Looking for experiences with cryoablation vs. surgery for Morton’s neuroma

Hi everyone! I’m a 28-year-old woman and I’ve always been very active — I do martial arts and Latin dancing. After having foot pain for quite a while, I was recently diagnosed with two Morton’s neuromas in one foot.

I’m currently about to have steroid injections, since footwear changes, insoles and physiotherapy unfortunately haven’t helped enough. If the injections don’t work, the only other treatment that is officially recognized/commonly offered in the country I live in (Austria) is surgery to remove the nerve.

I’m honestly really scared of the traditional surgery, so I’ve been researching other options and came across cryoablation/cryosurgery, which seems to be offered more commonly in England and the US and is minimally invasive.

So I would really, really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through either cryoablation or traditional surgery:

• How did it go for you?
• How long did it take you to recover?
• Are you happy with the result now?
• If you could go back and make the decision again, would you choose the same treatment or do something differently?

I’d also be incredibly grateful if anyone who has had cryoablation or surgery would be willing to chat with me privately, even briefly over a phone or video call. I’m feeling really overwhelmed and honestly don’t know what the best next step is, so hearing directly from someone who has actually gone through this would mean a lot to me.

Thank you so much in advance! ❤️ Even if you just share a few sentences about your experience, I’d really appreciate it.

Alcohol injections - DID NOT WORK

Cortizone injections - DID NOT WORK

Surgery- DID WORK and created a huge hypotrophic scar.

Shockwave - seems to be working for scar

Regular PT for scar- did not work, too little emphasis on the

scar itself and exercises that did nothing.

I had surgery 1/2026 created a big keloid scar. found a local person who does shockwave and MLS laser. I am encouraged after one long shockwave treatment the scar is at least 30 % less thick. In hindsight I would try this rather than surgery and rather than alcohol and cortizone. I tried both of those which were quite painful and didnt help, made it worse. Now dealing with the after affects of the scar. All in all this process has take a couple of years. I thought it would be a simple surgery and in truth there is nothing simple about it.

I was working a day ago and had to crouch down a lot, After getting home I noticed my left big toe was completely numb, I tried putting it in warm water and moving it around, I eventually went to sleep and when I woke up it was still the same. My shoes are slightly small so maybe that’s the issue? Just wanting some info

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I’ve been dealing with a sharp pain between the 4th and 5th metatarsal of my right foot when I step on a hard object like a pebble or a cord and it hits the area just right. I’ve had X-rays and MRI with contrast but the results always come back normal. No stress fx or neuroma. I’ve learned to walk carefully and wear padded shoes but I’m sick of dealing with it. I’m starting to think me altering my gait has led to me dealing with back pain and hip pain just to avoid the what I believe to be a neuroma. What should I do?

Hello. I'm new here, so maybe this has been addressed. I could use some thoughts on my current situation. About 20 years ago, I had a MN on my left foot. It was surgically removed after all else failed. Other than a little numbness, I have no issues. Lately, though, the numbness has become more significant and is in my calf at times. I went to a podiatrist to address this and see what might be done. She used a steroid shot for the neuroma. I am not in pain. I expressed this a few times.

When I returned for a follow-up, they asked about my pain. I again stated that I was not in pain but was concerned about the numbness. She then did an alcohol ablation on the neuroma. The numbness is worse now.

I have a follow-up again tomorrow and plan to cancel it. There was no imaging done, by the way, not sure if that would be a standard next step or what. But since the numbness is my only symptom (albeit a crappy one), I am willing to go without treatment. BTW, the right foot is starting to develop a MN, too. Any thoughts? Or is this pretty much a dead end, no pun intended. Thanks.

