Morton's Neuroma

[nikiniki]

For those who were as terrified of needles as I was, my acupuncture experience for MN was actually alright. I had bunions removed on both feet 14 years ago. So that means I had 14 wonderful years of walking pain free. And then out of the blue, the sudden pain in both feet which was diagnosed as MN. Tried the cortizone shots twice, with no success. Thought about the surgery, but decided to try acupuncture first after reading the success of other another forum member. I did look for a doctor that specializes in chinese medicine/acupunture.

The first trip involved placing 4 or 5 needles in each of my feet, one under both of my knees, 2 in my hands, and one in the inside of my arm/elbow. Each person reacts differently to the needles, and with my initial fear of needles didn't quite help me be relaxed. The insertion of each needle is similar to a slight pinch of your skin. Not painful at all, but it did bring tears to my eyes during each insertion. Not crying tears, because I was laughing as to why I my eyes were tearing. Anyhow, I had to lay still for 30 minutes and you could feel your nerves and muscles twitching on and off. After the 30 minutes, I was asked if I felt better, but I couldn't quite tell because I was still stressing about the needles. During the entire day after the acupuncture I had the feeling of both of my feet being swollen, but they were not. But a few days later, I felt better... Still not cured.

2nd visit was today. I received needles in both ears and one on my upper chest for relaxation purposes and then the same amount of needles as before. Ironically, there were no tears this time and it was a completely different feeling. Did not feel the sharp twitching during the 30 minutes. And the swollen feeling all day was not present.

I couldn't find anyone I work with that had tried acupuncture before. But if this is an alternate solution to surgery, then I will highly recommend it to anyone - regardless if you are terrified of needles. I conquered the fear and I am determined to beat MN. One more acupuncture treatment is recommended, which I will try again in 2 weeks.

Good luck to everyone who is fighting MN... Stay positive.

[ndone]

HI, do you think the acupuncture has helped the pain with neuroma? Please let us know what you think after all your treatments.

[dawniesoo]

Reading your post was like reliving my experience yesterday to a T! I too am seeking alternative ways of curing my MN pain...I had read about acupuncture and went to have it done yesterday. I have been through a lot of surgeries in my life so I thought this would be a piece of cake. It wasn't. I was nervous when I first went in and hadn't ate since breakfast (6 hours previously). I didn't feel most of the needles he inserted until he put one in my left hand - it was a very achey, dull pain - the bottom of my feet were kind of painful too - I think I may have a needle phobia. I have another appointment next weekend and hope that I can be a little bit braver this time as my toes feel better today. The acupuncurist wants me to also take some protein enzyme suppliment which is costly but he feels that it will help my body repair my foot problems - not sure if this is the way to go. Have you had to take any supplements in addition to the acupuncture?

I have thrown away most of my shoes now and can only wear a few tennis shoes - and I no longer walk or exercise like I used to and have gained 10 pounds since summer. I really need to get a handle on MN and get on with my life. If acupuncture doesn't do it for me I may have surgery but that is my last resort if nothing else works.

Dawn

[johnnymac]

Hi there,

Dawn ... you posted this some time ago and my husband has been working through so many different treatments without positive results. We are wondering now whether or not he's simply not sticking with the same treatment long enough! Any chance that you are still connected to this forum and can report on whether or not your acupuncture treatment (with or without the protein supplement) worked? We too would prefer to avoid surgery at all costs.

Anyone else have some definitive results from accupuncture?

I'm plowing through the many threads right now ... there's also some mention of laser surgery? If you know more on that, it would be so greatly helpful as well!

Thanks for any insights you can provide!

[dawniesoo]

Sorry to say, I quit the acupuncture treatment as it was too long of a commute for me to get there (40 miles) and the other acupuncturists in my area were not flexible enough with appointments. I wish I could have stuck to it as I think it was helping. I am still having problems with the foot - the neuroma makes my foot sore after walking a little bit and if the feet get cold or hot they swell up or turn different colors (Raynaud's). I'm working with a Rheumotologist right now - I've been through my podiatrist and family doctor now for help and still nothing has helped me so hopefully, I'll get something positive out of this doctor.

It's a very frustrating experience for me. I just want to solve the problem and no one seems to be able to figure out what to do! I think your husband should try acupuncture - as far as the supplements go - I quit them as I didn't see any results.

Good luck!

[Designeer]

Acupuncture cannot shorten the ligements that have strethed or torn in feet, it is great for other things. prolotherapy is the answer here.

[ndone]

My husband never did try acupunture, how are you all doing with Morton's since it has been a year since you were on. I am trying to get in to see a pain doctor who does neurostimulation by Medtronics for my husband. This is such a difficult thing to deal with for him, I wrote a letter today to the doctor because he told my husband's primary physician that he was not a candidate for neurostimulation- no explanation as to why just summarily dismissed him so I wrote to this doctor and asked why and explained further how many doctors my husband has seen over the last four years. Oh to find a doctor who really cares!!!!!!!!!

[allears]

Hi, first post here - just discovered this forum while looking for support and info.

A little background. Mr Morton arrived in my life in December 2008 while I was walking several miles every day, enjoying a nice warm vacation. I blame myself because for a couple of years I kept wearing shoes that were too tight because I was too cheap to buy new ones. (Note: don't do that.)

My DO checked some stuff and then sent me to a podiatrist. She told me to get New Balance shoes with metatarsal inserts, and squirted cortisone into each foot. The shoes didn't help and the cortisone made things worse, so I didn't go back. I'm now wearing sandals indoors and Hush Puppy Gills outside. Both are about one and a half sizes too large and I use double thickness foam insoles instead of the metatarsal pads. That's MUCH more comfortable.

