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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM
Pain when standing
by Bobbie
(Millersville, MD, USA)
Severe pain in the balls of both feet both while standing
My husband started with pain in the balls of his feet several years ago. He was diagnosed with Morton's neuroma and has had 7 individual surgeries on his feet. The doctors have stated that the neuromas have been removed and are not an issue any longer. However, he is still dealing with near constant foot pain. He is an critical care nurse and is on his feet most of his work day. He has gone to various podiatrists without anyone being able to give him any help beyond shoes that rock and take the pressure off of the ball of his foot. While these shoes help somewhat, he is still having to live with this pain. He has been prescribed Percocet for pain relief but is having a difficult time functioning on the dosage it takes to help relief his pain. PLEASE, if you can offer any help, we would be so thankful. He has even spoken of having the nerves cut so there is no feeling whatsoever or even taking the drastic step of having the forefoot of both feet removed and wearing a prosthetic just to have some relief from this pain. We are at our wits end and do not know where to turn. Thank you very much, Bobbie Dell'Acqua
Hi Bobbie,
You need to start thinking "outside the box" and perhaps you already have, but this may be a problem that goes beyond the foot in its origins. Has your husband been to a neurologist and rheumatologist? The idea being that the source of the pain may not be neuroma at all. You mention seven foot surgeries; were they all for neuromas? I hope not. If that is the case, your husband may have so much scar tissue that there may be excessive irritation on the remaining nerve further back in the foot.
I wish I could be more help, but without being able to examine him, I cannot come up with any more ideas.
Marc Mitnick DPM
DISCLAIMER
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
Mayo Clinic
Johns Hopkins Medicine
MedlinePlus
Arthritis Foundation
University of Rochester Medical Center
Harvard Health
Drugs.com
American Academy of Pediatrics
Penn State Medical Center
National Institutes of Health
Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation
ScienceDirect
Stanford Health Care
Illinois Bone and Joint Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Institute for Chronic Pain
University of Florida Health
American Family Physician
Cedars-Sinai
University of Maryland Medical Center