A few months back my foot started to hurt, right behind the toes. Like a bruise when I pushed off.
Doctor looked at it a few weeks ago and said due to some hammer toe issues my metatarsal dropped. So he put a pad in my custom orthotic…and addind padding under my toes…which has helped. But only to a point.
Has anyone else had this? And how long does it typically take to recover from? I’ve had the pads in for several weeks and things seem to be getting better. But even the eliptical can aggrivate it, and I have no doubt that actual running would aggrivate it.
Is there anything else I can do? Am I expecting too much by expecting this to go away after a couple weeks? Will ice help?
This doesn’t “go away” like a tendonitis, etc. does. The retrograde pressure from your contracted digit (i.e. hammertoe) is pushing your metatarsal head down. If the toe is flexible/reducible, a percutaneous flexor tenotomy is an effective and simple in-office procedure that may help. Lastly, correcting the hammertoe itself (if rigid) may be necessary for complete resolution (but no always necessary), otherwise you are left with taping the toe down, padding the orthotic, always wear soft shoes, etc.
What is that procedure you mentioned? My ortho mentioned something about shaving the bone dwon there, but he did not recommend it. Your “medical speak” is gobble-dee-gook to me.
Yet my PT who from what i’ve been told is very good, didn’t seem to think it was a big deal and would go away.
So do I just have to HTFU and deal with the pain?
I’ve been stretching the toe like they showed me…not sure if that is helping. They did not show me how to tape my toe, I might try that.
Is it common for this to happen out of the blue? I was hardly running when it occured…and then one day it hit me.
The ortho mentioned hammer toes, but they are pretty mild. It’s not like they are all curled up…the tips of my toes are a little bit. I think it’s because my big toe had a bunion removed a few years back and is now a bit shorter.
I am supposed to be training for IM-Moo, but havent been running at all because of this.
sounds like you have a lot going on and your ortho is somewhat clueless. You should NOT likely have the plantar metatarsal head/condyles shaved down as this will only help temporarily. Also, if you had a previous bunionectomy (and an osteotomy was performed), this tends to effective shorten the 1st metatarsal and make the 2nd metatarsal longer and more prone to his happening (I’m guess it is the 2nd metatarsal).
Percutaneous flexor tenotomy. Again, this is only if you have flexible hammertoes causing this.
Taping is pretty easy. 1 inch cloth sports tape, cut 2 pieces about 5 inches long. Wrap around the base of the toe and criss cross under the ball of the foot while pulling the toe down. Do that with both pieces. You weight bearing will hold the tape on the bottom of the foot as the tape holds the toe effectively “down” and thus no retrograde pressure on the met head.
Ok…my toes are flexible. Like I said, the hammer toes look very mild to me. In fact, I was surprised he said I had them. And yes, it is the 2nd met. So good call there. I have this think that supposedly helps hammertoes and circulation. I wear it at night…I call it the toe spreader. Which is exactly what it does.
But I still don’t know what “Percutaneous flexor tenotomy” this is/does. Any way to explain that in english?
From what I’ve heard my ortho is excellent. But I wonder how many understand the sports world. Who knows. I can always go back and ask him about the procedure.
Thank you for all your assistance!!
I’ll try the taping…but I am pretty visual, so I will ask my PT to show me. It sounds like that tape job might have my toe under my foot by the time I’m done…and I doubt that’s right.
But I still don’t know what “Percutaneous flexor tenotomy” this is/does. Any way to explain that in english?
From what I’ve heard my ortho is excellent. But I wonder how many understand the sports world. Who knows. I can always go back and ask him about the procedure.
Cutting of the flexor tendon, done by needle entry rather than traditional surgical opening of the skin.
Percutaneous - access by needle to organs or other tissue
Tenotomy - Tendon cutting
Flexor - Type of tendon (as opposed to extensor)
Ah - sure. Just snap that guy … Yes, a release of the flexor digitorum longus tendon (the one that curls the toes). Also done with trigger finger type issues as well.
Recovery is about 1 week. I’ve had athletes cycling in 2-3 days, running in a week. Need about a good 3 days out of the pool min. Getting ahead of ourselves though since you might not be a candidate anyway.
Dude…listen to rroof. That guy knows his shit when it comes to the feets. And go see a real doctor.
