I have heard of these socks but never seen them. Excellent!!! Thanks for the link.

However, there is a village not too far from here, where the majority of the population are rumoured to have six fingers, and may even have six toes... polydactyly rules OK

;)

As an update for anybody else who might stumble upon this for their own dicky toes, I just tried a pair or liner socks from ToeToe (toesocks.co.uk). These socks unusually have separate toes: they're foot-gloves rather than the usual foot-mittens, one might say! Anyway, after a hard, fast 20-mile walk today I can report that, although they didn't completely stop my little toe blistering, it's a lot better than it normally would have been. I reckon that a pair of these socks, combined with binding up the little toe a bit, might be the solution I need.

Peter,

I'm not currently having problems with diabetes or ageing, thankfully. But I will definitely take your advice on stetchy tape. I've used Micropore in the past and can see that this might have been an issue now you point it out.

Thanks,

Ian

Hello again

The only other thing I might add is to use stretch strapping (such as Elastoplast Stretch type tape) to hold the toes together, in case either of the toes needs to 'swell' during the walk. Rigid (micropore) type tapes may cause constriction. This is particularly important if sensation is reduced in the feet, which may accompany ageing, and/or diabetes.

Good luck!

Peter

Dear Peter,

Thank you for all that information! Standing barefoot, my big toes seem to be pretty straight. But what I do now notice, having done that, is that there is indeed a kind of "blocking" effect going on. The big toe is a solitary loner, then the next two seem to form a block, as do the outer two. Standing barefoot, the biggest gaps are seen between 1 and 2, and between 3 and 4.

Therefore, of the things you suggest, I think strapping the outer two toes together with a little padding between is probably going to be my best thing to try first, especially as they seem to form a pair anyway. I'll try that (I'm off on a walk tomorrow) and see how I get on. If it doesn't work, I'll return to your message.

Thanks!

Hi Ian.

Just a few thoughts for you to consider.

These little blighters are known as ?underlying 5ths?, and as you say, on shorter walks and in ?normal life? they are OK.

It may stem from a deviation of your big toe, which in turn forces the mid three toes (as a block) across, and in normal footwear, the little toe has nowhere else to go, so it dives under the 4th.

I think the problem comes when you try to bring the 5th toe back alongside its neighbour, the 4th. There may be nowhere for the 5th to go?? Because the line of the shoe ? even a sensible walking shoe, would get in the way.

If you stand barefoot and look down and your feet do your big toes point away from the mid line of your body?

Many shoes are built on a last that displays ?medial flare?. In other words the shoe is built to make the feet look as though they are pointing ?in? slightly. I?m not sure if you remember the old Clarkes Cornish Pasty shoe?? It had a stitched seam which fastened the top of the shoe to the side, which ran ¾ of the way round the top of the shoe. This was a brilliant shoe which didn?t display (much) medial flare and allowed the toes to sit in their normal position on the inside of the shoe, without forcing the 5th under the 4th.

You could try foot exercises which allow you to regain the dexterity of ALL your toes. This way you could train your leg and foot muscles to operate your big toe, your 5th toe, and the three in the middle independently. This would encourage your 5th to be independent again ? probably the first time since childhood? This may not solve your problem, but it?s a good party trick to be able to move all your toes independently? But even if it sits proudly next to its neighbour, most shoes and socks may push it back under the 4th.

You could also consider strapping the 5th to the 4th with something soft (like lint) in-between to reduce friction?

A Podiatrist may be able to make you a silicone rubber ?prop? with an upright section which sits between the 4th and the 5th, thus realigning the 5th.

If you remove an old shoe insole and look carefully at the wear pattern, you should be able to see the impressions made by the big toe, then the middle three, and the 5th should be tucked under where the 4th is. If the 5th sits right on the edge of the insole, this might indicate that it has nowhere else to go, and so strapping or wedging the 5th alongside the 4th may create more issues than it solves?

Whatever you decide make sure that the toe box of the shoe is big enough, so that all your toes can move freely. Use the laces to hold the shoe on and to stop forward and aft movement. Also ensure that your socks are not too tight or constrictive. Even a thick seam in a sock can force the 5th under the 4th so move the seams out of the way when you slip your feet into the shoe.

Surgery is a last resort I think, unless there is no alternative?

Accommodate what you have in your shoe and your socks and good luck

Hope helpful

For many years, I have had an issue with my right foot, which is that my little toe tends to sit partly underneath the toe next to it. This means the inside edge of my little toe is being constantly rubbed and compressed by its neighbour. Day to day, it's not a huge problem - the skin tends to form a bit of a callous, but that's fine. On long-distance and especially multi-day walks, however, the part of my little toe that is overlapped tends to form a very large and painful blister.

Wrapping micropore tape around the little toe, to compress it and stop it slipping underneath its neighbour as much, helps, but only to an extent.

Does anybody have any experience of a similar issue, or some advice on a longer-term solution. It's not that my shoes are too tight, I should stress; it just seems to be the natural position of these toes to overlap a little.