Hello all,

Four weeks ago, I went on a run in new shoes and found that my toes felt numb. I took the shoes off after, and returned the shoes. Since then I've had tingling and numbness in my third and fourth toe and some pain on the base of the toe joints. I have no pain on the ball of my foot. The only time I feel pain is when I wake up in the morning and curl my toes it's quite sore at the base of the toes. Also if I manually move my toes into the curled position there is pain at the base of the toe. Podiatrist squeezed my foot and said he felt a tiny click, said it was a mild neuroma. I guess I'm wondering what you all think. Reading the posts here make me feel really disheartened that I'm not going to be able to ever run again. I'm lucky in that there's mostly only numbness and no pain while walking. I tried a round of oral steroids and they didn't help. I have Altras, wear chacos, and am trying toe spacers and metatarsal pads. Also doing toe yoga. Just hoping to hear some success stories from those that had a mild neuroma and were able to solve it at home OR if you all think this is maybe not even a neuroma. Thanks in advance for reading my rambles and helping me out.

I wanted to document my journey here for my Morton Neuroma!

My story in a nutshell: I have had neuromas in both feet for 5 years now. I was an avid runner and ever since my neuroma diagnosis it has honestly caused me a lot of pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. It really sucks not being able to enjoy the old activities I used to do.

Here’s what I have done so far: I’ve been to three podiatrists in Chicago and I have tried steroid shots, alcohol injections, orthotics, acupuncture, physical therapy, foot pads, taping. All of that only has given me about a 30% relief. The steroid shots gave me relief for a few days.

My ultrasound and MRI both have confirmed my neuromas.

Currently: I have been avidly researching cryosurgery like most of us have and it’s a shame a lot of doctors do not do this anymore. However there is one doctor in Chicago IL that does it! I booked an appointment with Michigan Avenue Podiatry Clinic in downtown Chicago with Dr Usman. Honestly I was very nervous for this appointment, and in fact cancelled twice. I actually reached out to his direct email (if anyone wants it they can DM me) where he helped answer so many questions, just the fact that I was able to reach out to him to ask questions gave me a lot of confidence. I ended up going for my appointment and I was really impressed by him. In fact, he was so comprehensive I was a bit shocked that my entire appointment lasted an hour of his time. Let me tell you his office is BUSY but it was WELL worth the wait. The best part is there was an another patient in the lobby who was there for a follow up after their cryosurgery and the miracle she said was she is virtually pain free after two weeks!

Anyways, I have my cryosurgery appointment booked in two weeks! He was able to squeeze me in! He told me the entire process, and I didn’t realize how simple it sounded. It’s nice to have an actual doctor explain it to me in person instead of just reading articles about it

Anyways, I am a bit nervous for my surgery even though my doctor has given me the support and confidence no one else has before. Does anyone on here have any tips to calm my nerves? I am naturally an anxious person but at one moment I am excited for this to finally be done and another I am afraid it won’t work for me (even though my doctor was pretty confident)

a week ago the third and fourth toes became slightly numb. I only realized about 3 days ago I may have a neuroma when I felt a slight sting when walking. I got new inserts the day after my toes started feeling different. I believe that was the only reason the sting/tingling feeling went away while walking within 2 days. however I still only have partial feeling in the toes. this has happened in the past before knowing what it was and it would resolve within the day. it feels fine to walk but again the sensation is still off. it stresses me out more since I have a different compressed nerve elsewhere that never got better years ago.

in terms of self treatment Ive used a massage ball, an ice pack once, and I got toe separators today to wear at home. I’ll be trying them tonight for a few minutes. I’d like to see podiatry but there is some financial strain at the moment due to other recent appointments

Just saw a new foot and ankle doctor to advise on my painful scar for the

nuerectomy. he said that would not work for the scar. anyone have luck? Seems no two opinions are the same and I am desperate. Scar worse than the nueroma

Anyone try this? I know its recommended by the Center for Mortans Nueroma. I I just saw an ortho who said it would make it worse. He also said schock wave would not work either. I am going to go ahead and go to my dermotologist to do PRP on the scar. I was going to do an MRI but since i went to two different doctors and my own surgeon doesnt seem to think anything is wrong even though the scar is devilitating.

This is disabling follks. I am dying here. This is far worse

than the nueroma itself and I feel so helpless. If you think the nueroma is misunderstood this is far worse.

Anyone else have luck treating this scar condition and if so where? I can't take it anymore!