I had a foot injury from stepping on a rock during the water entry of a race in August. I had massive swelling, huge amounts of pain and eventually developed a hammertoe of the 2nd digit. Looking at pics on the internet, my toe looked like it was maybe borderline if at all “hammered”. I saw a doc that had me tape it for a while, immobilize it for a while, ice the shit out of it for a while, inject it with a steriod etc…with no improvement and running was completely out of the question. It was miserable. I finally switched to another doc who was a runner and this guy said we need to do surgery as soon as your ready…if you want to run or do triathlons again. Since months has elapsed and I was getting pissed, I got all the details and went for it the next week. Surgery was 13 weeks ago and although I am a notoriously bad patient, I have been a runner for 25 of my 38 years and a competitive triathlete for 5…so I obeyed every freaking order to the letter. This week I was “allowed” to begin running. Monday - 5 mins, Wed 10 mins, Sat, 15 mins and today I ran 30 minutes…pain free. I am going absurdly slow and although I have been biking and swimming, the legs are not used to the shock. Fact is, for the first time, I’m thinking I may have a chance of getting back where I was (not super fast, but sub 1:30 for 13.1).
I’m not going to lie. The surgery sucked (screws into shortened bones, pins stuck right down the middle of toes with the ends sticking out) and the recovery sucked (lots and lots of sitting with your foot elevated in a cocoon of ice, but if I wanted to be a runner again, it was an easy choice.
Go see a specialist that works with athletes or better yet…runs him or herself. Your situation may not be nearly as bad as mine, but at least your have an educated physician instead of the donkey your talking with now. BTW…when I posted my review of my injury on here, rroof nailed the diagnosis to the letter and guessed perfectly what the corrective action would be. So if I ever get to move back to Ohio…that is the dude I would trust my feet with.
Can you send me a recommendation in NY? I live 30 miles outside of NYC in Westchester County. Either location would be good. Thank you for all the helpful information.
I had/have a somewhat similar issue. I broke my left pinky toe and when it healed, it healed a little “up” so that when I’m just standing, the bottom of the toe doesn’t touch the ground much. So, as a result, my 4th metatarsal dropped a bit. I went thru a similar taping and padding regimen, that that helped, as did the physical therapy exercises. I went from a lot of padding both under my insole as well as directly on the bottom of my foot, to just needing minimal padding under the insole. Then one day, almost on a whim (I was mad at my Asics for giving me a blister, had just switched from some Brooks a couple months prior), I went out and bought some Newtons. I had a small hunch that the way those lugs at the bottom might help that dropped metatarsal.
So much to my surprise, the first run in them fest fantastic! No padding, no nothing. Not only did my foot NOT hurt while I was running, but it didn’t hurt after either. Those lugs on the bottom seem to push my metatarsals back up into position and I have had no foot problems since. I hate to sound too much like a fanboy, but those shoes really did the trick and I’m still running.
I know they’re expensive but, if you’re already looking at surgery and a more aggressive solution, a $140-ish pair of shoes might be worth a try first. It sure worked for me.
I realise that it is a while since you posted this, but do you have a link or diagram of this taping?
I have developed a slight pain somewhere in the region of my metatarsuls and have soft hammer toes (I am guessing that this is the cause - actually pretty sure) Oddly enough I hardly ever get any pain when running, but have noticed a slight pain after running or biking. I am thinking that the taping may be enough to fix the problem.
Hoping that you see this post.
Thanks in advance
Sidelined
you want to reduce retrograde pressure on the metatarsal head (I assume the toe itself doesn’t really bother you unless a female trying to wear fashionable shoes).
Get some 1 inch athletic, porous, cloth tape. Cut 2 strips about 6 inches long (dollar bill length). Wrap as far back on the top of the toe as possible hear the met head, criss crossing the “tails” on the bottom of the foot under the met head. Think of those ribbon bumper stickers (save our troops, breast cancer, etc.). Do this twice with the 2 strips. Your body weight will keep the tape on the bottom of the foot and the strap will help pull the toe down. Make sure the tape is as far back as possible on the toe or it will contract the toe more.
Thank you very much for your reply. I think that I get it now. I tried this while sitting. It seems to me that the wrap part around the toe has to be not too tight or it will be very uncomfortable running. Is that correct? Also, the 2nd piece of tape just goes right on top of the first piece?
yes, 2nd piece right on top of the 1st. Not bad running as you might think. Does tend to dig into the skin on the dorsum of the toe some and works best for day-to-day activities than running. Also, push the toe down some when taping so that the plantar met head is not prominent/palpable as you tape.
