Fellowship of the Morton's Toe

my shins are quite tough from kicking my heavy bag thank you.

seriously now. jndeleon came over today with her latest book "how i got my wiggle back". as most here should know it features our own dr james stoxen and his spring theory. she took my left foot, the more troubled one, and worked some trigger points like the dr suggest in the book. oh my f'n god. i feel a huge difference and i didn't run. my entire leg feels good, loose, not tight. my it band is usually tight but not right now. it was down right painful too when she got to my ankle. asking me does this hurt as she pushed down and i rolled up like a pretzel.

i'll be borrowing it from her soon and self experimenting some more. i'm sure she experiment on me as well as she has been self experimenting now.

i currently feel no pain in my arch, usually feeling it from pf. the graston technique i used this morning help loosen that up but not in the same way as what she did to me. check it out.
 
I can not wait until Dr. Stoxen writes his own book!!! It was taking me like 30 minutes and a lot of pain to get those things out of my ankle. But with practice, I am now down to about 10 minutes and very little pain. I've stopped pivoting them and only apply pressure now. And I can usually tell when they release, just using pressure. Those small rubber balls (not to be confused with any other balls) work fairly well, but I can now get it done more efficiently without them. I guess it should not be that amazing that I feel the results all the way up my leg, after all, we DO stand on our feet. Oh, and just so everyone knows, Mike LOVES pain and I LOVE inflicting it! So he is the perfect guinea pig!!! :p
 
Yes I have. I know people have had a hard time finding them all on youtube. Here is the link to the blog. http://teamdoctorsblog.com/ The sucky part is, the ones that he talks about in "How I Got My Wiggle Back" are on the blog, but not filmed very well, so it's hard to see what exactly is going on. Plus the space in which he is working is microscopic, which doesn't help. The pictures in the wiggle book are more clear. I wish they would reshoot the tutorials with artificial light and a different angle. I am looking forward to seeing if it will be clearer in his book. Or maybe he could make DVDs.
 
had all my family around this weekend for my daughter's birthay party, a great barbecue in the rain. A few glasses of wine later, in the evening we all compared feet, and this Morton's toe thing seems to run in the family. My sister oddly enough has just had an MRI on her foot due to pain and a strange lump and one of the things the doctor mentioned, but didn't know much about was Morton's neuroma.
 
Oh no. We need a club for Fellowship of the Morton's Toe now. I will be the president. Was your sister diagnosed with a neuroma?
 
TJ, she's just had the MRI so far, conventional X-ray showed no abnormalities but then it may not if there's a stress fracture or neuroma
 
MRIs can pick up neuromas. Ultrasound is better and cheaper at seeing them. Yes, x-rays won't. Wishing her luck it's not a neuroma or something terrible.
 
I have Morton's toe … but not Morton's Neuroma. I have read three books that address the issue of Morton's toe (Natural Running by Danny Abshire, The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies, and Why You Really Hurt by Dr. Burton Schuler). Each of these three books recommends the same treatment for Morton's toe, which is the same treatment prescribed by the doctor who discovered the foot condition — Dr. Dudley Morton who wrote a publication on it in 1924. Dr Morton instructed that the treatment was to elevate the first metatarsal bone (along the big toe) by placing a small pad underneath it. This pad is now commonly known as a Morton's extension pad — apparently it works by shifting the majority of the weight from walking off the "longer" toes and back onto the big toe bone wear it belongs.

Morton's toe can cause fallen arches and pronating (weak) ankles. I know, because I've suffered from these symptoms for 31 years. Four months ago, I stopped wearing my cushy tennis shoes and I even stopped wearing my expensive $300 custom-made arch supports. Instead I opted for low-profile shoes (martial arts shoes called "Feiyue), and I wore a Morton's extension pad that I made from Dr. Scholl's Molefoam Padding. These shoes felt supportive but would soon tire out my feet. So I wore them only 2 hours a day the first week, then 3 hours again the second week … until after 6 weeks my feet were strong enough to wear them all day. I am amazed but I can honestly say that within 6 weeks my arches completely lifted up and my ankles became very strong.

