[Baldy]

In the absence of any real help from my GP (who refused to refer me to a specialist...is this allowed?), I was wondering whether the combined knowledge of UKB might be able to offer some advice on my toe injury.

I'm about 4 months down, and it still hurts to bend. And is agony to put into a climbing shoe. The more downturned and crammed, the worse (as you might expect).

I originally hurt it while jumping down from an indoor boulder problem, and it felt like when you crack a knuckle.
Naturally, I continued to climb, thinking this was all I had done, but the next day, it felt quite sore.
Since then, I have been climbing in one boot, and just avoiding the left.
However, as a routesetter, this isn't really a feasible long term plan...

I've tried Icing, massage, NSAIDS, and all the rest of the stuff you might expect, but every time it feels like it is getting better, and I try wearing a shoe, it goes right back to square one.

So I guess my questions are:

Has anyone else done this to their toe?
Did it improve?
What did you do to get it better?
Should I be asking for a steroid injection/physio?

[DaveyDave]

I've had a fair few problems with my big toe, main symptoms have varied from feeling like I've stubbed it to being really painful to 'scrunch' my toe into the floor. I do remember a period where it hurt in the joint when my toe was crimped, like in really aggressive shoes. Stiff, downturned, tight shoes are the worst. Physios and podiatrists baffled. It's a recurring injury that I've found I can control well enough.

Best solution I came up with was shopping around really carefully for a bigger pair of super stiff rockshoes that absolutely didn't cause pain (95% of boots do, regardless of size). As bad as they are, Red Chilli Sausalitos from go outdoors were the bomb - super stiff, and so narrow that they pinch your feet giving your big toe basically nothing to do. Also at first, I found that it was good to tape the toe fairly tight, and buddy tape it to my 2nd toe as well. Since then I've eased back into slightly smaller shoes.

Funnily enough for mine, it seems like it hurts if I do absolutely nothing for a while, keeping it moving and climbing fairly regularly in non painful shoes makes the problem disappear completely until i totally overdo it.

Hope that's helpful, might be a totally different thing!

[SA Chris]

Gout? Often affects big toes, could be diet related? Google for info.

[lagerstarfish]

for my gouty big toes - Miura lace ups work well for me; close to street shoe size without bending the toe

other suprizes are Anaszi velcros and old style pinks in 2 sizes above street (47 vs my usual trainers at 45) - both allow me to bend at only the base of the toe whilst the other joint stays straight

socks help with fine adjustment of tightness and support

[tomtom]

Baldy - I think its well worth being even more insistent with your GP. Have you told them that this is preventing you from doing your line of work (if that is setting routes/problems..)? Thats normally a pretty good reason to get something looked at.. (cost to the state etc...).

Failing that - amputation - and graft on a monopoint crampon style affair.. be mega for slate edges..

[Baldy]

I laid it on pretty heavy about the whole work thing, but he didn't seem that impressed.

Apparently it 'doesn't make it any more urgent of a problem'...
I wont be going back to the same guy, he was useless.

And pretty sure it isn't Gout, I know when I hurt it, and it has remained bad from then. The injury is to the PIP joint (the second furthest forward one), while I believe gout tends to affect the MIP joint no?

I'll look into a stiffer pair of boots, but the action of putting on a pair and pushing my big toe backwards is what causes the pain rather than the bending so much...

Failing that, the monopoint crampon sounds like a good option. Anyone for Millstone?