What is this? This year I’ve had a few people come into the office with Morton’s Neuroma… something I’d never heard of before. The symptoms are mostly the same, the feeling of walking with a rock in their shoe, even if they are not wearing shoes at all. Just one person had so little feeling in the feet due to concurrent neuropathy that he didn’t feel much of anything, but through imaging, knew it was there. So what to do? Knowing nothing, I looked it up and found this clinic in Massachusetts, https://www.mortonsneuroma.com. Their web site provided thorough information about feet:
 

Morton’s Neuroma “is a thickening of the tissue surrounding a nerve that serves the upper foot and toes”. Neuromas may occur for several reasons, including wearing high heels and shoes that are too tight. Neuromas usually occur between the third and fourth toes for people at any age, but most often between the ages of 50 and 60.
 

The first client that I saw offered this information to others with the same condition, “get shoes with a wider toe box. And I just started using these and they are wonderful: ZenToes Metatarsal Pads Ball of Foot Cushions Adhere to Shoes for Neuroma, Metatarsalgia Pain Relief – 4 Pack”.
 

The client offering very helpful information had tried everything and learned a great deal before coming into this office for acupuncture. I assured her that I had no experience with this particular foot problem, and she assured me that she had tried everything else… We began treatment based upon her specific symptoms and health history. The treatment involved what made sense according to Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and the Morton’s Neuroma slowly began to shrink and she was able to walk barefoot again without pain. She continues to take good care of her feet by using the cushion inserts and wearing shoes with a wide toe box.
 

Oddly, more people came in with Morton’s Neuroma, and again I assured them that I was not an expert. The treatments were tailored to each client’s specific symptoms and health history. Chinese medicine focuses on the entire person, not just a foot or a shoulder, so each client’s treatment is a little different. The only consistency for each person with Morton’s Neuroma was the placement of acupuncture needles on either side of the neuroma(s) and applying electrical stimulation (similar to using a TENS unit). Sounds awful, but they’ve come back and kept up treatment because it works!