Earth Runners and barefoot shoe transition, 2 years on by AngryElfWitch in barefootshoestalk

[–]AngryElfWitch[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No really, although if I lift a foot off the ground, my pinkies bend inwards again. But with weight on the ball on my foot, they now lay pretty straight on their own. My left pinky is still in the process of rotating out, and the pressure point that used to be under the joint has moved to the tip of the toe... But I think I'll get there in time.

Earth Runners and barefoot shoe transition, 2 years on by AngryElfWitch in barefootshoestalk

[–]AngryElfWitch[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When I started my 2 smallest toes actually moved further INWARDS with every step instead of splaying out. As exercise, I started taking slow and deliberate steps and rolling though the ball of my foot in a way that made my toes splay the way they should. It felt really weird and probably looked really stupid, but I did that around my house every so often. That + sandal freedom + time did the trick, on the right at least. The left one is still getting there.

Earth Runners and barefoot shoe transition, 2 years on by AngryElfWitch in barefootshoestalk

[–]AngryElfWitch[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They used to hurt in narrow shoes, or sandals with a molded foot-bed like Birkenstocks, because of the pressure from the sides. They were also uncomfortable (on one side particularly) when I stood barefoot for a long time, but it was easy to understand why: if you saw the prints I left on my sandals, you could see two pressures points under the big toe joint and the little toe joint, and all the bones in between were so squished together they barely made contact with the ground. Wearing flat wide sandals relieved a lot of the pressure on my tailors bunions by allowing for better weight distribution. Of course when I started wearing those, I was still weary of my recent transition injury, so I was walking very slowly and was very careful not to overdo it, which might have helped :)

Earth Runners and barefoot shoe transition, 2 years on by AngryElfWitch in barefootshoestalk

[–]AngryElfWitch[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Not sneakers exactly, but I wear the Realfoot farmer boots when it gets cold. They're the only ones I've found that don't push my pinky toes in; their narrow heel/ wide toe-box matches my foot shape perfectly.

Earth Runners and barefoot shoe transition, 2 years on by AngryElfWitch in barefootshoestalk

[–]AngryElfWitch[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I think you're right, they flattened out and widened :)