Hallux Limitus

[Brian O]

So about 6 months ago I was diagnosed with hallux limitus from years of soccer and I have recently really come to enjoy tennis. It seems that if I play, about 1 to two times a week but just not back to back my toe doesn't act up. I try to avoid ibuprofen because it bothers my stomach. I would love to raise my tennis game this summer from 4.5 to 5 by attending an adult tennis camp. Has anyone done this with the same health problem? I think I could take the ibuprofen for back to back days but would that be enough?

Also has anyone tried acupuncture for this condition?

 

[ollinger]

You have an arthritic condition that most often is progressive. Abusing it by going to tennis camp strikes me as foolish. Time to face a bit of reality and realize that things like "back to back days" are not for you. Acupuncture? Let us know how it goes. If it were me I'd be playing not more than 2-3 times a week so that the joint has a bit of time to recover, and I'd be playing mostly doubles.

 

[maggmaster]

I attended some camps when I was in my twenties, they are intense. You need to be in excellent shape going in if you want to get the most out of the camp. Now in my thirties I only "play" tennis 2 or 3 times per week. I hit on the ball machine every day and work on serves but limiting intensity in a match or competitive drill is just too hard. If I had an injury that was progressive I would ask my doctor about attending a high intensity camp.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Why do you want to be 5.0 and not 4.5? Is it a pride thing or are all your buddies 5.0 and you want to keep playing competitively with them?

Why risk your long term foot health over a silly NTRP number?

I'd advise getting a good custom orthotic, wide toe box cushioned tennis shoes, try to find some clay courts and play a couple times per week with friends. Pushing your 43 year old body too much is going to cost you later. Realize tennis is a hobby and plateauing at 4.5 is nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you'll have an easier time finding people to play with as the numbers of 5.0's IRL is significantly small.

 

[Chas Tennis]

So about 6 months ago I was diagnosed with hallux limitus from years of soccer and I have recently really come to enjoy tennis. .....................

What I just read on Hallux Limitus, limited big toe range of motion, indicates that it might be treatable. When you were diagnosed did the Dr recommend physical therapy or changes in shoes? Other?

For years, I had used shoes that restricted my toe movement, especially the flexing of the big toe. The usual tennis shoes with stiff cushioned bottoms often restrict that particular bending at the big toe joint at the ball of the foot. A physical therapist said that my big toe had limited range of motion that even affected my walking but did not diagnose it as Hallux Limitus. ? She recommended big toe stretches but they required a lot of hand force to perform. I believe that minimalist shoes can allow the big toes to flex. I like flexing the foot without shoes or with minimalist shoes and using my body weight for stretching the big toe.

 

[WildVolley]

For years, I had used shoes that restricted my toe movement, especially the flexing of the big toe. The usual tennis shoes with stiff cushioned bottoms often restrict that particular bending at the big toe joint at the ball of the foot. A physical therapist said that my big toe had limited range of motion that even affected my walking but did not diagnose it as Hallux Limitus. ? She recommended big toe stretches but they required a lot of hand force to perform. I believe that minimalist shoes can allow the big toes to flex. I like flexing the foot without shoes or with minimalist shoes and using my body weight for stretching the big toe.

My experience matches Chas Tennis's to some extent.

I have a wide toe spread which I've come to learn is actually natural. The widest part of a barefoot in most cases should be the toes, not the ball of the foot as we are taught by shoe makers. Pictures of feet of peoples who don't wear shoes most commonly shoe a very wide toe spread and the big toe doesn't point in toward the other toes. This explains why shoes tended to hurt my feet: my toes were being pinched in from the sides. Most shoe wearing people have feet that have been strongly shaped by shoes at the toes. Toe function is compromised in most shoes for aesthetic reasons: basically, people just don't like that a foot has a broad front and prefer that it look pointed.

As I've transitioned to going barefoot as much as possible and wearing wide toe-box shoes and minimal shoes at work, my foot problems have mostly gone away. Barefoot is by far the most comfortable and allows my foot the most movement. Even minimal shoes limit the ability of my foot to flex and contract.

I believe that you should experiment with different shoes and exercising your feet barefoot by stretching your toes and doing things like rolling up a towel with your toes.

Also, you might try to experiment with shoes to see why your big toe is being injured while playing tennis.

 

[Chas Tennis]

............... exercising your feet barefoot by stretching your toes and doing things like rolling up a towel with your toes.
.............................

The exercise of rolling a towel with your toes I had heard about a long time ago. I did not understand how it could have any exercise value because it was so light. I did not do it more than a few times.

As part of wearing stiff shoes, all my toes had loss flexibility and would occasionally cramp. Recently, I've had plantar fasciitis in one foot. The rolling the towel was recommended for PF by a physical therapist. My feet have grown to size 14, possibly related to the PF since size relates to the length of the arches. ? Probably my arches have 'fallen' but they look OK when I look at the floor contact pattern of the bottom of my foot?

In studying possible causes of plantar fasciitis, I discovered that there are muscles in the lower leg that have tendons attaching in the foot. Some of these tendons and muscles have the effect of supporting the arch. One of the exercises for these muscles is to curl the towel - now I find out!

I read about minimalist shoes and recommend that to others also.

Anyway, there is a lot of uncertainty in the above information. But pay attention to the flexibility of your feet and restrictions from shoes. Don't let some of the muscles in your lower leg - that flex parts of your foot - loose a lot of their motion.

There is a muscle that moves the big toe out to the side - how does yours work?

 

[Machspeed]

I also have hallux limitus. May I ask what you guys are using for shoes?