Treating Neuromas - Ten Tips

A neuroma is an inflamed nerve. In the foot, the most common place for a neuroma is between the third and fourth toes. The main nerve to your foot originates in the spine and travels down the back of the leg to the bottom of the foot and out to the toes. When the nerve becomes irritated, electrical or burning pain shoots out to the toes when walking. The second, third and fourth toes can become numb. There can be a sensation of walking on a lamp cord or a lump. Removing the shoe and massaging the ball of the foot can bring relief.

To help decrease the pain, try the following tips:

1. Rest. Every step you take aggravates the nerve. Decreasing the time on your feet will help decrease the inflammation. If you walk for exercise, try biking or swimming instead.

2. Avoid activities that aggravate the pain. Squatting, walking or running hills, climbing up and down stairs and carrying heavy items will increase the stress through the ball of the foot and irritate the nerve. Taking the stress off the nerve will help decrease the irritation, decrease the inflammation and accelerate healing.

3. Wear low-heel shoes. Any shoe (cowboy boots or high heeled dress shoes) will place excessive pressure on the ball of the foot. Keep the heel height below 1 inch.

4. Wear shoes with a wide toe box. If the toes are cramped together, this places pressure on the nerve, worsening the irritation. Your toes should have enough room to "wiggle".

5. Wear rigid shoes. Wearing flexible shoes increases the force placed through the ball of the foot. A rigid shoe with a rocker sole will decrease the pressure on the nerve.

6. Ice your foot. Placing ice of the ball of the foot for 20 minutes once or twice a day will decrease pain and inflammation.

7. Use contrast soaks. Start with 5 minutes of heat, then apply 5 minutes of ice, then switch back to heat and alternate for 20-30 minutes. Contrasting between hot and cold will help decrease the inflammation around the nerve.

8. Place a neuroma pad in your shoe. A neuroma pad (similar to a metatarsal pad) can be placed in the shoe, under the ball of the foot. The pad lifts up the bones in the foot to help decrease the pressure on the nerve. The pad should be placed behind the ball of the foot.

9. Slip inserts into your shoe. Make sure the insert you buy is an orthotic. The device should be semi-rigid to help control motion in the foot. These can be bought at your local running shop or sports store.

10. See your podiatrist. If the pain persists after taking these steps, make an appointment with your podiatrist.

Christine Dobrowolski is a podiatrist and the author of Those Aching Feet: Your Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems. To learn more about Dr. Dobrowolski and her book visit http://www.skipublishing.com. For information on products which help treat neuromas visit http://www.northcoastfootcare.com.

---

At Last! Good News For Gout Sufferers!

Gout, an arthritis affliction with its roots in antiquity, has not always been easy to treat. The traditional medicines employed for gout have been non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), colchicines, probenicid (Benemid), and allopurinol... Read More

Alzheimers Toxin May Be Key To Slowing Disease

Australian scientists say they have identified a toxin which plays a key role in the onset of Alzheimer's, raising hope that a drug targeting the toxin could be developed to slow the degenerative... Read More

Safely Mimicking the Effects of Accutane Without the Side-effects or Costs

Since 1982 Accutane has been a reliable, if not controversial, drug for treating severe acne. Now with FDA representative David J. Graham's statement that Accutane should be taken off the market, and pharmaceutical... Read More

Mend Your Arthritis Pain Relief

=====KNOW YOUR ARTHRITIS=====Arthritis is referred to as the nation?s number one crippling disease and the most common chronic disease in people over 40, arthritis affects more than 40 million Americans.And this figure is... Read More

Celebrex Side Effects Lawsuit Lawyer

The Food and Drug administration urges people to stop taking Celebrex, but even so the drug has remained on the market. Recent studies have found that Celebrex causes heart attacks and strokes at... Read More

Pediatric Emergency Contact Notifications Made Easier

For the head of the trauma department at one of America's top pediatric facilities, Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, having to notifying parents that their children have been the victims of trauma or identify... Read More

Can You Always Trust Your Dentists Recommendations?

Can you always trust your dentists' recommendations? Think for yourself - in the last 30 years the health of our teeth has improved dramatically. We drink fluoridated water, which almost eliminated decay in... Read More

Questions to Your Physician or Psychotherapist

According to ongoing research about the needs of patients with emotional problems misinformation or shame to speak about the problem with the doctor or psychotherapist is a major limitation to treatment success. However,... Read More

How Is Mold Like AIDS?

