An interdigital neuroma is an irritation of the nerves as they travel down your foot towards your toes. It can occur in between any of the toes, although the most common location is between your third and fourth toes.

The condition has been linked with tight footwear and changes in your gait which increase pressure on the ball of your feet. Neuromas are more commonly seen in women, and those who wear high heels.

Interdigital neuromas can cause tingling and numbness in the toes. Sometimes the pain can be a sharp pain like an electric shock. Symptoms are present during standing and walking, and ease with rest. Symptoms are exacerbated by tight footwear and relieved when removing the shoes.

The treatment for an interdigital neuroma focuses on reducing the pressure being applied to your affected nerve. Your initial treatment may include modifying your insoles with padding to decompress the nerve, and soft tissue techniques to reduce the pressure on the ball of your foot.

In conjunction with relieving pressure on the nerve, we will work with you to strengthen the foot to better distribute the load across the forefoot.

• Tarsal tunnel syndrome
• Freiberg’s infarction
• Plantar plate tear
• Intermetatarsal bursitis

Stress fractures are hairline cracks in the bone that occurs when the load applied exceeds the current capacity of your bone – this can occur when you start a new activity or when you rapidly increase the intensity of your current activity.

Stress fractures can also occur as the result of medical conditions such as osteoporosis which reduces the bone’s overall tolerance to load. The good news is that regardless of the reason for the loss of tolerance your bone strength can be improved to avoid future stress injuries.

Stress fractures can cause swelling and tenderness over the site of the fracture. You may also have an aching pain that increases with an activity that lingers when you rest.

Treatment for your stress fracture will initially focus on reducing the load to allow healing to occur. As the bone begins to heal you will slowly begin to reintroduce load to strengthen the bone.

The main goal following restrengthening is to prevent future stress fractures, to do this we need to determine what caused the fracture initially. We will work with you to uncover the true cause and then help you to prevent future stress fractures with an individualised program specific to your needs.

• Fracture
• Osteochondrosis
• Bone tumour
• Bone infection
• Capsulitis
• Plantar plate rupture/tear

Similar to a bunion on the big toe, a bunionette causes a deviation of your little toe towards the fourth toe and creates a lump appearance at the ball of your foot.

It was originally believed to have been caused by sitting cross-legged for extended periods of time, however, it is now accepted that the condition is caused by alterations in the way you walk.

A bunionette may cause pain, swelling and reduced range of motion. It will appear that your small toe is pushing towards the fourth toe, which creates a large bump on the outside of the 5th toe joint.

You may also find it difficult to wear certain types of footwear as a result of your bunionette.

The treatment of your bunionette will focus on reducing the factors that have led to its development through the use of an exercise program. In addition to improving your foot strength and stability, you may benefit from the use of padding and offloading devices to reduce the pressure placed on your bunionette during activity.

You may also benefit from wearing shoes with a larger toe box will allow your toes to spread naturally further reducing your pain and symptoms.

• Capsulitis
• Fracture