Morton's neuroma differential diagnosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Sara Mohsin, M.D.[2]

Overview

Morton's neuroma must be differentiated from other causes of pain in the forefoot such as capsulitis, intermetatarsal bursitis, arthritis of intermetatarsal joints, calluses, stress fractures, and Freiberg's disease.

Differentiating Morton's Neuroma from other Diseases

Differentiating Morton's neuroma from other diseases
Disease/Condition Underlying Etiology Pathophysiology Clinical presentation Other associated features
Morton's neuroma

On gross pathology, characteristic findings of morton's neuroma, include:

Symptoms of morton's neuroma include:

Usually located at the following sites:

(first toe is usually not involved)

Metatarsophalangeal joint capsulitis/Metatarsalgia
Intermetatarsal bursitis
Inflammatory arthritis of metatarsophalangeal joints (join the toes to the foot)
Calluses
Metatarsal stress fracture
Freiberg's disease
Osteomyelitis Common causes include:


Entry of the organism into bone is the first step in osteomyelitis and occurs by three main mechanisms:

  1. Hematogenous seeding
  2. Contiguous spread of infection to bone from adjacent soft tissue
  3. Direct inoculation from trauma or orthopedic surgery (including prostheses)
Risk factors for osteomyelitis include:
Localized vasculitis[1][2]
  • Localized inflammation of blood vessels occurs within a confined vascular distribution or single organ is involved without any clinical evidence of generalized inflammation
  • Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score is a very valuable tool to find out any systemic involvement going on concurrently with localized vasculitis
Tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS) Anything that creates pressure in the Tarsal Tunnel can cause TTS such as:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Peripheral neuritis Symptoms depend on the nerve involved and may include: _
Synovitis It can be caused by any of the following: _
Tendonitis
Avascular necrosis[3] Permanent or temporary lack of blood supply to the bones due to:


Also known as:

Common sites of involvement in the order of frequency include:

References

  1. Burke AP, Virmani R (2001). "Localized vasculitis". Semin Diagn Pathol. 18 (1): 59–66. PMID 11296994.
  2. Quinet RJ, Zakem JM, McCain M (2003). "Localized versus systemic vasculitis: diagnosis and management". Curr Rheumatol Rep. 5 (2): 93–9. PMID 12628039.
  3. Enge Junior DJ, Fonseca EKUN, Castro ADAE, Baptista E, Santos DDCB, Rosemberg LA (2019). "Avascular necrosis: radiological findings and main sites of involvement - pictorial essay". Radiol Bras. 52 (3): 187–192. doi:10.1590/0100-3984.2017.0151. PMC 6561372 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 31210694.


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