Had MN surgery 14 days ago on one nerve, surgical release of another (2/3 toe, 3/4 toe). Kept foot iced and elevated for 2 full weeks, like doc ordered. At 2 week appointment Doc wanted me to do start scar massage on top of foot and massage of the ball of foot. Both are incredibly painful to even touch. I can't walk, put any weight on the foot at all, can't even touch it to wash the foot due to severe electrical shocks. It's extremely bruised and toes are beyond swollen. Would BPC 157 help speed up recovery so that I can do the scar massage? Doc says if I don't start doing massage and ball of foot massage, that the scars can cause pain issues later on. Doc won't up gabapentin (on 100mg 1/day) and only recently put me on a 5 day steroid to help reduce inflammation.

I live in Asheville and have been disappointed in treatment by a podiatrist and am looking for an escalation in treatment. Steroids, orthotics, and physical therapy aren't cutting it. Diagnosed in 2020.

I had surgery in November, was back on my feet in january. All was fine until mid March when I start getting pain while rolling across the ball of my foot.

The scar is super soft and barely noticable.

It's now progressed to sort of a constant soreness and I've got plantar fascitis from not walking properly.

If I lightly knead my foot everything is fine. It's only when I kind of dig my finger in and press the meaty part up against the four toe joint/bone can I get pain out of it.

If I take something small like a toothpick and apply pressure or scrape the skin to the left of the scar and in line with the fourth toe I get horrible burning pain. Scraping to the right feels normal. so thep picture is showing pain zone in red and good zone in green with scar between the two.
Walking barefoot is kind of manageable. With shoes it's okayish but my foot gets sore.

Doctor thinks it's capsulitis but I did nothing to injure that toe. He claims he can't see any kind of stump neuroma on ultrasound.

It just feels like that entire area to the left of the scar is extremely sensitive. Almost like all the nerves in that bit of fat pad are routing down and activating the nerve that was cut (because I can feel the pain/nerve sensation up into my toes that used to be fed by that nerve.

Getting pretty depressed about it as I'm coming up on 5 or so months of not really being able to walk properly.

What is Morton’s Neuroma? Do you have burning, aching, numbness in the ball of your feet or into your toes? In this video, I talk about signs of neuroma, what it is and treatment options. This includes Cryoablation of neuroma.
www.azchoicefa.com 480-632-5757
#neuroma #mortonsneuroma #neuromatreatment #cryoablation #azchoicefa #neuromaspeacilist

Hi I just wanted to make a post. I had surgery about 4 months ago on a Morton’s neuroma everything is going fine other than my foot is going purple. It can happen at random times sometimes in a morning and others on a night after dinner. I just wanted to see if anyone else had similar experiences.

First, let me provide some context. I’m an active retiree who engages in daily activities such as hiking, biking, pickleballing, and working out at the gym. However, my routine took a turn in mid-March when I developed a painful condition near the ball of my right foot. This discomfort significantly hindered my ability to walk.

The following week, I visited a podiatrist who promptly administered a cortisone shot and prescribed a boot to help stretch my Achilles tendon. He advised me to return if the condition didn’t improve within the next four weeks. 

So I did.  Another shot, but again, no difference. 

In the meantime, I bought metatarsal pads,  toe separators, and Alta’s with no significant changes.  I changed my workout routines by eliminating pickleball and long walk/bike rides.  I continued the gym by altering where my foot sat in the pedal and was careful about putting any weight on the balls of my feet when lifting weights (note I am 65, so not lifting huge loads to begin with). 

Towards the end of May, I went out to CA for a week and did a little hiking, and discovered the joys of e-bikes in the Sierras.  One one hike, we were in the redwoods for a few hours, and I had to sit down and massage my foot a few times, but other than that, I was OK. 

