I TOTALLY disagree. I
I TOTALLY disagree. I developed neuromas from wearing shoes, shoes with a tight toe box and shoes with heels. My neuromas definitely became a problem once I started running (in shoes) and doing step aerobics (in shoes), never when I was barefoot, and I was barefoot at all times throughout my life when I was allowed to be. In fact, all the information out there on neuromas state shoes as the first culprits of Morton's Neuroma.
Morton's Neuroma is a condition caused by the shoes we wear, whether they be high heels or running shoes with high heels, most often from the enclosed toe box of the shoe. The heels in our shoes place too much weight on our forefeet, and the toe box compresses the width of the forefoot. I now understand that shoes confined my feet and prevented my toes from splaying properly. This confinement caused the nerves in my feet to be compressed between the metatarsals which made the nerves in my feet grow.
When running in shoes, at the last part of running in shoes, I could get barely over a mile most time (1-3 if I was "unlucky") before I had to take the shoes off and call it a day. Running barefoot allowed me to get up to 17 miles before I had to stop running for the day.
Other contributors of MN are:
- Wearing high-heeled shoes or shoes that are tight or ill-fitting, including those that box in your feet and place pressure on your toesHigh-impact athletic activities, such as jogging, that may subject your feet to repetitive traumaInjury to your foot
We tend to forget sometimes that some of the ailments that we barefoot runners experience are also experienced by the shod runners. The Injuries Forums are loaded with stress fractures, Morton's Neuromas, ITBS, etc. We shouldn't think that because a group of barefoot runners experience an injury that that injury is only prevalent in barefoot running. We forget that there's a much larger shod running community out there sometimes. I'm guilty of that as well sometimes.
Were you diagnosed with MN yet, Lava? I hope not.
BTW, Lava, did you get my email?