i have a mild case of mortens neuroma, but with me making the jump from 70.3 to full ironman this year, im thinking i will have some issues. ive heard these injections are only effective for a few months. but after a few months is it worse than before, or the same? any info would be appreciated
I had two cortisone injections for a mortons neuroma. The first one worked BEAUTIFULLY…2-3 months of pain free biking bliss.
The second injection didn’t work AT ALL.
6-9 months later I ended up having the surgery and it’s been wonderful…
Relief will vary tremendously, but they are not “curative” in most all cases. Since most people can “deal” with a Morton’s neuroma through a variety of other methods, if it flares up right before a big dance, that might be a good time for a steroid injection. You should not be any worse after a steroid nerve block except for an occasional steroid flare that can occur for up to 72 hours post injection.
Alcohol injections are much more likely to be a long term solution… Having run Boise and Lake Stevens last year on one round of cortisone shots, I wish I had done a second because 2 miles into the run at Lake Stevens my feet were toast. I still ran a 1:48, but far from the 1:37-1:39 I should have run if I had been able to put pressure on the front of my feet.
Had the injection then followed by the surgery the surgery was the best thing i did. even though i second guessed myself for about 5 weeks after.
Last year I was training for an IM and had a flare up of mortons neuroma 4 months out. I had 2 cortisone injections during that time (first worked, second didn’t) and added met pads to my insoles which helped me get through the race. After 6 weeks off of running following the race, my issue still remained so I opted for surgery. Unlike the others in this thread, I have had a horrible experience with the surgery. I’ve had infections, allergies to sutures and surgical incisions that wouldn’t close so in the last 5 months I’ve had 3 surgeries with no guarantees that I’ll be able to run again. I know I’m a VERY rare case, typically the surgery works wonders and most folks are back running in 8 weeks or so but if you go down the surgery route please be prepared that you could be entering a nightmare. I researched the surgery quite a bit before taking the plunge but hadn’t come across anyone with the issues I’ve faced.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
I have one of these. I’ve had 2 cortizone injections and they did sweet FA.
I am against surgery, mainly because it will put me out of action for a few weeks and I’m not keen on this. I am trying to find a place which will offer an alcohol injection, looks like they have a slightly higher success rate and are not as impacting or invasive as surgery. My current ortho has not given the option for alcohol injection.
i dont really have a choice…ive seen specialists and surgeons, and they dont want to do surgery…i dont think my case is severe enough to warrant surgery. and it too late for surgery for this year, im guessing if im lucky ill be able to get it done by june, but ive got an ironman in aug. so right now im just looking for a temporary solution
rroof is completely right about this. Steroids work well for symptoms, but are a fairly temporary measure. Sclerosing agents are pretty unreliable.
I inject these all the time and I would say my results are almost exactly what is in the literature.
In fact, I had one that I injected myself for about 5 years before I finally got it cut out in December. I was off the bike for about 3 weeks and it was about 6 weeks before I started running again. Mine was a little bigger than most at 13mm.
Andy
rroof is completely right about this. Steroids work well for symptoms, but are a fairly temporary measure. Sclerosing agents are pretty unreliable.
I inject these all the time and I would say my results are almost exactly what is in the literature.
In fact, I had one that I injected myself for about 5 years before I finally got it cut out in December. I was off the bike for about 3 weeks and it was about 6 weeks before I started running again. Mine was a little bigger than most at 13mm.
Andy
I’ve had great success with alcohol sclerosing… So much that I may be able to avoid surgery and I’m in a similar boat of one of the neuromas being over 12mm… It is large enough that it pushes my toes apart and you can easily feel it with your fingers if you pinch on it. I will likely do a cortisone shot this year 7-9 days before Lake Stevens to make sure there aren’t any issues. So far on my long runs I haven’t experienced any pain apart from normal foot soreness which is vastly different from last year were it felt like I had railroad spikes going through my feet.
MOPinCO. Me too, so not that rare! Your experience sounds just like mine.
Care with surgery, it can be horrendous.
I have dealt with the same issue. It first came up when I was training for a 70.3. I am not sure of the size but I could feel it between my toes with my fingers. After a single cortisone shot the symptoms went away and it reduced in size. At the same time-on the recommendation of my Doc-I bought new running and biking shoes that were extra wide. I have since done my first IM without any major issues.
A friend has had surgery on his twice and they have come back both times.
I cannot recommend the Metatarsal Pads strongly enough !!! AND custom orthotics too. I had a bad case last April DURING the American River 50. Ugh. I tried the cortisone injenctions and had NO luck at all.
Based on the threads in slowtwitch.com I was pretty convinced I would need alcohol injections or surgery.
My doctor, thankfully, hates both of those and really encouraged me to first try orthotics. Me, being the Mr. Know-it-all, scoffed. I had used orthotics in the past for plantar facitis, and couldn’t see how orthotics would help. But I agreed to give it a try. The orthotics are different than my old ones because the “pressure” is not under the arch. Instead it’s just a bit forward of that. The result is that the orthotic takes the pressure off the metatarsals and also spreads the toes a bit. Big difference.
I use those in my daily wear shoes. But I wouldn’t want to run in them. So I bought some gel metatarsal pads and duplicated the placement from the orthotics. Had to adjust them a couple of times to get it right. Then put some drops of super glue to keep them attached to the regular insole that came with the shoe. When I get a new pair of shoes, I just use that same insole.
Anyway, the orthotics and met pads have made a HUGE difference. I’ve done plenty of long runs on roads and trails, up to 30 miles, and my feet are fine.
One other tip: use Injinji (toe) socks. They help keep the toes spread apart just a bit more.
I tend to be pretty finicky, so if I can tolerate these adjustments, most people easily could as well.
I would definitely try these things out first, before the more drastic things like alcohol injections or surgery.
Good luck.
I was diagnosed with Morton’s Neuroma and given 3 cortisone injections. I got no relief from it. As it turns out, I didn’t have Morton’s Neuroma at all. Long story short, make sure you are reasonably sure that you have a neuroma before doing anything remotely aggressive.
I think this is sage advise - Morton’s neuroma is WAY overdiagnosed in my opinion.
How the foot feeling bro?