This is something I have struggled with in the past and its coming back to haunt me, so I decided I better nip it in the bud before the marathon training begins. I have bunions (pretty eh!) and toes that point outwards on the diagonal from my gymnastics days, the angle of my big toe means I collapse into the joint below my big toe which impinges the nerves of the two toes next to the big toe making them numb when I run. Three years ago the podiatrist gave me metatarsal domes and exercises to do. The metatarsal domes worked, although they took a while to get used to, and so did the exercises. The trouble is, I got lazy and stopped doing the exercises and guess what, 3 years later, the numbness has come back. When I went to the podiatrist, she asked me if I could spread my toes using the muscles in my feet, with all the will in the world, I could not get my toes to move apart even a tiny bit, new exercise number 1. She then asked me to push against her hand with the inside of my foot, guess what, total weakling! New exercise number 2, using a band for resistance. Finally she asked me to grip her finger with my toes and yes, you guessed it, I couldn’t do that either. New exercise number 3, pick up a ball with your toes. She has also changed my domes and added arches, which Im not convinced about, it doesn’t feel right in my right foot, but we will see. So, with my tail between my legs I have learnt my lesson and Im off to do my exercises, feel free to click the links and try the exercises yourself. Let me know how you get on. Always look after your feet!
Sarah
The post Numb Toes appeared first on Macclesfield Pilates and Yoga Studio.