Some sports carry a higher risk of participants developing Morton's neuroma. As part of our sport-specific management, we routinely treat elite and professional athletes and we consult for several premiership football teams. Mr McCulloch was a Consultant at the 2012 Olympics.
Sporting Causes
Skiing
Our experience and research shows that skiing is particularly associated with Morton's Neuroma. Some patients find that their symptoms only occur during skiing. This undoubtedly relates to the inflexible nature of ski boots (the condition is less common in snowboarding where the boots are softer).
Treatment for skiers involves reducing hypermobility of the foot by using lightweight orthoses and increasing the internal volume of the ski boot.
Cycling
Road biking is particularly associated with Morton's neuroma. This is due to the often-narrow design of cycling shoes, elevated forefoot forces and the repetitive nature of the sport.
Our Centre will advise on which cycling shoe to obtain and we work closely with a number of excellent bike fitting companies.
We often recommend cycle-specific orthoses to manage a neuroma related by cycling.
Distance running
Morton's neuroma is often more common in long-distance runners because of the repetitive nature of the sport, which accentuates small disturbances in forefoot pressure distribution.
We will provide the appropriate treatment after conducting in-depth gait analysis. This often involves changing footwear and includes selecting the right trainers for the particular type of foot and sport.
Football
Footballers have a greater risk of developing Morton's neuroma. This is due to the high-impact nature of the sport and that fact that players often wear their boots relatively tight. Our Centre has successfully performed both open surgery and cryosurgery on professional footballers with Morton's neuroma.
Others
Dance and golf are just some of the other sports that are more frequently associated with Morton's neuroma.
Treating athletes who suffer from Morton’s neuroma requires a sport-specific approach. For example, a ballet dancer will require dedicated medical appliances that are compatible with a ballet pump, such as our own specially-designed "biosock".