Morton's Foot?

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Originally Posted by Morticia

Have you been successful in training yourself to step down and toe off on your big toe?

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I'm training myself not to toe off at all. My calves were sooooo over-stressed. I'm getting there....

Flexibility in my feet is/was a huge issue. When I started I couldn't even begin to get the head of my first MT on the ground with my ankles neutral. The stretches Knott recommended are helping, and so is rolling out the trigger points in my feet on a spiky stick or spiky ball. That's one thing I forgot to mention in the last post that has been really, really helpful.

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Is your first toe knuckle closer to your body than the second toe knuckle?

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Yep, I thought that was the definition of Morton's foot.

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Good luck with your Marathon!!

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Thank you! I'm feeling a little odd about it right now so the encouragement is welcome. :o

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

I'm training myself not to toe off at all. My calves were sooooo over-stressed. I'm getting there....

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hmmm... there is a slight forward lean in ballet. I'm confused. but thanx for mentioning this. My calves are chronically tight.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Flexibility in my feet is/was a huge issue. When I started I couldn't even begin to get the head of my first MT on the ground with my ankles neutral.

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Wow, that`s huge! For me, I have to keep my 1st MT head on the ground when in "demi pointe" (tip toes). That is how this whole thing started for me, I would roll outwards off my first MT onto my second.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

The stretches Knott recommended are helping,
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ok, so just to make sure, this is the recommended:

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

(Oakleaf, this is what you were asking for to bring the 1st met head into contact with the ground)

Dropped Met Head Program
To be done over the course of 6 weeks, and maintained there-after.

Consists of two parts: first stretching, then strengthening. Done in that order for every session.

Stretch by folding your foot like a taco shell. Hold your bare foot in both hands. One hand on the left, one hand on the right. Thumbs parallel on top. Line up your fingertips between the 1st and 2nd met heads or on the 2nd met head, whichever feels better. Press down with the heels of your thumbs while you press up with your fingertips. You are essentially folding your foot in half lengthwise. (restoring your metatarsal arch and then some) Hold for 5 seconds. Do 10 times in a row.

Strengthen by working the muscles of the forefoot that support your metatarsal arch. Make a fist with your toes as tight as you can. Hold it for 5 seconds. Splay your toes out as wide as you can. Hold it for 5 seconds. Do 10 times in a row.

Week 1: do the session 3 times a day, spread through-out the day. (morning, noon, and evening for example)

Weeks 2-6: do the session 6 times a day, spread throughout the day. (every 2 or 3 hours, for example)

Maintain by doing however many sessions you feel you need to keep your met arch lively.

Give your feet a happy environment by wearing shoes that suit your particular flavor of foot, and insoles that support your arches INCLUDING the metatarsal arch (buy self stick met arch supports if you have to).

If you also pronate, ask a PT or trainer to help you with your pronation. Pronation has so many causes and so many things to fiddle with up and down the kinetic chain that it is pretty hard to deal with on a message board. They might also want to post your insoles, which is fine, but keep the met arch supports and keep working on your foot strength. As your foot gets stronger and your leg control gets better you'll need less and less correction, and your PT or trainer will trim the posting down until you are neutral.

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I don`t really feel anything when doing the taco shell stretch.. do you feel anything?

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

.....and so is rolling out the trigger points in my feet on a spiky stick or spiky ball. That's one thing I forgot to mention in the last post that has been really, really helpful.

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just fyi, I had a bit of plantar faciitis in my other foot and used the underside of a car mat (the removeable mat ) laid over a hard block, and OMG it was good! I haven`t been using it for this- didn`t know, so thanx.
One of my PT`s also has me doing a `bowstring stretch`. You sit down, grab foot in hand, bend the big toe and then press in on the flexor hallux longus tendon.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Yep, I thought that was the definition of Morton's foot.

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I just wanted to make sure- there is confusion out there- it is possible to have a longer second toe but not have a Morton's foot. So I am hopeful then because you have a real Morton's foot. I do too.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Thank you! I'm feeling a little odd about it right now so the encouragement is welcome. :o

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hmmm, why odd, I think it is great :)

Did the correction work long term?