I've read that it's estimated that 20% of the population have Morton's toe and that, though it appears to cause pain for the majority of these individuals, it does not cause much problems for persons who have very strong feet … anyone who has been running for a long time … or persons in Africa and India who have naturally strong feet from walking barefoot or in flat sandals their whole lives. Unfortunately, for the majority of us who have been walking in cushy shoes most of our lives, Morton's toe can become a debilitating condition, causing our feet to become weak and fragile. I've read the most people start feeling the painful effects of Morton's toe by the age of 30 … and it just gets worse as time goes by.

My sister is a physical therapist, and she sees people regularly with knee, hip, back, and neck problems whose problems originate in their feet … caused by Morton's toe (as well as other contributing factors such as lack of exercise and prolonged sitting at one's desk or hunched over a computer). She believes that much more than 20% of the population have Morton's toe. The majority of her patients have Morton's toe, and she recommends a Morton's extension pad to them. The results are always beneficial. Sometimes they need a pad in only one shoe (some people have Morton's toe only on one foot), other times they need a thicker pad on one shoe and a thinner pad on another shoe (some people have a more pronounced Morton's toe on one foot more than the other), sometimes they need double-thick pads (if they have very weak feet), and other times they need only thin pads (if they have stronger feet). Either way, the results are immediately positive for all of her patients.

I myself now wear only two types of shoes: martial arts shoes (Feiyue Shoes) and "Invisibles Shoes" Running Sandals (6mm Contact) and they help my feet continue to get stronger every day. I no longer have foot problems (fallen arches and pronating ankles). I attribute my health to the Egoscue Method (yoga based method) of physical therapy, which corrected most of my postural imbalances within two months (i.e. pain throughout my body caused by a lower right shoulder, forward head, elevated and torqued right hip, sway back, everting feet and knees, fallen arches, and pronating ankles. To correct these postural imbalances I just bought a book (The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion), performed the "Condition 2" exercises every morning, and all my physical pain issues corrected themselves in 2 months … except for my fallen arches and pronating ankles, which remained although I must admit that these foot issues had dramatically improved.

I give credit to the Egoscue Method of physical therapy for correcting my postural imbalances, but I also give credit to "Invisible Shoes" Running Sandals and Feiyue Shoes for helping my feet and leg muscles (calves, arches, ankles, and achilles tendon) get stronger every day. I wear Morton's extension pads in both of these shoes. I made a Morton's Extension Pad for my pair of Invisible shoes by using the same material as the Invisible Shoes (I bought an extra pair of Invisible shoes and cut out two rectangles (1 1/4 X 6 inches) from the rubber material and cut off the nubs on the bottom of the rubber material with an Exacto knife and then glued them to each Invisible Shoe with Shoe Goo).

I appreciate all the people that have posted on "The Fellowship of the Morton's Toe" forum. I wish I had read these posts a year ago. Instead it took me months of researching into the cause of all the different pains in my body before I realized that it might all have originated at my feet. I know that my post isn't sharing anything new or saying something that hasn't already been said by somebody else. I just wanted to share my own story around the issue of Morton's toe. I'm sorry for leaving such a long first post, but I just want to share what has helped me ... in case it might help someone else. And I'm excited to be able to begin running again at the age of 50, after ending 31 years of pain.
Fellow Morton's toe survivor,
Charly Norman
 
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Hi Charly. Welcome! That's a very interesting and informative post, so I thank you for its length.

I spoke with Dr. Burt Schuler (nice guy) a couple times on the phone, and he sent me his book and some sample MT pads. I tried the pads, and they were so thick, they actually caused a lot of pain, so I cut them down in thickness by half. They still were too thick. So I like your idea of making an MT pad out of the IS rubber. Is that the thickness of the rubber you used or did you double up for thickness?

Check out Dr. James Stoxen's site www.teamdoctorsblog.com. He discovered the Human Spring Theory and believes most of our health problems originate in the feet. He has some articles on the home page I think you will be interested in as well.
 
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I wonder, for a test run, is there a sturdy enough material that you could stick to the bottom of your first met and run barefoot with?

I think it might takes years to develop the kind of foot strength that is necessary to run barefoot with Morton's toe when you are already in your 50s.
 
