Hi, I hope you don't mind a non (or not yet) runner hanging around, but you people seem to be the only ones that know about feet!
My right foot broke down about 6 years ago on a holiday in France where we spent a lot of time walking hilly streets on cobbles in shoes that let my feet slide forward into the toe. Took my shoe off by the pool to find I had something that looked scarily like an old lady bunion. I couldnt walk barefoot even without feeling like i was breaking the joint. I survived the rest of the holiday by wearing crocs and stuffing cotton wool between my toes to bring my big toe back into alignment - I wish now I'd carried on doing that! Bizarre that I could see/feel what needed to be done, but of course when I came back I saw an expert and was told to wear orthotics. Which 'worked' well - no more pain. But fast forward to this year, started a Tai Chi class and started actually paying attention to feet and balance. The orthotic started to feel like a huge lump in my shoe but when I tried to do without it or use a smaller orthotic sole the bunion came back within days. My big toe was so stiff I could hardly move it. I could see that the orthotic basically just tilted my foot so that I didn't use the big toe naturally at all.
I started googling and came across the Correct Toes website and all the barefoot running stuff. I went down to the local outdoor store and tried a pair of VFfs and found that with them on, my toe was pulled into the correct position and I could walk without pain, so I bought them for the Tai Chi and started wearing them round the house and garden. Amazing! Ordered Correct Toes and bought some shoes I could wear them in. My toe still curls across if I walk barefoot but I am hopeful that a few months of training it with the VFfs and correct toes will actually start to fix this, unlike the years of orthotics.
Now I'm getting flashbacks to the one time in my life when I was a runner, and just wondering if this late fifties lady might end up running barefoot in the grass! (ran barefoot round an empty hall the other day to see, and felt really exhilarated!). But one thing at a time. Just walking and the Tai Chi is great.
My right foot broke down about 6 years ago on a holiday in France where we spent a lot of time walking hilly streets on cobbles in shoes that let my feet slide forward into the toe. Took my shoe off by the pool to find I had something that looked scarily like an old lady bunion. I couldnt walk barefoot even without feeling like i was breaking the joint. I survived the rest of the holiday by wearing crocs and stuffing cotton wool between my toes to bring my big toe back into alignment - I wish now I'd carried on doing that! Bizarre that I could see/feel what needed to be done, but of course when I came back I saw an expert and was told to wear orthotics. Which 'worked' well - no more pain. But fast forward to this year, started a Tai Chi class and started actually paying attention to feet and balance. The orthotic started to feel like a huge lump in my shoe but when I tried to do without it or use a smaller orthotic sole the bunion came back within days. My big toe was so stiff I could hardly move it. I could see that the orthotic basically just tilted my foot so that I didn't use the big toe naturally at all.
I started googling and came across the Correct Toes website and all the barefoot running stuff. I went down to the local outdoor store and tried a pair of VFfs and found that with them on, my toe was pulled into the correct position and I could walk without pain, so I bought them for the Tai Chi and started wearing them round the house and garden. Amazing! Ordered Correct Toes and bought some shoes I could wear them in. My toe still curls across if I walk barefoot but I am hopeful that a few months of training it with the VFfs and correct toes will actually start to fix this, unlike the years of orthotics.
Now I'm getting flashbacks to the one time in my life when I was a runner, and just wondering if this late fifties lady might end up running barefoot in the grass! (ran barefoot round an empty hall the other day to see, and felt really exhilarated!). But one thing at a time. Just walking and the Tai Chi is great.