Best shoes for Tailor's Bunion

[iggie]

Hey guys,

I've had a Tailor's Bunion for the past month now and it's really affecting my game. So I'm turning to you guys to see if anyone has the same problem and see what shoes you guys wear to minimize this.
I'm currently wearing Babolat V-Pro 2 All Court shoes but they are alittle too narrow for my feet.
I normally wear prince shoes since they fit my feet well but not sure if there are better shoes for wider feet.
Thanks.

 

[iverson]

I have had this problem for a long time. The worst type of shoes are ones that have a rigid plastic piece or rubber piece exactly where the tailor's bunion is. Unfortunately, a lot of tennis shoes have this, i.e. nike vapor 9, adidas barricade (not the new one) but all the old ones have the "claw", in order to increase the stability of the shoe. I have had some success with the babolat propulse 3 and my all time favorite was the diadora speedzone (original - which they do not make anymore). Other than that I am not sure. Normally one would think that New Balance shoes would be good since they are wide but for whatever reason I have not had luck with them. Right now for basketball I am wearing kobe 9's only because they are really soft in the spot where my tailor's bunion is and they seem to work well. Hope this helps.

 

[speed101]

Not sure what the best is, but I switched from Barricade 7 and 8 to Babolat SFX and it's better for me. My foot is normal width in the heel and midfoot and then gets wider at the forefoot and toes. Shoes that come in wide width would be too loose for me in the heel and midfoot.

For me the issue is that there are no tennis shoes that are foot shaped. They all curve in at the toes and get narrower, which leads to bunions. Our feet would naturally be widest at the toes, but they are deformed from wearing conventional shoes that jam our toes together. There are minimalist shoes that are the correct shape, but they are not designed for tennis.

There have been some threads about minimalist shoes, and there are some people that play in them, but that would take lots of practice to build up the foot strength and proper technique.

To keep my feet healthy, I wear vibram fiver fingers and other minimalist shoes off court. And I also wear "Correct Toes" toe spacers at home and when sleeping.

 

[scotus]

I have both the bunion and tailor's bunion.

Your best bet is to buy a shoe stretcher and stretch out the part of the shoe that rubs against your tailor's bunion.

Another remedy that works is put a piece of moleskin over your bunion before you put on socks.

With some stretching, I can wear barricades V & VII without a problem (did not like VI because it was all synthetic and did not stretch). I usually avoid asics because the asics stripes just irritate my bunions on both sides.

So remember to stretch your shoes and use moleskin.

Good luck.

 

[iggie]

To keep my feet healthy, I wear vibram fiver fingers and other minimalist shoes off court. And I also wear "Correct Toes" toe spacers at home and when sleeping.

I actually bought "Correct Toes" also. Do you think they are actually helping?
Do you play tennis with them on?

So remember to stretch your shoes and use moleskin.

Where can you buy the moleskin and does any shoe stretcher work?

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated

 

[scotus]

Where can you buy the moleskin and does any shoe stretcher work?

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated

Buy shoe stretchers with bunion inserts. It allows you to do some extra stretching exactly where your bunion(s) will rub against the shoe.

Moleskin can be bought anywhere like Target, Walmart, drug stores for $3-$5 (look at the pharmacy area with shoe insoles, Dr Scholl's stuff, etc), but the cheapest place would be those dollar/99-cent stores.

 

[MAX PLY]

For what it is worth, I actually saw a doctor about mine. He suggested a wider shoe--so now I wear the NB 996 in a double E (my foot was wide before anyway) and he gave me a box of pads to put under the removable insole (basically a "C" shaped pad that isolates/raises the bunion area--instant relief. Whether this would work for you I have no idea but I suggest seeing a doctor.

 

[speed101]

My feet feel great when I put correct toes on at night, but not sure how much they are helping just yet since I've only been wearing them for one month and it takes 3-6 months to start seeing changes. And I need to start wearing them during daytime too. I tried them in a pair of Sanuk's, felt a bit awkward, but I think I just need to get used to it. Have not played tennis in them.

 

[joetennisact]

I am also very eager to hear from anyone who has had luck with finding a tennis shoe that allows you to use Correct Toes!

To the original poster, I haven't tried either shoe, but I've read in reviews that the Babalot SFX has a larger toebox than the V-Pro 2. So if you otherwise like the V-Pro 2, I suggest the SFX.

I personally like the Prince T22 for its large toe box. I have the opposite problem (bunion on the big toe side and the T22 works for me and the pinkie side feels great to me, but I heard in other reviews that the pinkie gets crimped in T22s (again I have not experienced this and I think the T22 has the widest toebox of any tennis shoe I have personally tried.)

 

[iggie]

Buy shoe stretchers with bunion inserts. It allows you to do some extra stretching exactly where your bunion(s) will rub against the shoe.

I might have to try that if I can't find a shoe that just fits me.

