Anyone have any experience (good ones!) of dealing with pain in a big toe joint. I believe the medical condition is Halux rigidus. Anything i can put in my shoe? Can do myself in the way of daily treatment?
i suspect that the 'stop dancing' treatment would help enormously, but i wouldn't be able to stick to it.

I recently started using orthotics (prescribed by a podiatrist). Besides arch support that helps blance the pressure on my foot, they have a pad behind the ball of the foot that helps take some of the pressure off the toe joints. You lose a little bit of "feeling the floor," but I find they acutally help my dancing because I feel more balanced and secure on my feet. Don't ignore the problem. I did for too long and now have a bigger problem with the joint of the second toe, which I injured by unconsciously transferring weight from the painful big toe to the second toe before I got the orthotics. Good luck!

Hi Ellen
Many thanks for replying. I think i'm doing this 'subconscious' protection of my big toes already. I use orthotic arch supports (not for competitive dancing though)but am intrigued by this pad behind the ball of the foot. Are there commercial products? And do you mean 'in front of' the ball of the foot (i.e. just under the toes)?

Orthotics designed to change the distribution of weight in your foot are not really compatible with serious dancing. To dance well, you need to localize your weight to a very small area - often around the base of the big toe, but it varies by dance and of course through the progress of a step. Orthotics are fine for the time between dances and that might be enough to put you in better shape for dancing. But they aren't good for the dancing itself - at best you will overcome them and concentrate your weight in the right place, at worst they will keep you from moving your weight correctly

I had severe pain in the feet for years (had to give up tennis), and then got orthotics, and poof! no more pain. A few years later, I started dancing, and I cant wear the orthotics (they are enormous) in my dancing shoes, but I never get the pain while/after I dance. I do get soreness of the ball of the foot, but that's only after hours of dancing. (It used to be I couldnt walk more than a few blocks before I had to stop because of the old pain.) So, I think you are correct, that orthotics should be used for the time in between dancing. Still, if someone finds that wearing orthotics inside the dance shoe does work, then maybe I'll change my mind again? Experience trumps theory.

Jerry

Jerry

Hi Phil! The pad on my orthotic is behind the ball, sort of between the ball and the arch. It's a dome shape. As your weight moves forward, it takes some of the pressure from the ball. I've seen a similar product in dance stores occasionally.

I've also rigged some home-made pads. For specific painful spots on the bottom of the foot, I get some molefoam (moleskin with foam padding) from the drug store, cut it to fit the front of my foot, cut out a hole in the middle wherever the pain in, and slap it on my foot with the hole over the painful spot. That way, the painful spot gets little or no pressure. I've found the best drug store inserts for painful joints are Dr. Scholl's memory foam ones. They are softer than gel or regular foam. I've also had some luck with toe spacers between my big and second toes to reduce big toe pain.

Also, I have to make sure that my shoes don't bend my big toe inward toward the second toe, because that really increased the pain in the big toe joint. Contrary to the usual advice, I have to get dance shoes a full size bigger than my street size to have enough room to keep my (rather long) toes straight. That also leaves room for the orthotics.

I totally agree that dancing in orthotics isn't ideal--but neither are my feet! They do help me. A painful big toe joint has sometimes kept me from putting any weight on the inside ball. Dancing with your feet rolled to the outside is really ugly--I have the tapes to prove it! I've accepted that my terrible feet are probably going to limit my long-term competition success, but what can I say? I'm addicted!

Hi Ellen
I think we're on the same wavelength in this. I have no pain at all anywhere in my feet except in the big toe joint. It's worse after serious practice sessions. I now use the gel separators between my big toe and the second toe, and big toe straighteners at night. I haven't found 'ball-of-the -foot' pads of much help. I might try these little pads that go under the other toes (metatarsal supports?) to relieve pressure on the big toe when i'm dancing. Unfortunately, rising on the big toe of my left foot doing a natural turn in slow waltz is not a happy experience!!(pass the nurofen)

Hi Phil! Foot problems are a pain--literally! Can you tell if the pain is from pressure against the floor or from flexing the joint?

Ellen. Some of you guys have some problems don't you. It must limit the amount of time you can spend pracising. I was going to add my experience when I caught my big toe in the spokes of a motor cycle. It came up like a ballon. What I did for some consideral time was to put my foot into hot water and then cold. I kept this up all day and every day. I had little else to do , so I persevered and it worked.

Ellen - the pain comes from the flexing action. If i don't dance, i have no pain. Slow waltz causes most problems, expecially since i do a lot of work on basic natural, link step, reverse at the start of each practice session. If i cut out slow waltz, i have almost no problems.
To Don - yes, Hot and Cold treatment is great. Use it all the time.