Originally Posted by
oilman_15106
Thanks for the post. I am going thru the same issues. Although it is dangerous to seek medical help from BF, a couple of questions.
1. Are you seeing a podiatrist or your regular doc?
2. I read that this is rare in men and more often an issue with women?
3. It is odd that surgery is often suggested as a solution, so other than the ice, wider shoes, etc. are there any exercises that can reduce the impact of this affliction?
In my own case, I have a narrow foot and extra narrow heel. I have a terrible time getting a proper fit in a road shoe. The best fit I have found is the Sidi 6.6 carbon shoe with the heel system.
When you do a search on the internet about this you can become freaked out due to the fact that they also call this Morton's Tumor!
As to no. 1: If you have any doubt what is going on, go see a Pod. The issue is no two Pod's are the same in terms of recommended solutions. Being informed is your best opportunity for recovery. We have the same foot shape. This foot shape creates a pre-disposition to Morton's neuroma on many levels.
- Less surface area/volume to handle pronation/foot rotation within the shoe.
- Narrow flexible feet tend to have their arch break down easily.
- Lack of support from typical width cycling shoes.
Women have it more than men mostly due to wearing high heels and fashionable shoes that smash their toes together. They also have narrower feet with less structure to support their body mass.
As to surgery, it is many times the default of last resort after all other options are tested. Surgery for Morton's has a very spotty success rate so I strongly encourage you to exhaust every possible option. There are many therapies and surgery is irrevocable of course with sometimes negative consequences.
Also, I strongly encourage you to abandon your cycling shoes and either get custom shoes...I believe Sidis are very bad for neuromas in particular due to toe box shape including shoe forefoot floor shape. Meanwhile either have shoes made with custom orthotics or go to a Nike tennis shoe as I have which tend to run a bit narrow anyway. You need to get the middle of your foot up by way of arch support to separate the metatarsal heads and my strong advice is you change your load path to that of arch versus ball of the foot loading of the pedal. I can hammer with this technique without pain. You need to lower your saddle fractionally if you relocate your pedal loading to your arch because your foot length adds slightly to your overall leg length in terms of saddle height. Pain is a barometer. If you have any, you need to quickly change your shoes and habits or you set yourself up for further damage.
Hope that helps.