I raced Toyota International in Palm Springs two weeks ago. As I was leaving the transition area to catch my wave, the sprint start came into T1. I saw one guy who was wearing a sleek toe straightener for his left big toe and I was flabbergasted…
It was black, wrapped around the big toe, all the way to the back of his foot, and looked like it was made from thin neoprene or something like that.
I have bunion problems, and want to find a toe straightener I can wear for races, and this looked PERFECT! But I had no time to stop the guy as he was headed out and so was I.
Anyone know of something like this? Anyone have something equivalent they race/train with?
Bizarre yes, would make a huge difference in my running for sure…
Sounds like it might have actually been Kinesio tape, which can be used for a lot things like this. Comes in different colors, black being one of them.
There are dozens of these hallux valgus (“bunion”) splints that you can order online. They do work if your deformity is tracking (flexible) and not trackbound (rigid - which they all eventually become). Also, if you have DJD of the great toe joint, they can make things worse since your deformity has been years in the making, suddenly running on it “straight” might be all that great either. No harm in trying - but I don’t usually recommend them. Most younger people have no real pain in the joint, but from medial 1st MPJ irritation from shoes, and these splints now take up even more room in your shoes. Good luck.
Thank you for the great input, and since you’re clearly well informed on this matter, I would love to get some more thoughts…
I am 37, and my bunion is not very well developed. It has been developing for many years, but I wear good footwear and the growth of it is very limited I think. I have good flexibility in the toe (the joint moves quite well), and I don’t experience pain at all during my regular days.
The major issue I have is that my big toe points inwards slightly, and thus when I run doesn’t really support causing my joint to get irritated/painful. Or at least that’s the experience I have. It seems like I put unnecessary strain on the joint which keeping the toe straight would alleviate.
I have looked at the various options that are available online and have aquired a few, but they all create irritation as opposed to relief. I have worn a toe spacer in the past and that seems to work, but in transition it may be a little complex to put on a toe spacer, which might end up moving around when I run sockless regardless.
That’s why this toe straightener looked so compelling to me.
Your description is pretty much spot on and you can joint the millions of people with similar biomechanics. You are correct in your thoughts and observations. Thank your gene pool.
With this “extra” information - I would not use any of those splints. Just press on … one of the simple silicone toe spacers would be fine if you start to develop interdigital skin lesions/irritation between the 1st and 2nd toe.
I ended up trying to tape my toe for races with Kinseo tape. Worked once, but for 70.3’s the distance was too great, and the tape fell off as I ran to T1. I raced Florida 70.3 and had a great race, but could hardly walk afterwards due to extreme bunion pain. I had decided to race the rest of the season (6 x 70’3s), but 4 days after Florida I was playing around with my kids and wife. Picked her up and promptly tore a disc. Doctor told me to take 8 weeks off, so I decided it was time to get the bunion surgery done.
Had it done 6 days ago, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was really worried. Read a lot about pain and misery here and elsewhere, but I pressed on…
I have to say that I am currently flummoxed at how painless it has been. I had one night where it started throbbing, but a painkiller handled it in a jiffy. I am walking around on crutches in a surgical shoe, but am able to put weight on it, though I am being cautious as all hell.
Had an x-ray done of it three days after surgery, and saw the foot while getting bandages changed. I was stunned. The alignement of the toe and joint was amazing.
While the jury is still out for a few months, thus far I am completely blown away by how easy it’s been. Let’s hope it all heals well and I will be able to break put some serious running speed…
Excellent. You hear lots or ‘horror stories’, but if done right, you should be better than before! If you start a bunion surgery/recovery thread, there should be at least another slowtwitcher who will chime in after having it done recently (by me of course)
I will do that! Just so I can have a support group around me while I heal. I don’t know how you do the surgery, but my bone was cut with a “lumber-jack” cut. I.e. a v-shaped cut as opposed to flat. Seems like it will create a more stable re-growth for the bone. Also, turns out I didn’t lose any length in the bone at all.
Yup - exactly how I do it as well as first described by “Austin” in 1968 I think - or “lumberjack” works. LOL. The other term is a “Chevron” osteotomy. Although Austin “floated” the osteotomy with no fixation, then wires/pins were used. Now I use 2 titanium screws with a longer arm to the V cut to facilitate earlier ambulation and quicker rehab.
Totally makes sense to me. My doc also used absorbable screws/pins which I also like the idea of. And like you, he does one of these at least once a week, and have done so for the past 25 years. He also handled the bunionette while he was at it, and tightened the pocket in the big toe joint itself as it had gotten enlarged. Currently the big toe is slightly hyper extended to the right while the tendons are tightening. But I guess all this is what you do as well…
