why Early Care Matters
When a forefoot nerve remains compressed, symptoms may become more frequent. Pain that once appeared only in certain shoes may begin to affect more activities, longer walks, exercise, or work shifts.
Persistent nerve irritation may lead to ongoing burning, toe numbness, shoe avoidance, walking changes, and reduced activity tolerance. Early evaluation can help reduce pressure before symptoms become harder to manage.
Yes. Repeated nerve irritation may make burning, tingling, and numbness more persistent over time.
Yes. Narrow toe boxes and high heels can squeeze the forefoot and increase pressure on the irritated nerve.
Yes. Patients may shift weight away from the painful area, which can overload other parts of the foot, ankle, knee, or hip.
Numbness depends on nerve irritation, symptom duration, and treatment type. Surgical nerve removal may also cause numbness in the affected toe area.
At-Home Guidance
Switch to wider shoes with a roomy toe box and lower heel. Avoid shoes that squeeze the forefoot, especially if symptoms improve when you remove the shoe.
Reduce high-impact activity that triggers burning or numbness. Do not continue running, jumping, or long walking through sharp nerve pain without evaluation.
Shoes should allow the toes and forefoot to spread without squeezing the nerve area.
Narrow dress shoes, high heels, and tight athletic shoes may aggravate forefoot nerve symptoms.
Metatarsal pads can help some patients, but incorrect placement may worsen pressure. A podiatrist can guide placement.
Numbness, spreading tingling, or pain that limits walking should be evaluated instead of repeatedly changing shoes without diagnosis.
Neuroma FAQ
These answers are educational and cannot replace a personal examination. Treatment depends on symptom severity, footwear, foot structure, imaging findings, activity level, and response to conservative care.
A foot neuroma is irritation or thickening around a digital nerve, most often in the ball of the foot between the metatarsal bones.
It may feel like burning forefoot pain, tingling, numbness, shooting pain, or a pebble, fold, or lump under the ball of the foot.
Causes may include narrow shoes, high heels, repetitive forefoot stress, bunions, hammertoes, high arches, flat feet, injury, or pressure between the metatarsal bones.
Diagnosis may include a foot exam, pressure testing, Mulder-style maneuvers, gait and shoe review, ultrasound, MRI, or X-rays to rule out other causes.
Many cases start with wider shoes, lower heels, padding, orthotics, activity changes, medication, injections, and physical therapy when appropriate.
Surgery may be discussed when symptoms remain painful despite conservative care or when nerve compression significantly limits walking and daily activity.
Coverage depends on your insurance plan, diagnosis, imaging, medical necessity, injections, orthotics, procedure type, deductible, and benefits. Our office can help verify coverage before treatment.
Related Treatments
Neuroma care may include shoe changes, metatarsal padding, orthotic support, injection therapy, physical therapy, and surgical options when conservative care is not enough.
Morton's Neuroma Treatment Care for forefoot nerve pain, toe numbness, burning pain, and pebble-in-shoe symptoms. 
Injection Therapies Injection options for selected painful inflammatory or nerve-related foot conditions. 
Orthotic Devices Foot support options for pressure relief, metatarsal support, alignment, and gait control. 
Nerve Decompression Surgery Surgical evaluation for selected nerve compression symptoms that do not respond to conservative care. Meet Our Specialist
Our foot and ankle specialists are here to evaluate forefoot nerve pain, identify the source of pressure, and help you choose the right treatment path.
We accept most PPO plans. Check accepted insurance details, patient forms, and first-visit information before your appointment.
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