Fastest Way to Heal Morton’s Neuroma at Home

This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in February 2025. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/eDRejlkAX5Y

Brad: Alright, today we've got a really painful subject, and it's foot pain from Morton's neuroma. I've actually dealt with it, I figured out how to fix it, but when it gets painful, the only way I can describe it, in my personal worst pain, is someone taking a pair of pliers, and putting it right on the side of your foot, and just squeezing.

Mike: Ow!

Brad: Yeah. And just hold it like that. Yeah, it's no fun.

Mike: That doesn't feel very good. I don't know who Morton is, but I don't like him.

Brad: Well, we're going to talk about that as well. We're going to show you how you can eliminate that kind of pain very quickly.

Mike: With three simple tips.

Brad: There you go.

Mike: So, where did Morton's neuroma originate?

Brad: Yeah, let's talk about this name, Morton's neuroma. It actually came from Dr. Dudley J. Morton in 1876. So it's been around for quite some time, and after all that time, they have finally figured out a way to fix it without surgery.

Mike: So, what Morton's neuroma actually is is a nerve bundle on the bottom of your foot in the location Brad has highlighted.

Brad: My foot's all purple. I don't know what happened to it. Anyways, right there. That is weird.

Mike: Well, yeah, you must be cold. It's a little cold. Anyway, so what can happen is that the area can get sensitive from things like wrong footwear, or scar tissue developing over time.

Brad: That's right. Now, my personal issue, my pain would always get irritated if I have too tight footwear, making my forefoot compressed a little bit, not having enough room. The other thing is, if I'm walking, and I like to wear my minimalist shoes, they just don't work, because of the pain, particularly on concrete or something hard, irritates it. Also, I always had a problem with bicycling, but that's another story. I have special shoes, but the issue is the uniform throughout. So, all these things will help you out. If any of that relates to you, you're in luck, and I think, well, we'll get on with it. I'm babbling.

Mike: I think you are. So the first thing we want to talk about is the tight toe box on most modern footwear. We have some shoes here that used to belong to Bob. So this is a normal standard shoe. You can see the toe box starts to get kind of pointed at the end, versus a wide toe box shoe, you can see it says nice, same width all throughout. This allows your toes to expand more, not be so scrunched up, which can help take pressure off the Morton's neuroma area.

Wide Toe Box Narrow Toe Box

Brad: That's right. Now, there's a way you can, a formal test is called Mulder's sign. And if you take your foot, and if you want to find out if you have Morton's neuroma, this test, actually, it's not a really good test, but if you squeeze your foot like this, and you feel or hear a click, and association with that click, it's painful, that's a positive sign that you probably have Morton's neuroma. Now, in my case, I can do that all day long. It doesn't bother me. However, when I have a tight pair of shoes on, and I move and walk, I do feel a click right in here, along with pain. So my shoes are actually giving the Mulder's test, but that's just one way to test. We can go on, Mike.

Mike: So, when you're looking for new shoes, first, what you can try to do is actually take a shoe spreader like Brad has here on your current shoes, and spread out the toe box more. But obviously, there's only so much room to move with that.

Brad: Right. So these shoes are pointed. The holes we have, if we put your foot in there, you can really see that your foot is getting squeezed in. Now, if you have one of these, they're not really expensive. If you do have Morton's neuroma, and you find a wider pair of shoes, and you don't want to get all new shoes, you can simply put this in, and you can see right in there. And this, I've done this to many of my shoes. It's spreads, and spreads, and spreads, and then you simply put it down on the floor for all night long and stretch the material a little bit. And a lot of times, that's all it takes is just a little stretch.

Brad: Now, what I have done is go to the shoes that Mike had mentioned.

Mike: They're called zero drop, which means they have the same amount of level off the ground from the forefoot to the heel, and they also have wide toe boxes, but they make lots of variations of these.

Brad: The zero drop for Morton's is not that important. It does help, so you don't put weight into the forefoot. The big thing is the width. They look kind of funny. I think they look cool. Anyways, I've got these are the shoes that I run with, and that really helps as well.

Brad: I have found that if I have a minimalist sole like this, as I mentioned before, painful, painful, painful. They're only good for walking a quarter mile or a half mile, particularly on a hard surface. So, I get the cushioned zero-drop shoes with the wide forefoot. These are, if you want to know, the Altra brand. You can get cheaper ones; these are kind of spendy, but I run with them, and they last longer, and I wanted them for running. Mike, do you have some other ones that you can get online?