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Hi Charly. Welcome! That's a very interesting and informative post, so I thank you for its length.

I spoke with Dr. Burt Schuler (nice guy) a couple times on the phone, and he sent me his book and some sample MT pads. I tried the pads, and they were so thick, they actually caused a lot of pain, so I cut them down in thickness by half. They still were too thick. So I like your idea of making an MT pad out of the IS rubber. Is that the thickness of the rubber you used or did you double up for thickness?

Check out Dr. James Stoxen's site www.teamdoctorsblog.com. He discovered the Human Spring Theory and believes most of our health problems originate in the feet. He has some articles on the home page I think you will be interested in as well.

Thanks for sharing Dr. James Stoxen's website. I'm fascinated by his "Human Spring" theory and how it applies to barefoot running ... he has some great instructional videos too. To answer your question about the thickness of the MT pads ... I run in the 6mm thick "Contact" sandals (make by "Invisible Shoes"), and for the Morton's toe extension pad I made, I actually bought a pair of 4mm "Connect" sandals to cut rectangles out of them. After cutting the rectangles from the 4mm rubber material, I used an Exacto knife to cut the nubs off the bottom ... which made the resulting material about 3mm thick.

I usually spend all day in my "Invisible Shoes" sandals, but once in awhile I want to look a bit more professional -- since I'm an elementary school teacher -- I wear Feiyue martial arts shoes. For my Feiyue shoes, I've put Morton's toe extension pads on a pair of green Spenco insoles that I insert into my shoes. For the material of the MT pad in my left shoe, I use Dr. Scholl's Molefoam padding. However, for the MT pad on my right shoe, I use a thicker material, since my Morton's toe condition is more severe in my right foot. For the MT pad on my right shoe, I cut out a rectangle from material that I bought at Home Depot ("Surface Guard Medium Duty Felt Blankets" manufactured by Sheperd Hardware Products) -- this material is sturdy and 3mm thick.
 
I wonder, for a test run, is there a sturdy enough material that you could stick to the bottom of your first met and run barefoot with?

I think it might takes years to develop the kind of foot strength that is necessary to run barefoot with Morton's toe when you are already in your 50s.

Good point! I can't think of any material other than duct tape that would attach a Morton's toe extension pad to one's foot .. and stay on. However, I am hopeful that my feet are getting stronger every day ... slowly but surely. To keep my feet getting stronger, I don't wear shoes -- I only wear my "Invisible Shoes" sandals ... even at work (elementary school teacher). The only time I wear shoes (Feiyue martial arts shoes) -- to look more professional -- is for one hour every week at our teachers staff meeting. The students tease me, because they say that my sandals look like "girl's sandals" ... they're so funny ... I just respond with "Well, this girl can beat you in a race." My hope is that, even though I'm 50, my feet will one day be strong enough to run barefoot ... without the MT pads.
 
Hi, Charles, sounds like you've done a lot of trial and error experimentation to find the combo that works right for you. Thanks for the info and product references. I have some more experimenting to do myself.
 
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Thanks for sharing Dr. James Stoxen's website. I'm fascinated by his "Human Spring" theory and how it applies to barefoot running ... he has some great instructional videos too.

Dr. Stoxen ROCKS! His Human Spring theory is seriously one of the most life-altering things I've learned about how to improve the function of my musculo-skeletal system and has provided a surprising amount of pain relief.
 
Count me in! I definitely have Morton's Toe, although I never even knew it until my wife's father (he's a chiropracter) pointed it out. Since I'm still in the BF walking phase of my trainsition to BF running, I'll have to wait and see if my longer digit causes me issues.

-Brandon
 
Let's hope not. It's my understanding that some people suffer from it, and others with it never even knew they had it.
 
I hope not either TJ!

On a side note, I did some analysis of my "Greek" toes, and my 2nd Metatarsal is only about 1/2 cm longer than my 1st metatarsal. How does that rank in Morton's severity?

Would one judge the severity of Morton's toe by the Metatarsal length difference, or by the 2nd toe / 1st toe length difference?

-Brandon
 
You always go by the metatarsal length. Never the toe length. And even the smallest amount can make a difference.