04/09/2012    

PODIATRISTS IN THE NEWS

OH Podiatrist Discusses Celebrity's Neuroma

Photos of Steven Tyler’s foot surfaced recently, showing his second toe crossing over his big toe and the other digits slouching toward it. After several surgeries, he still experiences excruciating pain, one of the reasons he became a judge on American Idol—so he could relax. He says Morton’s neuroma caused his gnarled toes. 

Dr. Allan Boike

The word “neuroma” seems to imply that there is a tumor, says Dr. Allan Boike, a podiatrist and section head of podiatry at Cleveland Clinic, who explains that it’s not a tumor. “It’s an irritation or a fibroid.” Boike says that Cleveland Clinic uses a therapy called radio frequency ablation, a minimally invasive procedure, using radio waves to heat the nerves until they quit working and hurting.

Source: Meghan Holohan, msnbc.com [4/6/12]