Simple solution for Morton's Toe foot pain!

[cincodeos]

This webpage states Morton's toe is caused by a short first metatarsal bone, so that the big toe is shorter than the second toe. When this happens the pressure is deposited on the second joint, not the big ball of the foot, and that causes a lot of foot and back pain. The remedy is to tape a piece of foam to the ball of the foot following the first metatarsal! Simple and works! I tape the foam to the ball of the foot, then put Injinji socks and then the Shoe. Try it and tell me what you think!

http://www.footcare4u.com/mortons-toe-what-is-it-what-causes-it-how-to-treat-it/

[cincodeos]

I found one article that said that 10% of the population haves Morton's Toe, or  Greek foot (or Roman, it's the same). Also, the Statue of Liberty haves a Morton's toe!

[paulr]

Also, the Statue of Liberty haves a Morton's toe!

Dont think VFFs get up to that size...   Would be a great laugh if someone could put a mega pair of VFFs on the Statue

[JustinB]

Also, the Statue of Liberty haves a Morton's toe!

Dont think VFFs get up to that size...   Would be a great laugh if someone could put a mega pair of VFFs on the Statue

Sounds like it would be a good ad campaign for Vibram USA

[cincodeos]

Yesterday I ran 5Ks with this simple foam pad and this is the first time that I had no pain in the second metatarsal joint.

[cincodeos]

This was posted in another topic but its one of the best alternatives I've found so far:

In reply to the OP, there may be another way of giving your feet support while wearing Vibrams - I met a VFF-wearing triathlete with Morton's who used kinesio tape squares stuck in layers under her big toe metatarsals - she showed me how to tape mine up too, in order to wear my VFF Speeds safely. (I have short first metatarsals on both feet...I sprint kind of like a duck...   )

Kinesio tape is the coloured stretchy tape athletes at the Olympics all seem to be wearing on their bodies at the moment - whether it works for the muscles or not is a matter for debate, but it sticks to the skin well, but in a much cleaner way than plasters/bandaids (leaving little to no residue) so it's ideal to create a customised metatarsal pad with.

basically you need a flat, smooth surface to walk up and down barefoot on, and a roll of KT tape.  Cut yourself off a 2 inch section of the tape, then cut that in half lengthwise, so you're left with two 2 inch by 1 inch strips. You want to stick this longways over your big toe metatarsal, so some of it goes a little way up your arch. Go for a walk. If you can't feel the tape touch, or feel contact with the floor then you need another layer of tape. Add another layer and go for a walk. Repeat this til you can feel some support under your big toe. (It took 4 layers of tape for me!) When you do it's totally bizarre as it changes your whole walking style immediately...! It felt really weird to have more stable feet, and be able to push off on this fabled big toe metarsal.

Now, this is just what one triathlete advised me to do - it's what she does in order to compete in Ironman triathlons and do runs safely, so one person's advice - so it may not work for everyone with short first metatarsals, but I have to say in my own experience it has given me reassurance that if I do ever build up to doing a decent amount of running or walking, then I won't be placing too much pressure on my second metatarsals if I tape my feet up beforehand.  I don't tend to wear the tape daily as it is a faff to put on (it will survive a showering or two) but if you shower a lot you may find yourself replacing the tape at least once every couple of days - as the tape's not that cheap this could add up...

Another thing I do is I regularly file down the lumps under my second toe metatarsals with a pumice stone, helps keep the height differences down, and I now wear about 2 or 3 layers of tape instead of four.

Good luck, whatever you experiment with.

[hillcpa]

I ran across this solution about a month ago, and it has been working for me.  I cut a piece of Dr. Scholl's (or a generic brand) mokeskin foam* into a circle about the size of a quarter.  The foam has adhesive on one side.  I put one in all of my shoes, positioned so that it is directly under the ball of my 1st metatarsal (big toe).  Walking was immediately much more comfortable, and the chronic condition seems to be gradually going away.


When I run, I stick it directly to my foot, again directly under the ball of the big toe.  I've had problems with the foam pad sometimes coming unstuck halfway through my run.  Sounds like the Kineso tape might be the solution for barefoot running. 

*note it is the moleskin foam, not just the moleskin tape.  The foam has a thickness of about 3-4mm, which is crucial.

[Sablewings]

*note it is the moleskin foam, not just the moleskin tape.  The foam has a thickness of about 3-4mm, which is crucial.

I actually tried that stuff first before I tried the KT tape - bought shoe insoles and glued a disc of the foam to them and wore them in my shoes for a while. They didn't really work as well for me personally because I think the foam pad was slightly too thick for what I needed - I ended up bearing too much weight on my big toe mets rather than balancing it out over the all of my mets.   With the KT tape at least I can customise the layers to the right thickness I need - which for me is 3 layers of KT tape.

