I posted the following in another thread, and TJ asked me to post it here as well.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/147995
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/147995
I don't have Morton's Neuroma. I did have bunions, but I've managed to straighten them after 3 years of stretching and exercises. In the process, I've restored some of the natural spacing between the toes. (The bunion bumps and bursal sacs remain, but I'm hoping that they might improve after a few more years.)
I'm no foot expert, but I've learned a lot from other people's experiences, so I'm sharing mine. After all, isn't that what forums are for?
I have tried Yoga Toes. They were pretty tight at first, and offer a light stretch now. I got to the point where I could sleep with them at night, but ended up kicking them off when they became uncomfortable. They also woke me up whenever I moved my feet under the sheets, as the rubber sticks to the sheets. I think that the manufacturer doesn't recommend them overnight, because as far as I can tell from diagrams, the blood vessels and nerves run between the toes. If the circulation is cut off and someone doesn't kick them off, they could wake up with gangrenous toes!
I have not tried Correct Toes, but I have tried similar individually sold spacers. They don't stay in place without socks and shoes. I slowly worked up to the point where I'd have 2-3 between the toes 1-4. I did not intend to increase the spacing between all of my toes, but had to add more spacers to the rest of the toes, while my big toes were straightening out. If I only put spacers between my 1st and 2nd toes, my big toes would have pushed the smaller toes off to the side, making them crooked!
Improving the flexibility using the spacers was only the first step. After that, I worked on further stretching manually and strengthing the muscles. I tried splaying my toes as much as possible. I wasn't able to do much as first, but after many months and more stretching, I was able to strengthen the abductor hallucis, so now I can at least abduct the big toes into a straight position.
I also noticed that my left foot which had the more severe bunion was narrower and had less muscle tone than the right foot. After straightening out the bunion, my left foot is now widening out more and starting to catch up in development.
I also noticed that I was able to put more weight on my right big toe than the left one. I noticed when I tried to do a releve to demi-pointe that the big toe on the left would collapse towards the smaller toes. It seemed that the muscles were still a bit weak, so I still work on this trying to keep the big toe splayed.
I also take calcium supplements, and have done so since a professor suggested it to everyone in class years ago for general health. He taught the medical students, too. So, I took him at his word. I don't know if it reduces the risk of fractures or not.
Lastly, I've been doing some gravel training recently. Probably not good for those with MN, but I feel that it's helped with flexibility. After all, one needs to land softly with flexible feet on gravel. I think that part of why Ken Bob recommends starting with gravel.
This is all still a work in progress, but I no longer need to wear the toe spacers or Yoga Toes. I do wear a bunion splint at night to keep the big toes straight. Incidentally, they are the same bunion splints that I used before I started this process. Only now, I have them set at the fully straight setting, rather than mostly crooked!