Morton's Foot?

[OakLeaf]

I'm just amazed we've managed to fill three pages of discussion about FOOT BONES!

Hon, there have to be at least 20 pages on this board about @ss bones.

[snapdragen]

Hon, there have to be at least 20 pages on this board about @ss bones.

Not to mention the beloved Diva cup......

[NbyNW]

Knot, thanks for posting those exercises! My met arch disappeared when I was 26 so I'm guessing my problems are not as structural as I have been led to believe. I'm going to give that program a try.

[OakLeaf]

Well I don't have an X-ray to know how long the bones actually are, but just from looking at my feet, my 3rd met heads are farther from my ankles than the 1st, too. Actually on the left, 2, 3 and 4 are pretty much the same length, 1 and 5 are about equal. Right side's a little bit better.

But stretching and strengthening will still help, right? Between that and digging on my calves trying to work out these trigger points, I'm going to be half chimpanzee before it's over...

Wish I knew a good PT around here. There's a trainer I might talk to when I get down south.

[NbyNW]

It's interesting what an x-ray can tell you -- looking at my feet, it looks like my joints are aligned in a fairly gentle arc, but when I had my feet x-rayed some years ago, the most striking thing was that my first metatarsal was much shorter than I would have guessed.

[zia]

OakLeaf, I just got back from trigger point therapy. The therapist recommended using medical-grade felt as padding. I guess it's denser than foam and lasts longer. This web site http://eGeneralMedical.com has some in 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 inch thickness, though you have to buy LOTS of it, so not cheap -- around $35. She gave me some to experiment with in my shoes...

Good luck!

[nscrbug]

OakLeaf, I just got back from trigger point therapy. The therapist recommended using medical-grade felt as padding. I guess it's denser than foam and lasts longer. This web site http://eGeneralMedical.com has some in 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4 inch thickness, though you have to buy LOTS of it, so not cheap -- around $35. She gave me some to experiment with in my shoes...

Good luck!

Zia -

The met pads that I've been using are made of felt (don't know if it's medical grade, though). You might want to give these a try as a cheaper option to buying a boatload of medical grade felt padding.

http://www.hapad.com/hapadonline/pro...cat=278&page=1

[zia]

Ah, interesting, except I want something for just under my first metatarsal, though I suppose I could trim those down... Thank you!

[OakLeaf]

Neoprene's pretty darn dense, though not as dense as felt. I figure it has roughly the same amount of give as my shoes' outsoles, though more than my orthotics. Might be hard to find an old mouse pad thinner than 3-4 mm though.

[zia]

Might be hard to find an old mouse pad thinner than 3-4 mm though.

Giving my old, stinky, too-small, kayaking wetsuit a second look...

[NbyNW]

Oakleaf -- thought you and others watching this thread might find this article interesting:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/1...etter-for-you/

[OakLeaf]

So how are the exercises going, ladies?

My experiences so far:

(1) Oddly, it's the skin over the top of my foot that needs to stretch. The internal structures don't seem to lack flexibility, but the skin sure pulls when I stretch.

(2) My feet are weaker than I thought. I'm pretty good at picking stuff up with my toes - and I know wearing Crocs has strengthened my feet quite a bit - but I definitely get some fatigue with the exercises.

(3) The biggest impediment to doing the exercises is taking my socks off in late October - especially with my history of frostbite. Brrrrrrrr. Where are my wool Injinjis???

[jasmine]

I am so psyched to find these pages of discussion about metatarsal pain---I have morton's foot, hammer toe, and big ole bunions--SO I'm trying to get the whole padding idea down, i've read through all of these pages @ 3 times, ordered the pads--2 kind, one from Pro Tec and the the HAdpad ones---thanks everyone for all the amazing info. I still can't figure out where exactly to put the padding--and I can't figure out how to figure it out?? What exactly am I going for ( ob-vee pain reduction!!) in terms of sensation? My first met head is way out of whack so padding under that? My biggest pain issue is on my bike and I've moved around my Look cleats all over but haven't figured out what is best ( yet) Though it's tempting to get rid of the clipless pedals I can't imagine not being clipped in and being able to get any real power? I hope this thread keeps going, the more input the better!!!

[NbyNW]

So far, so good. What I notice is that when spread my toes, I feel like I have more control in my right foot than my left.

I feel like it's getting incrementally easier to transfer my weight to my first met rather than my second met when I'm walking on carpet.

This has me wondering about foot exercises that I could be doing for my flat feet, and oh heck, it probably wouldn't hurt to be doing some ankle exercises too. I've been putting off buying/making a balance board for that very purpose.

Incidentally, I've been shopping for a new Pilates studio and one of the places I've checked out also incorporates some Yamuna body rolling into their classes. They've got these bumpy half-spheres called "wakers" that you stand on, on different parts of your foot. They're great for developing awareness of how you distribute your weight around your foot, and for a general massage of the bottoms of your feet! I'm thinking I might investigate this a little more.

Jasmine, welcome to the discussion. I haven't messed with any of my padding yet. One thing at a time for me.

ETA: Oakleaf, I think for the first time I'm considering buying a pair of Injinjis!

[jasmine]

Thanks for the welcome, I have a set of those little Yamuna foot bumpy things, actually I have one, my puppy chewed the other, they are cool and/but painful to get used to. Great for working out soreness and knots but hard to use when pain is acute.