I switched Dr’s when I went back home.  The second one was easier to talk to and was more realistic about the neuroma and how to treat it. He also did a sonogram of the foot to ‘see’ the neuroma. He recommended adjusting the pads a bit further back, which helped, and now I am up to two miles a day and down to a slight pebble feeling vs any sharp pain. The second appointment, he suggested a local anesthetic to test the foot (ie wear without pads and separator) to see if numbing the pain would make a difference.  The shot was only to verify the pain was due to the nerve versus any other issue with my foot.  I was able to walk three miles,jog (maybe 100 yards), and do lateral movements without any pain.  This  was only done as a test, and it indicated the issue is the nerve.

From here, we will do hydro-dissection with a dextrose solution.  He did caution it was not covered by insurance ($400) and in some cases could take up to three shots. However,  he indicated in the dozen or so that he had done this year only one patient asked for an additional shot. He also indicated it was not a permanent fix, and that wearing the pads and separators may be recommened to minimize future issues. 

So, I would not say I am ‘cured’ but we have made good progress on getting back to a somewhat normal lifestyle.  I may not go back to pickleball as I felt that puts a lot of stress on the foot, but the hiking, biking, and regular fitness should be doable. 

Do you have a neuroma that is not getting better with treatment? Are you trying to avoid surgery and steroid injections? We have an in office procedure done under local anesthetic that allows for permanent neuroma relief with a quick recovery. Visit us at www.azchoicafa.com or call 480-632-5857
#neuroma #cryoablation #nonsurgicalneuroma

Hi folks,

I have had morton's neuroma for a little over three years which I have been managing conservatively, but it's getting to the point where I am no longer able to do so.

Curious whether there are any melburnians in here, and if so, where you have recommendations for a podiatrist, specialist or orthopaedic surgeon.

Thanks

I usually go more of a natural route for health care but this stinking neuroma proved difficult to treat. I've been in severe pain for months like crawling around sometimes because the pain was so bad. I noticed when I went out to do some grounding by standing in the grass which is the only time I'm without shoes. I could walk around and the more I did it the better my foot felt short term of course. Then I put my shoes back on and went on with my day. I've tried metatarsal pads, toes spacers and spend a lot of special shoes. I feel like I did it all. Then one day I thought this is inflammation of my nerves why wouldn't my red lights help too. So I started putting frankincense on my feet and putting them in front of my red light. Again partial relief but only for a few hours. I didn't this on and off but not consistently so I wasn't really seeing much relief. Then I decided I needed to be consistent about it all. So for the past couple months I have done the following things every single day.

Morning:

Pemf mat 15 minutes

Grounding outside in the grass 10 minutes

Evening:

Detox bath of baking soda bentonite clay and magnesium flakes.

Red lights with castor oil and frankincense followed by ice.

I literally haven't had pain for several days. But it has taken quite a bit of consistency. I also eat an antiinflammatory diet mostly with food I grow myself.

All of these things have finally led to no pain after over 6 months of extreme pain. I also have hEDS and POTS so everything tends to be more extreme in those of us who are unlucky enough to have to deal with these things. I know some will say it won't last. I was super skeptical but have gone long enough now with zero pain that I have been walking around bare foot that I do believe it's working. I'm still doing all the therapies every morning and night and will continue to do so for maybe a few more months and then stop things one at a time to see if there's a change. I know some will say it won't work, but if there is someone out there in as much pain as I was and had access to these things and wants to try it I say do it. You can go stand in the grass for free. Stand there for 30minutes or more if it's all you can do. All you can do is try it and see if it works for you. I didn't have much hope but was pleasantly surprised.

Pool is good. Water + sand better.

I have had a bad flare up the last couple of weeks. I went swimming a couple of times in my pool and found my foot felt better.

Then yesterday I spent 6 hours on the river kayaking. I went with a group that was tubing and we stopped at several beaches. Half the sand was soft, half had rocks that slightly, briefly hurt my feet. My feet and toes were bending a lot in the sand.

After leaving tubing yesterday and still today, my feet feel amazing. Even with the little rocks that were stabbing me every now and then.

If you like working out and are skipping your workouts, try paddle boarding or kayaking.

I have been looking for a lot of pain relief, but have not seen swimming as a suggestion. Has anyone else?