I have custom orthotics, which never addressed my Morton's Foot issue specifically. Exactly a year ago, I put 3 mm padding beneath my first metatarsal in my running and biking shoes. My knee pain has been greatly reduced!

Did you continue biking/running long term?

Oddly, that little bit of padding has made a huge difference. I'm running faster than I ever have before with only occasional knee pain. I have never had much pain cycling, but my feet feel more "even" on the pedals, if that makes sense.

I have been fooling around with my own padding, toe spacers, massage, foot exercises--and am much better off ( also thanks to reading all these posts, esp knottedYet) than anything podiatrist or orthopedist says --which is essentially surgery!! Wearing toe spacers functionally has really helped move me along, this was suggested to me by structural integrationist wonderful person and it makes sense. So yup, trust your own knowings and don't listen to naysayers! Believe you can get better and you will:)

@Zia, this thread isn't that old. ;)

I ditched the pads under the first MTs within a few months. If anything, they were making my feet weaker and more rigid than the custom orthotics did.

The point of all this is to get your feet both strong and flexible enough that the parts of your feet that are supposed to support you, actually are supporting you - getting your weight equally in your first and fifth met heads and both sides of your heels, with your ankles in neutral. That takes foot and hip strength, as well as foot flexibility.

I read something a while back, and I can't remember whether it was something Knott said or someone else, but it was along the lines of, "If someone said they can't lift five pounds, would your first suggestion be putting their arms in a cast permanently?" That's what orthotics do - it's like casting your feet - and while a few people obviously do need them, it makes no sense to do that before you've even tried letting your body do what it was born to do.

Now, if a quack ortho put you in orthotics when you were six years old, old biomechanics die hard, weak muscles take time to strengthen, and anything that happens in your feet has consequences all the way up your postural chain. So I'm not "there" yet by any means. I'm still wearing the metatarsal arch supports in my running shoes (they support the second through fourth mets so the middles of my feet don't collapse). I have to mentally give myself posture corrections and tell myself to stop toeing off whenever I do aerobics, stand or walk. Head over shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, knees over heels. Much of the corrections have to do with correcting a forward lean and a flattened lumbar curve - yoga has been great for this. I can stand for hours barefoot or in flat shoes now, and I'll be tired, but I won't have the back or foot pain I used to get. :) So I can see the day when I'll be able to run without the domes, too.

As far as running, my second marathon is this Sunday. :eek: As far as cycling, I haven't been riding nearly as much this year, only about 2500 miles, but that's not because of any physical issues. I've also been correcting issues on the bike, but not directly related to my feet. Still, it's been instructive, because on the bike, learning to stop ankling, and lowering my saddle to an appropriate height, have had to happen in tandem, little by little. Now my Achilles, my calves and my knees are all happy on the bike. :) It's a good parallel for all the different corrections that are happening in my posture.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Morton's foot and Morton's neuroma are two different things. Just named after the same doctor.

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My husband has Morton's neuroma in his right foot. It seems to have started after he broke his leg 4 years ago in a motorcycle accident. It broke just above the ankle, and they did surgery to put a plate in his leg to hold it together. In the process they pinched a nerve which has since "died" (he has no feeling on the TOP of his foot).
Due to the ankle pain he had while the nerve was dieing, his gait was changed due to limping, and he developed the neuroma. I got sick of his moaning and complaining and told him to go to the doctor or shut up. Our primary care told him he had Gout. I mentioned his pain to my chiro and scheduled an appointment for him. She worked on his foot to "break up" the neuroma. He said he was ready to kick her in the head it hurt so bad and made him cry (he's 6ft, 210lbs)!!! But it felt good after. He goes in every 3-4 weeks and she works that foot to break up the scar tissue, and it's been very successful for him with the pain diminishing with each session. It's been about 4 months now, and he's almost pain free - no shots, no surgery.