Mike: Yes, there are tons of brands, and they all make good stuff. I own like three or four different brands of shoes. These are inexpensive pairs just called Whitin. They're normally just sold on Amazon. They're between $40 and $50, which I find pretty reasonable for a pair of shoes. We don't really have an affiliate with them, but if you are more serious about it, and want to invest, I do own Altra shoes for running as well, but they are more $150, so just a forewarning. Most running shoes are expensive, though.

Brad: Yeah, exactly. Now, this next point is really key. This is something that I have had good luck with. I do it in my shoes, I do it in my biking shoes, and that is putting a forefoot pad in my shoes. Now, you can buy Morton's neuroma pads that stick on your insert. They're kind of expensive, it's okay, I've used them, but I found if I just go to the hardware store, or online, and you get some of these felt cushions that actually have a sticky on, they're made for going on the bottom of a chair foot so when you slide your chairs around, they don't scratch the floor, they work really well. So, the way you work it is, you can cut a custom size. Now, there's a round size, and there's a smaller one. Now, what I found with this pair of shoes, I don't need the bigger one; the smaller one is all I need. And, you simply put it on your shoe like this.

Brad: Now, on the Morton's neuroma, particularly if it's flared up, if you push on it, it's going to be uncomfortable, so I know it's right there, and I'm going to push again. That's where it is. You get placement on the insert, and you do not want to put the pad, the felt pad, over the top of it; you're going to move it towards your arch. Again, you can use this size; you may use this. And I've actually, on my other shoes, put a double layer on it. I have to put two of them on there. The way you know if it works is you put it in your shoe. This is a nice thing they stick on there; you don't have to worry about taping it on. Put it back in your shoe, and simply walk around on it. You will know immediately if it helps, because I just did this last night, and it's like, oh, I should have put these in a long time ago. Because I can't run on these without that, but it's going to be a lot nicer with it. Now, if you have any problems with that, I don't think you will. You simply put them where you go. If you put it too close to the Morton's neuroma, it'll be painful, and you'll feel it. Oh, I have to move it down. Simply move it until it gets to the right spot.

Mike: Now, we have one more tip for Morton's neuroma, and that's actually trying to massage around the area. Now, when it flares up, do you want to go directly on it or around it?

Brad: That's a good question. You do not want to irritate it more than it already is. There may be scar tissue in there. You want to get circulation in there, you want to loosen things up. So not only massage, but grab your foot, and move those bones like this, because they're made to move, and they have motion between each joint in your foot. So do that. Avoid it if it's painful; just stay away from it. Work in here, get things massaged up. If you can go over it, that's fine. Get it loosened up.

Brad: Now, the other thing you can do, if you want, and you happen to have a massage gun that reciprocates, is you can use one of those. I do use that. Mine hasn't been flared up for a while. Let's see, which one should I use?

Mike: I don't know. Pick which one you want. Probably a smaller one for your foot, like the Q2 Ultra.

Brad: Yeah, and I would recommend the one with the ball head, okay? And here's the reason why. You can adjust the intensity very well. This has five speeds, like all these guns, but you're probably not going to use a larger gun on the bottom of your foot. Smaller one. And with the ball head, I'm going to go sideways with it. So it's not beating into the Morton's neuroma, irritating it. We're just moving some of that scar tissue, and you can really work it, and if it feels okay, you can go into it. Like, right now, this does not bother me at all. It's not flared up. It's really come a long way over the last few years.

Mike: I would mention that if your foot is very rigid, and you can't even move it with your hands, you should be able to bend it in a little bit and extend it out, somewhat like this. If you're really stiff and you can't do that, you could try placing the heel of your other foot on your forefoot, not on your toes. Don't step on it all the way, because it's going to hurt, but just put some pressure down, and then try to lift your heel up off the ground. You can do it seated or standing, but it can kind of mobilize some of those joints in your foot as well.

Brad: Right. So you know, therapists work a lot with, we call them mobs, or mobilization. Once you get things moving and break through the scar tissue, that can be a key to eliminating the pain. So yeah, my foot feels so much. I mean, these are great, even if you don't have pain.

Mike: Well, look, it's not even purple anymore.

Brad: Yeah, see it's fixed. Isn't that amazing? That is so cool. Anyways, yeah, I just did a continuing ed on the use of the massage guns with circulation, and a number of things. We're going to have a video on that another day. Anyways, there's another one, "7 Causes & Cures For Your Foot Pain." More options. Mike, I'm sorry I took your line.

Mike: Yeah, it's okay. There are different things besides Morton's neuroma in that video.

Brad: There you go. Good luck with your Morton's. I'm sure this is going to help.