Don't laugh. Both get a lot of coverage in the press. Mold isn't a politically sensitive issue but there are a lot of similarities.1. Both get into your system without being felt.If you... Read More

Amazing Shoulder Pain Reversing Secrets!

Whether you're a weekend athlete, or a gardener that overdid it, or a person with arthritis, there's hope for you. According to Dr. Nathan Wei, Clinical Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center... Read More

Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine, over 2000 years old, is an ancient form of medicine. Consisting of acupuncture, moxibustion (moxibustion - using material made up of "moxa-wool," in a form of a cone or stick; moxibustion... Read More

The Lower Cost Prescription Drug Alternative

Today in the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of people who do not have and cannot afford adequate health care coverage. Sadly, many must pay out of pocket for medical treatment... Read More

Stem Cell Breakthrough: Can You Now Make Your Own?

Over the past few years, stem cells have been getting a lot of attention. What makes them so interesting is their ability to stimulate the production of many types of healthy cells. That... Read More

Curing Lou Gehrigs Disease

ALS is the disease that took the life of the famed baseball player. The disease benched Lou Gehrig from the game that he loved and later took his life. Now, ALS is referred... Read More

Utah Drug Rehab: Searching For A Therapist

Finding the right treatment for any person suffering with a drug abuse problem can be a difficult task - where do you start, how do you know what to look for, how do... Read More

Doc, My Tummy Aches and My Joints Hurt! Is there a connection?

Inflammatory disease of the bowel- regional enteritis (Crohn's disease) and ulcerative colitis- are often associated with arthritis. This occurs because inflammation in the bowel and the joints may share a common immunological abnormality.Patients... Read More

Marketing Authorisation - Medicinal Products

Marketing Authorisation: Medicinal Products The case of R (on the application of Merck Sharp and Dohme Ltd) v Licensing Authority [2005], concerned the application for marketing authorisation for a generic product which was... Read More

Medical Collections

Although you make a patient feel better, there isn't usually anything tangible to be a reminder of your service. When it comes time for the patient to pay their bills, yours is often... Read More

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a severe and deadly allergic reaction to certain drugs, some proscription and some over the counter, which causes the severe burning of skin and mucosal membranes from the... Read More

Lotronex Lawyer: Lotronex Side Effects Lawsuit

Even in clinical trials, Lotronex displayed a tendency towards causing ischemic colitis in patients. From the February in which Lotronex was approved until June, the FDA received seven reports of serious complications of... Read More

Top Ten Reasons Why We Hate IBS!

Irritable bowel syndrome can be a nightmare?constant diarrhea and terrible stomach pains, or unbelievable constipation and never-ending gas. While it's good to stay positive and keep looking for help, sometimes it's even better... Read More

Medication Compliance Kit ... A Life Saver

Pill Proof LLC introduces the first, easy to use medication compliance kit for consumers and medical professionals. Owner, Jane Langdon, has a sister in law with Parkinson's Disease. While visiting her sister in... Read More

Kids and Medication Part I

We have all talked a lot about the problems in our educational system, about latchkey kids, about teacher turnover (50 percent of teachers quitted within the first five years on the job), psychologists... Read More

Celebrex? Vioxx? Can My Doctor Provide Me With Safe Prescription Painkillers?

The news has been full of the recent FDA findings on a new set of drugs to help relieve pain. These drugs have been approved for re-release, but it is unclear whether Vioxx... Read More

Could This Be Arthritis In My Hands

Hi Rusty. A few days ago, I slightly injured a finger on my hand. Now my hand is swelling with severe joint pain in the fingers. At first I thought this was a... Read More

New Antidepressant Developments and Approvals

New antidepressant development, until fairly recently, was at best a random, and at worst a problematic and frustrating, process. Often, medications that were developed for one thing were discovered quite accidentally to have... Read More

Vioxx and Bextra Lawsuits Could Tie Up Courts for Years

In September, 2004, pharmaceutical giant Merck voluntarily withdrew its painkilling medication Vioxx from the market. Studies show that Vioxx increases the risk of heart attack and stroke among patients who have used the... Read More

UltraCET: The Dynamic Duo Of Prescription Pain Control Medications

Remember the last time you stubbed your toe? OUCH! It's painful. But a stubbed toe usually doesn't send us running to the medicine cabinet, since we know that the pain will pass within... Read More

A Compelling Look at Pain Relief

If your back aches when you're loading groceries in the car or your hands cramp up with arthritis when you sit down at the computer, you're not alone. Although the nature, cause, and... Read More