Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Pinky toe trouble??!!

Maybe I'm the only one with this problem....weird feet. I don't know, but I need help.
After 3 or 4 miles on the trail the skin on the bottom of my pinky toe on my left foot starts to drift further and further under the toe next to it. Eventually..every step smashes that toe. I tried to put a "spacer" between the 2 toes and that helped a little, but not entirely. It's to the point now that the bottom of that little toe has been mishapen and is sort of pointed on the bottom. I know I know...more than any of you needed to know about my feet, but does anyone else out there have this problem? Is there something medically that can be done about it.

Yes, this is actually a common problem, usually referred to as a "pinch". it can be quite troublesome. There are several strategies: make sure you have a relatively wide shoe/boot, as pressure makes it worse.
liberal application of vaseline, to make the various parts slide easily upon each other sometimes helps a lot, but must be re-applied every 5 miles or so.
Applying a tape that allows sliding, like duct tape sometimes works.
Using a spacer of lamb's wool, with tape around the two toes to maintain the unit, sometimes works.
There is a tube made of foam, designed to slip over one or both toes, to maintain space. This can be found at most pharmacies.

Believe it or not, yours is a mild case. I've seen cases where the person consistantly got a blister on the tip of the little toe on any walk over a mile or two.

A visit to a podiatrist might also be in order

Another product that might be helpful is a tape that was originally designed for dancers on pointe. (You have no idea about smashed/blisterd toes 'til you go on pointe!) This is a fairly new product that protects the skin but still allows it to breath.

http://www.pointebleue.com/

Don't worry...it's not pink :-)

i have exactly the same problem. . .even to the point of getting a calous on the inside of the 'pinky' toe.
i use the Dr. Scholl's gell cushions designed to slip over the toe. it is basically a 'tube' not a cap over the toe, so that the end of the toe sticks out.
a wide toe box on the shoes is imperative!

no your just wierd

Actually what your problem is you need wider shoes. I had the same problem-only on my left foot. The only solution is a EE boot. LL Bean has a good selection, but most outfitters only stock medium widths. Once I switched top wide shoes the problem and callus went away.