Inwards turning foot, posterior tibial tendon issues

[Danny D]

Hi

I posted before about an issue with 2nd toe buckling. Fixed that by trying long and hard to wake up some muscles in my foot. That was the easy part

My foot turns inwards a bit (the picture below shows what I mean) I have overpronation and irregular posterior tibial tendon pain. My 5th toe is flexible, not quite a hammer toe and twists slightly under the 4th toe

Quite a few websites state that someone with my issues should always use a supportive shoe and orthotics, no walking barefoot. I tried toe spacers, but after a while realised that they actually cancel out some of the foot turning inward (metatarsus adductus?) leading to more overpronation and more pain in posterior tibial tendon.

I'm taking it really easy so as not to aggravate the posterior tibial tendon. However, I would like to get information on the following topics;

-Will walking barefoot without toe spacers make the foot turning inward/ possible metatarsus adductus worse, as implied here?
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/blogged/managing-tricky-metatarsus-adductus-foot

- Will walking barefoot without toe spacers make the 5th hammer toe curl further under, turn rigid ect?

I hope to get back to going barefoot, but right now mitigating the tendon pain with a supportive shoe might be wise

Thanks for any thoughts on the topic

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Hopefully, this problem has resolved for you by now. But I have asked a doc to come by. Sorry for the terrible wait. It looks like they have visited and responded to others after this post but overlooked this one. I am so sorry. This normally doesn't happen around here; our docs have been good about responding in a timely manner.

 

[Einar]

Your metatarsus adductus is very minor and only for 1st metatarsals.
Here is mine:

Metatarsus adductus i got from birth.
BTW if you think your metarsus adductus can get more pronounced if you doing something wrong, its not truth. Bones are hard and to change them, you must brake them
I has also heels turned little bit to compensate for metatarsus adductus. As young child i lived at country side and spent full summers barefeet.
I have problems with shoes. They bending, deforming. For example my running shoes lasts maximum 100-150 km. Then my heels no more on sole. Only vibram ff kso evo lasts more then 300km.
But my metatarsus aducctus not made problems for me at 17 years age to run 1km cross country in chucks around 2:35-2:40 and to be best in school.
Later in my life i was out of barefootness and my foots hurted often. Podiatrs gave me alot of different ortodics. Some helped, some not.
Finaly at 49 i started to run barefoot again. And after full year of it i can tell - foot pain gone and i can run now more then 10km barefoot with pace under 5min/km. Im still has lil too much weight - 80kg for 175cm.
For me running is easier then walking barefeet. Its because in running heal touching earth last or at same time as forefoot. So no pronotion or whatsever possible.
Toe splits for metatarsus adductus not good idea. Toes are at diferent angles then for normal foot. But about your 5th toe you need to ask docs.BTW Vibram FF could be enough toe split to not allow 5th toe to curl under 4th toe.
In Latvia we has good podiatrist who is also avid barefootrunner. He told me with my metatarsus foot, best is barefootrunning and i cant agree more.
Here im running on asphalt:

 

[Backfixer]

You clearly overpronate bilaterally, however, tibialis posterior pain is a consequence of overpronation, which can be helped by doing certain exercises, and in many cases, foot orthotics. Some of us do great barefoot, but some of us need help. There are many off the shelf foot orthotics than can help.

Having fascial release done to the tibialis posterior may help, but if the intrinsic muscles are weak, it may have a temporary only effect. Sometimes we need to look above the feet, since feet like this often affect the core, by distorting your hips which will tighten up the legs, increasing the impact at the ground. It may be quite helpful to send along a cellphone video of you on a treadmill from the side and back.

Check out these foot drills. They may help alittle, but in my experience, people having foot problems are also having core issues. A good sports chiropractor can help. If you want to better understand the connection, read my book Cheating Mother Nature which you can find on Amazon.com

 

[Danny D]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the inspiring story and for the tips on foot exercises.

I have an over the counter orthotic and a custom made one, both feel a bit dodgy under foot. One thing I noticed is that the outer side of my calf muscle has multiple knots in it bigger than the tip of an index finger, my arch also has a knot in the centre. I will get rid of these before going for barefoot walks outside.

All in all, the situation is better than it was. Cheers!