For what it is worth, I actually saw a doctor about mine. He suggested a wider shoe--so now I wear the NB 996 in a double E (my foot was wide before anyway) and he gave me a box of pads to put under the removable insole (basically a "C" shaped pad that isolates/raises the bunion area--instant relief. Whether this would work for you I have no idea but I suggest seeing a doctor.

Yup, I have an appointment with a Podiatrist but since they are speciality doctors my appointment isn't until the end of January. So I didn't want to not play until then so I'd thought I'd ask the community for some advice.

My feet feel great when I put correct toes on at night, but not sure how much they are helping just yet since I've only been wearing them for one month and it takes 3-6 months to start seeing changes. And I need to start wearing them during daytime too. I tried them in a pair of Sanuk's, felt a bit awkward, but I think I just need to get used to it. Have not played tennis in them.

Yea that's what I heard also. I will also try to find a pair of tennis shoes where I can wear the Correct Toes and play since it's more beneficial when there is "load" on your feet.

I personally like the Prince T22 for its large toe box. I have the opposite problem (bunion on the big toe side and the T22 works for me and the pinkie side feels great to me, but I heard in other reviews that the pinkie gets crimped in T22s (again I have not experienced this and I think the T22 has the widest toebox of any tennis shoe I have personally tried.)

I'm thinking of going back to Prince. The only reason I started looking at other brands is the price. Prince's shoe price has gone up recently so I started venturing out but I guess it was a bad idea.

Thanks again guys.

 

[swizzy]

hi.. this has been a problem for me for many months.. and i own like 8 pairs of shoes already.. i buy them when they are cheap and stockpile.. i am hard on shoes and kill tennis shoes in 2 months. what i came up with was quick and easy..and cost nothing. i went out into my garden and grabbed a dozen rocks that looked about right.. with a bump in the area of my little toe.. tried em..found 2 that worked extremely well.. jammed them into the right shoe of 2 pairs and let them sit overnight.. played in them the next day with no pain at all or further aggravation from rubbing. granted the toe is not cured.. but the pain is gone and hopefully if i continue this the situation should lessen.. i might see a foot doc..since it is winter and is a good time to get ready for the spring.. rocks.

 

[PBODY99]

Jimmy Connors used to cut a slit in his shoes to get a good fit, random useless fact.
My foot is wide and the Prince NFS shoes had the most comfortable fit I ever found.

 

[blakesq]

I have this malady on my left foot. I have narrow feet, but New Balance 806 narrow worked fine, if I skipped the lace hole nearest the tailor's bunion area on my left foot. I have tried Adidas barricade, standard, width, hurt like crazy. I am now trying the Yonnex Men`s Power Cushion Eclipsion Tennis Shoes, standard width. It is better than the barricade, but still hurts my tailor's bunion. I am going to try swizzy's idea of cramming rocks in my shoes to stretch out the area near my tailor's bunion. Luckily this bunion only hurts when I am playing tennis, I guess the side to side stopping is what aggravates it. Would taping my foot around the tailor's bunion help? I am thinking about wrapping sports tape around my foot to try to compress my foot so the tailor's bunion won't bump against the inside of my shoe, but wonder if this will simply aggravate it? Thanks all!

 

[swizzy]

I have this malady on my left foot. I have narrow feet, but New Balance 806 narrow worked fine, if I skipped the lace hole nearest the tailor's bunion area on my left foot. I have tried Adidas barricade, standard, width, hurt like crazy. I am now trying the Yonnex Men`s Power Cushion Eclipsion Tennis Shoes, standard width. It is better than the barricade, but still hurts my tailor's bunion. I am going to try swizzy's idea of cramming rock in my shows to stretch out the area near my tailor's bunion. Luckily this bunion only hurts when I am playing tennis, I guess the side to side stopping is what aggravates it. Would tapping my foot around the tailor's bunion help? I am thinking about wrapping sports tape around my foot to try to compress my foot so the tailor's bunion won't bump against the inside of my shoe, but wonder if this will simply aggravate it? Thanks all!

my bunion problem is in the past.. by stretching out my shoes in the specific area [rock method- see my previous post] the condition normalized and disappeared. i will still stretch a pair of shoes if it feels like it may rub.. but i am happy to say i think this is all in my rear view mirror.

 

[blakesq]

My yonex shoes have what looks like plastic uppers where my tailor's bunion is located. HOpe the rock stretching works on plastic? Supposedly the shoe stretching tool that costs about $45 only works on leather.

 

[norcal]

My daughter, who is a dancer, recently informed me I have Tailor's bunions. "Dad, your feet are deformed!"

Anyway, I have found these to work really well: https://zentoes.com/products/bunionette-protector

Jimmy Connors used to cut a slit in his shoes to get a good fit, random useless fact.

Interestingly, an older pair of my Yonex's was starting to blow out on the seams right where my bunions are - works fantastically to relieve the pressure although the shoes are on their last legs. If it doens't mess with the stability of the shoe I would definitely consider making a slit in the shoe.