Morton's is not uncommon. Getting as many ideas and experiments as possible posted on this board is well worth doing - this way everyone's bound to find something that works well for them, often for little to no money at all.

Just as a pause for thought I don't see Morton's Toe as a foot deformity in any way, and I don't think it caused ancestors trouble either - what HAS changed recently in society however is the modern urban environment - flooring, pavements and roads are now machined to be perfectly flat and smooth, whereas several generations ago most roads and floors were not. I can walk for miles on grass or dirt paths with no pain from my toe bones, because every few steps I take I'm bound to be supporting some weight on my big toe mets due to the uneaven ground. But if I walk the same distance on pavement, that causes a problem.

If I'm going for a walk in the country I don't worry about putting tape on my feet.

[MartinLil]

I find this topic very interesting. I have Morton's toe and have never had any pain in the bones of my feet. I go ultra distances with no discomfort whatsoever. I exclusively run barefoot and in Luna Sandals year round, for what it's worth.

[cincodeos]

I find this topic very interesting. I have Morton's toe and have never had any pain in the bones of my feet. I go ultra distances with no discomfort whatsoever. I exclusively run barefoot and in Luna Sandals year round, for what it's worth.

Then you are blessed!

[Sablewings]

I find this topic very interesting. I have Morton's toe and have never had any pain in the bones of my feet. I go ultra distances with no discomfort whatsoever. I exclusively run barefoot and in Luna Sandals year round, for what it's worth.

Then you are blessed!

Indeed!

I'm wondering if there could be not one but at least two variations of Morton's toe -

1/ Some people very noticably have a longer second toe than their big toe, (such as the visible Greek Toe on the Statue of Liberty - or the first photograph of a foot as shown on the above link to footcare4u.com)  While the toe is longer, the first metatarsal bones of the first and second toe in some people might still be of similar enough length to not cause a structural issue under the foot when they walk. These people still get discomfort, but only in shoe fitting, when the long second toe isn't compensated for in the shoe length.

2 / The second kind of Mortons is where the first metatarsal bone in the big toe is shorter than the first metatarsal bone in the second toe - this is not obvious just looking at the foot as these bones are well inside (the fact I went 30 years not knowing about mine - because on the surface, my second toe looks the same length as my big toe....)

This website's most useful as it's got a nice diagram showing the bones - externally the foot looks okay, internally the bones tell a different story -

http://www.triggerpointbook.com/mortons.htm

The biggest giveaway of Morton's are the hard calluses that form on the sole of your foot - if you've got a short first Met bone, then there's usually a large callus created under the second metatarsal of the foot. Many people who are on their feet a lot will notice pain after a while, usually coming from the ball of their second toe, this is because the ball of your foot isn't taking its share of the weight as it can't touch the ground. (unless you make a big deal out of pronating your foot) After a few miles, (especially in minimal shoes) understandably your second mets start to feel the strain.

I've looked at some websites that just discuss the first variation, and some the second variation, I think there should be more definitive terms because at the moment people are probably just looking at the photo on the Wikipedia entry -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_toe -  then glancing at their foot and thinking, "well I can't have Morton's because I can clearly see my little toe isn't longer than my big toe, so I must have something else wrong for my foot to be hurting like this."

Anyways...  a thought!

[hillcpa]

For whatever it's worth, my met pain is on the ball of my third metatarsal.  I have no idea why.  There is no question that I have a Morton's Toe.  The big toe is clearly shorter than the second toe (like Ms. Liberty; not green, though.  Most of the time.)  Since I have started using a cushion on the ball of the big toe, the condition has definitely improved.

The only thing I can figure is that most people compensate in such a way as to stress the second met, and for some reason I do it in such a way that the 3rd met gets the stress.

[Sablewings]

For whatever it's worth, my met pain is on the ball of my third metatarsal.  I have no idea why.  There is no question that I have a Morton's Toe.  The big toe is clearly shorter than the second toe (like Ms. Liberty; not green, though.  Most of the time.)  Since I have started using a cushion on the ball of the big toe, the condition has definitely improved.

A possible third variation too then?

What would be interesting would be for everyone with particular recurring metatarsal pain to go for two 2 - 3 mile walks in their Vibrams, one on city streets on one day, and one walk offroad, on uneaven dirt paths, etc on another day - both without any Morton's foot pads or support,  and then report back on any foot pains they get.

I know my symptoms appear most when I'm walking on actual flat machined city paving stone, the next worst surface is tarmac, but if the tarmac is in poor condition and is uneven or stony, I can walk further. My favourite surfaces to walk on, unsurprisingly, are natural rough ones, the kind of surfaces our feet evolved to walk on.

[cincodeos]

This is how the kinesiology tape should be applied:

[Sablewings]

This is how the kinesiology tape should be applied:

And it's even in the same hot pink colour I have.... I might buy blue or beige next time, just for a change...