TITLE:
The Treatment of Morton’s Neuroma, a Significant Cause of Metatarsalgia for People Who Exercise
AUTHORS:
Balalis Konstantine, Topalidou Anastasia, Balali Catherine, Tzagarakis George, Katonis Pavlos
KEYWORDS:
Morton’s Neuroma; Neurolysis; Metatarsalgia; Surgical Technique
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.1,
January
21,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Morton’s Neuroma is a common metatarsalgia in athletes created due to the entrapment of the inter-digital nerve inside the transverse inter-metatarsal ligament. The purpose of the present study is to draw the necessary conclusions from the use of a particular surgical treatment to release the digital nerve, accompanied by neurolysis in adults who exercise. On the whole, twenty five patients with twenty-five suffering extremities were treated. Five of them simultaneously had a Hallux Valgus type deformity and that supports the belief of the mechanical induce of this condition. Both ultrasonography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) were used for the clinical evaluation of this condition. The pain was estimated via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The patients were re-examined after three (1st postoperative), twelve (2nd postoperative) and twenty-four (3rd postoperative) months. A significant improvement (p 0.0001) was noticed from the correlation between the pain before the surgery and the pain after the surgery via the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Most patients (15/25) did not display any discomfort or sensory disorder after surgery. The correct clinical evaluation as well as the correct and effective surgical intervention with the simultaneous repair of all the mechanical deformities of the foot provided better post-surgery progress in patients and increased the percentage of their rehabilitation of their previous activities.