How the Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) causes Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Pain
Plantar Fasciitis, heel spurs and heel bursitis are among the
most commonly seen problems by foot specialist. This makes a lot
of sense. Every time we take a step, our entire body weight goes
through our heels. Over the course of the day, tons of weight is
placed upon your heel bone, and surrounding tissues. Multiple this
by months and years and you can understand how the heel can cause
us a great deal of pain. We know that the Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) causes these pains
WHAT THIS PAIN HEEL AND ARCH PAINS FEELS LIKE
The most common pains people have at their heels or arches is
pain when they first get out of bed in the morning (most common).
pain upon standing, after resting or sitting for a while, during
the day.
pain upon getting out of their car after driving for a while.
A question I always ask of these people is
“did you have to hold on to something just to get out of bed or to
stand up?”
If they did, then I know that this person has a fairly bad case of
heel or arch pain.
The medical term for this pain upon rising is called “Postatic
Dyskinesia”, and is seen in many other conditions effecting
abnormal stress to the body. and types of arthritis.
WHAT IS PLANTAR FASCIITIS
The single most common heel problem seen in this country is Plantar
Fasciitis or Heel Pain Syndrome. Plantar Fasciitis is an
inflammation and/or swelling of the plantar fascia. The plantar
fascia is a large, tough, fibrous rubber band band-like structure
that holds up the inside part of your foot.
It starts at the heel bone then travels across the whole bottom of
the foot and attaches into the toe bones. The plantar fascia can
be strained for numerous reasons, including Morton’s Toe. (Long Second Toe) When this
occurs, it can be swollen and inflamed, causing “Plantar
Fasciitis”. Like heel bursitis, it can also cause you to have
Poststatic Dyskinesia.
Heel Bursitis
A bursa is a fluid-containing sac that acts as a shock absorber
over areas of pressure on the body. A bursitis is an abnormal
inflammation of the bursa sac caused by abnormal excessive
pressure, stress and/ or strain over the area it is protecting. On
the heel bone, there are two bursa sacs: one on the bottom and the
other on the back. Specifically on the bottom of the heel, it is
known as an Inferior (bottom) Calcaneal (heel) Bursa. On the back
of the heel, it is called the Retro (back) Calcaneal Bursa.
When either of these bursas become abnormally stressed, strained,
or swollen, the result is bursitis of the heel. It is this bursitis
that is the reason for pain in the heel upon arising (Poststatic
Dyskinesia) in the morning or after resting for a while. You can
either develop these bursitis with or without the presence of heel
spur (explanation to follow). As stated before, Morton’s Toe can
cause this by causing over pronation in the foot.
HEEL SPUR
Heel Spurs are abnormal projections of bone growing out either from
the bottom or back of the heel. Over a period of years, Morton’s
Toe can cause these spurs to form due to pronation. This
pronation can cause a tearing away of the plantar fascia from the
heel bone. When this occurs, new bone ( is produced. This is how
a heel spur is formed. On x-ray, the new spur can appear as a fish
hook coming out of the heel bone.
HOW MORTON’S TOE CAUSES HEEL AND ARCH PROBLEMS
The reason heel problems arise in the presence of Morton’s Toe
goes back to what I wrote about before in report #4 concerning
pronation. If you have a Morton’s Toe the foot is unstable when
it needs to be stable. Because of this, the foot will be forced
to abnormally pronate. When this happens improper stress and
strains are applied to many areas of the foot, including the
plantar fascia and the heel bone. It is these stress and strains
that can start all of the heel problems noted above. It is that
simple. Most heel and arch problems are not caused by shoes or job.
But are caused by the Morton’s Toe .
