Blisters between ball of the foot and toes

tsdh

Barefooters
Feb 25, 2014
21
12
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Vallendar, Germany
Hi all,

I'm running barefoot/minimalist for about half a year now, and basically I'm doing well. Since I'm mostly running on sharp, coarse gravel, I'm running about 90% of my weekly ~50-60km with Luna sandals, 5% with Vibram FiveFingers, and the rest barefoot.

When I started, I couldn't run barefeet for more than 1km no matter what surface, but in the meantime my soles toughened up quite a bit, and now I can run fine up to 5km on asphalt or not too coarse gravel.

Right now, I'm preparing for my first marathon (which I won't run barefoot, at least not yet). Thereby, I run at least every second day, and on every weekend I do at least one run above 25km.

When I do those long runs, I frequently suffer from painful blisters that develop between the balls of the foot and the toes, right at the corner where the hard and thick ball skin and the soft and thin toe skin meet. Have a look at the attached picture where I've drawn a border around the area.

I'm not exactly sure if those are "real" blisters. From this sunday's run I had a blood-filled blister between ball and big toe (which I sterilized and punctured), but the surrounding area also aches when being pressed without any clear visual sign.

I think I much more likely to get those blisters on hilly runs. At least I've run several half-marathons that were flat, and then I had no such issues. Oh, and I'm also much more likely to get them on my right foot.

Did someone else suffer from such a problem? If so, is there any cure to it?
 

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I'm pretty sure I don't push off too much, but probably I'm doing the opposite: "breaking" while going downhill. The "simply let it roll" trick doesn't work for me. At some point I need to step that quick that I have to break...

With respect to toes: yes, I lift them a bit when landing. Should I avoid that?
 
Keep lifting your toes when landing! You will feel why if you don't: but above all listen to your soles, they're the best running coach you can get.

About rolling downhill: it needs a lot of practice, try bending your knees even more (resulting in a longer stride) to avoid overtaking yourself. Try it slowly first, it demands a lot of flexibility in the knees and hips etc. You can maybe practice the Pirate Walk (read Ken Bob or check his site for it).
 
http://m.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/owners-manual-healthy-feet-happy-feet
Calluses are abnormal amounts of dead, thickened skin caused by recurring pressure and friction, usually on the heels and soles. Calluses are a sign of poor biomechanics or ill-fitting footwear. Calluses continue to grow as they toughen...which in turn can cause blisters. Once you have experienced a blister deep under a callus, you'll likely work hard to treat calluses. After showering, buff calluses with a pumice stone or callus file to remove dead skin. Then apply your choice of cream or lotion.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RunningBarefoot/conversations/topics/16080
Yes, the skin on my feet is thicker, or at least tougher...than the skin of people who keep their feet imprisoned all day long in shoes.

However, a lot of people, especially long distance runners, will think of calluses as the hard, crusty condition that occurs when an area is constantly being rubbed (the wrong way) by shoes, and first blisters, then heals into a hard callus.

This type of callus is not necessary for running barefoot, as long as we aren't rubbing our feet on the ground, instead of stepping down on the ground. In fact, most shod marathoners, who ask to see my feet, say that my feet are not as callused as their own.
...
Have fun, -barefoot ken bob
2001-LosAngelesMarathon-KenBobSaxton-001.jpg
 
I've found calluses to be very informative. My Vibrams were causing calluses, similar to the semicircular pinch callus under the ball of your big toe, so I ditched them. Although, I initially had a variety of calluses on my right foot during transitioning, they are mostly gone, and my right foot looks similar to Ken Bob's. On my right foot, I have a bunion and forefoot varus, and developed an uncomfortable callus pattern. I'm working on resolving them, by focusing on form, strengthening, and flexibility.
 
Hi Sid. Since about a month its warm enough here in Germany and I've dropped shoes completely and go barefoot all day long including work, but I don't think the skin on my feet has changed too much since then.

But really, I'm not too sure if I don't already have good "barefoot skin". Probably, we simply have different assumptions about what "flexible" means. When I read Ken Bob's quote above I'd definitely say there's nothing "crusty" on my soles. And they aren't dry, hard, or rough. And the skin is flexible in so far that you can push it in selectively, but it's very inflexible when it comes to tensile load.

Now of course, it's still callus, i.e., about one millimeter of dead skin evenly distributed over my balls of the feet. Do you really suggest to do a "hard reset" and rub it off completely after having a shower?
 
I'm no expert, so I'm not suggesting or recommending anything.
http://m.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/owners-manual-healthy-feet-happy-feet
Calluses are a sign of poor biomechanics or ill-fitting footwear. Calluses continue to grow as they toughen...which in turn can cause blisters.
I personally found this to be the case in my situation.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/RunningBarefoot/conversations/topics/16080
My feet no longer need protection from the abuse which shoes once caused them. And over time, the calluses will go away, as new healthy skin grows from inside.

Have fun,
-barefoot ken bob
This is may true, too.

http://www.tamaracpodiatrist.com/resources/foot-ankle-library/calluses-corns/
Begin by soaking your feet in warm soapy water and gently rubbing away any dead skin that loosens. A pumice stone or emery board is then used to “file” this thickened skin. Apply a good moisturizer to the hardened areas to keep them softer and relieve pain.
I file down my calluses so that they are even with the surrounding skin, so that they are no longer hard and inflexible. This seems to keep them from tearing, peeling, or blistering. If they grow back, then I figure that I'm still doing something wrong biomechanically and try to make changes.

In general, I strive for an even thickening on the pads of my feet, as Ken Bob's feet appear. For instance, the skin on my heels are nice and thick, and never crack, blister, or peel. If the rest of my feet are that way, then I'd be pleased. It's like that on my right foot, but not the left, so I still have some work to do there.