Abstract
Background
Morton's neuroma is the enlargement of an interdigital nerve most commonly located between the third and fourth metatarsals. It is susceptible to entrapment and therefore is a common cause of disabling foot pain. Greek foot is a normal variant where the first metatarsal is shorter than the second metatarsal. To our knowledge there is currently no reported association between Greek foot and Morton's neuroma in the literature.
Material and methods
Retrospective study of 184 patients. Two separate cohorts were recruited.
Cohort (A): 100 randomly selected patients with no foot pain.
Cohort (B): 84 patients with foot pain and Mortons's neuroma.
The foot shape was determined by using a self-assessment tool and plain radiographs.
Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi square test on the association between Greek foot and Morton's neuroma. A value of P = < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Our study shows a statistically significant association between Greek foot and Morton's neuroma with a prevalence of Greek foot in Cohort (A) of 20% (95% C.I.:12%–28%) and in Cohort (B) of 63% (95% C.I.:53%–73%).
(P = 2.6 × 10−9).
Discussion
This study has shown a possible association between the presence of a Greek foot and the presence of Morton's neuroma. We can conclude that people with foot pain are more likely to have Greek foot than Egyptian foot and that the prevalence of Greek foot is higher in patients with Morton's neuroma than in the asymptomatic population.
Although our study design has limitations and does not allow full statistical analysis, we do believe that the shown association between Greek foot and Morton's neuroma can help clinicians and other health care providers in establishing the diagnosis of Morton's neuroma in patients with a painful foot.