I've seen the power of the body to heal itself, given half a chance, so all the standard aggressive therapies are WAY down the list. I'm going to try just about everything else before I let anybody cut out, freeze, or poison with alcohol a nerve that Mama Nature put there for her own good reasons.

So, acupuncture. I've been poked weekly since late July of this year (2009). Helping? Maybe. I've seen gradual improvement. The problem is that I can slide back really easily. All it takes is a day of too much walking or standing, a couple of nights with not enough sleep, or a week of extra stress at work. It takes 3-4 weeks to recover from one week like that.

But when I'm careful about getting enough rest and staying off my feet as much as possible, the "electric shock" effect pretty much disappears and I get back to "walking in a shoe full of gravel." I define that as progress. I also call that discomfort, not pain, and that's a BIG difference to me.

Actually, I'm usually more bothered by the swelling than the zapping or gravel feeling. There are still times now and then when I can't find a shoe big enough to fit comfortably. THAT'S when I start talking about that 4-letter word starting with P.

So, dealing with the swelling: Aspirin always helps, sometimes more than others. When it gets really bad, I take 3 tablets. My ears ring, but my feel shrink and I can wear shoes and walk. No contest.

Problem is that aspirin is bad for the stomach, especially long term. I've been experimenting with topical emu oil, which is supposed to be an anti-inflammatory. I slather it on before bedtime and then tie on plastic grocery bags to keep it in place. The height of sleepwear fashion!

I know about DMSO, but applying industrial solvents to my feet somehow makes me kind of edgy. I don't care about the odors, but for those who do, do you want breath that stinks of garlic, or feet that smell like chicken fat? ;-)

The good news is that I've been able to cut my aspirin use to a fraction of what it was last summer, from 3 times a day to maybe once every week or two. Now, mind you, I don't know how much of that is the acu and how much is the emu. (The left brain says "try only one thing at a time, and find out what really works." The right brain says "throw everything at it and maybe something will stick." So far Mr Right is winning.)

OK, enough of the background. I thought that other folks who are thinking about trying acupuncture might like to hear some of the nitty-gritty.

Getting poked sometimes increase the feeling of tightness and swelling in my feet, especially the left one, which is the worse one and the one where the gravel appeared first. Yes, I've walked out of the clinic feeling worse than when I went in. BUT, the following day I almost always feel better, less swelling, more comfort for longer.

My therapist usually places needles in my feet, along the sides and top, but none in the sole or ball of the foot. I also get needles in the calves and in the backs of my hands. She also sometimes places needles in my ears or the top of my head. She says these last ones help with relaxation and energy level. The total number is usually between 18 and 24 needles. I used to count but now that it's routine I usually don't.

The sensation when she hammers 'em in varies from a light pinch to a stinging pinprick. I wince once in a while. (Hey, not bad for a guy who once nearly fainted when having blood drawn! ;-) The needles in the feet often sting or ache for a few minutes, but they settle down by and by. After about 20 minutes I've forgotten them and I'm likely to doze off. (Of course at that point I have only another 5-10 minutes before it's time to wrap things up.)

Ten minutes later I can barely tell where the needles were. However, I do get a little bleeding from a few of the needle sites in my feet. My feet have a bit of a bluish cast when they're cold, and the acupuncturist thinks that the bleeding is caused by this pooling of blood. Back when I first saw my DO for this problem (which he had no clue about), he prescribed leg ultrasound tests. They did pick up a little venous reflux, but he didn't seem too worried about it. The acupuncturist doesn't seem more than mildly concerned either, but I've just started experimenting with some herbal circulatory therapies (butcher's broom, horse chestnut, garlic, cinnamon) and that seems to be helping.

I'm also using yucca which is reported to have a positive effect on carpal tunnel syndrome. Apparently MN is very similar to CPS. (I've also read that CPS is also one of the few conditions for which research has pretty conclusively shown benefit from acupuncture.)

My acupuncturist also suggested dietary changes - reduce sugars, eliminate fried foods, eliminate dairy and soy products, drink tea (preferably green, but I prefer black) instead of coffee. She can tell from looking at my tongue whether I'm on or off the diet!

One interesting side effect of the acu has been a reduction in my blood pressure. (Or maybe it's the change in diet. See above left/right brain comment.) It's been elevated for a few years, but since I've been poked weekly, it's fallen about 6-8 points. As long as I'm good and stay way from the sodium, it hovers near or just slightly above normal.

OK, to wrap up this long and excruciatingly detailed post (sorry), I think I'm getting some benefit here but I wonder sometimes if a different therapist might have different (better?) effects. So if youi've been patient enough to read this far, and you've tried acu for MN, I'd be VERY interested to hear from you what it is (or was) like for you.

How long have you been trying acu?

Where does your therapist place the needles?

Any of them really painful?

Any needles in weird or surprising locations?

Does your therapist use moxibustion or electrical stimulation? What effect does that have?

What effect do you think the acu has had on your symptoms? Short term? Long term?

Have you made any dietary changes?

Are you using any other therapies?

Are you going to keep trying acu, or go on to something else?

Thanks for your patience!

[Designeer]

I have a trauma to the foot which includes MN. I am using prolotherapy to get rid of it. I am 47, tight shoes, running on outsides of feet and finally kicking a wall did me in. MRIs do not show small to medium tears in ligaments..........I can feel the ligament laxity in my bad foot, can't you all?

Last Friday, I got another treatment session, about 25 shots of sodium murhatte, chemical irritant that causes body to lay down collage and bring some blood to white tissues that get very little, loose ligaments ALLOW the bones to squeeze your nerves and all this trouble. Its not easy to fast fix it but many have and yet many will not listen, many would rather cut out the nerve so they will never know if the rest of the ligament will tear itself apart altogether, we love insensitivity to living and life, just ignore it.............rather than fix it: tighten the ligaments through provoking them to heal.