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A neuroma, also known as Morton’s Neuroma, is a common foot malady.  Essentially, it is the nerve that supplies sensation to your toes getting pinched or squeezed.  This squeezing of the nerve causes the burning-tingling-uncomfortable sensation that brings patients in.

I chose this photo because it clearly shows how a nerve could get pinched.  As toes 2 and 3 are pointing outward abnormally, it causes retrograde pressure on the metatarsals (the bones through which the nerve is normally pinched) to get closer together.

You can see how toes 2 and 3 would be pinching further back at the metatarsals.

Other things that cause pinching are more obvious.  The tight and narrow shoes that women wear are notorious for causing neuromas.  Sometimes, previous hammertoe surgery can cause this problem as well.  Something you should think about (albeit rare) before undergoing hammertoe surgery.