hallux metatarsalphalangeal joint arthritis

[azfiddle]

I have this also, but perhaps mine isn't as bad as yours. I had about 2 months last year when driving was a problem, sometimes it hurt other times. The doctor who diagnosed/explained it said that wearing good shoes with stiff soles would be helpful, and if it got worse there were a couple of options- injections was one. Surgery was last resort. I also have a bunion on that toe. He said the stiff soles on cycling shoes were good (he happens to be a cyclist as well).

Practically, it means most women's shoes are completely out of the question! Most of them offer no support, or they cut directly across the joint (like ballerina slip ons).

Good luck with it....

[beccaB]

Which bike shoe will accommodate orthotics? I use spd pedals because that's what I have on all my bikes. Typically mountain bike shoes and commuter shoes fit those. My current bike shoes are very stiff. I think the problem is with my other shoes and the structural problems with the bones in my feet. I don't think biking makes it worse so much as it already hurts when I set out to go biking. Most of my hiking style shoes are actually fairly flexible. I'm coming to understand that's a big problem for me. I am a shoe hound too. that's probably going to cause financial stress when I have to purchase 50 pairs to accommodate my orthotics!

[beccaB]

I have been wearing MBT shoes (Masai barefoot technology) for a few days and I'm finding a lot less foot pain. The person who's going to do my orthotic put a metatarsal pad in the insole of my bike shoes, but It's been raining every day and I haven't used them yet.

[shootingstar]

Becca, it might be a choice between wearing a type of biking shoe, even if MTB, that won't cause long term pain for you and you will be encouraged to keep on cycling lots for a long time in life.

Or sticking to SPDs and making yourself slowly disabled later on in life.

I have worn orthotics for past 20 yrs., in hard soled, slim shaped mtb cycling shoes. But I don't go clipless so it's not a big deal to me.

I've accepted the fact that I cannot wear certain types of dress shoes that have no support. In most cases my dress shoes are in styles where I don't ahve to wear my orthotics. When I walk to work, I wear runners with my skirt, etc. Or a sensible low heeled dress shoes. I cannot wear ballet slipper like shoes because they're just too flat. So after a few years I had to give up wearing my silver ballet slipper shoes. I loved them!

I cannot wear stiletto high heels at all. Never could anyway.

I also have x-country skied in my orthotics and I must snowshoe in my orthotics. Or else I will be in pain within 1 hr.

[NbyNW]

I wear Rx orthotics for flat feet and to slow down the development of a bunion.

My podiatrist made two pairs for me: one for athletic shoes, and a thinner profile pair that can fit in most, but not all, casual/dress shoes. There is a circle cut out of the heel of the dress orthotics so they sit flatter in the shoe and don't lift my heel up too much.

I actually use the dress orthotics in some of my athletic shoes... they fit in my cycling shoes, and I've decided that I like them better in my ski boots than the pair that was made for athletic shoes.

There are some really great casual shoes out there that can be compatible with your orthotics, or if they're not, just limit how often you wear them or save them for special occasions.

[beccaB]

Those bike shoes I have are the mountain bike shoes that go with spd pedals. I used to use a fairly flexible shoe that looked like a hiking shoe and then I switched to a pair of specialized bg Comp? I think that's what they're called. The sole is fairly unmovable, but the cleat is recessed and there is some stuff on the bottom that is a little grippy, although I think better for pushing a bike up a hilly trail than anything else. The pedals are flat on one side with the clip- in part on the other side. So would a road shoe with a different pedal system have an even more spread out surface? At this point I think I would switch just to be able to keep on biking. Right now biking is actually more comfortable than walking because the shoe is so stiff.
The good news is that the guy who's going to make the orthotic is a cyclist and he knows some stuff. Pretty much if you ask him what time it is he'll tell you how the watch works!

[grey]

I don't have this problem, but I did think it interesting to note that harder soled shoes cause less foot pain. My hubby thinks I am nuts - I prefer my bare feet or wear hard or thin soled shoes because sneakers kill me. Specifically, my arches hurt more when there is 'support' in place, I also am in pain for a few days on the inside of my right ankle if I were to say, walk the dog in sneakers. I even had a heel spur for a year - finally realzed it improved if I went barefoot, not in sneakers like conventional wisdom says. Go figure. I have very high arches and ran around barefoot my entire childhood.
Personally I think shoes are torture devices for your feet. They do not allow your feet to function as they should- causing some of the many muscles to atrophe and create
more problems. The foot is a complicated structure. I love flats but they don't permit your toes to spread out while pushing forward. I also notice how walking changes depending on the shoe - how I put my foot down, how I push forward when walking. In sneakers it's a forced near- violent heel-strike then a rocking push. Barefoot, sometimes he foot hits the ground almost all at the same time, or even ball first.

Shoes need re-evaluation.