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  1. #1
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    Question 6th toe / Tailors bunion / bunionette

    How do you get rid of these? (Besides getting your boot blown out)

    I have one on my left foot that's getting progressively worse. I have fairly generic feet and currently use the Richle F-One race boot.

    Usually I can deal with the pain, but it's becoming unbearable around an hour after I'm done skiing and the pain lasts for about a half hour. Last night was the worst and I was driving home screaming in pain. It feels like the pain you feel when you whack your thumb with a hammer.

  2. #2
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    May 2002
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    Huh?
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    I suggest you stop being such a faggot.

    Short of that, start icing the shit out it. Maybe find some anti-inflammatory cream too. I'm guessing you have Preparation H lying around. I started developing a weird 6th toe thing last spring and I used an anti-inflammatory oil and lots of ice to get the swelling to go down. That's the key. Otherwise, if you just let it heal on it's own there's a chance you'll end up with hardrider feet. That would be bad...VERY, VERY BAD.
    Last edited by Arty50; 02-04-2008 at 03:00 PM.
    "I knew in an instant that the three dollars I had spent on wine would not go to waste."

  3. #3
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    Dec 2005
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    Seriously, taking your boots to a fitter is the ONLY thing that will fix your alien babies SuPu. Those spider nests are going to pop soon. They're just going to get worse every day you ski those boots without fixing the problem.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    downtown WP
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    583
    Mr. MG has been having the same trouble with his boots and I found this for a temporary fix. Dr. Scholl's makes a gel-type insert for high heels- it's padding designed for the bunions women get from wearing high heels. I don't have the exact name, but I know Dr. Scholl's makes it, wasn't expensive. This was enough to give him some relief from the bunion rubbing in his boot. Permanent solution is surgery, Mr. MG will have to have his removed this summer.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    CB
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    122
    I have had the same thing going on on both my feet too. So freakin painful! You get that throbbing, stabbing pain crawling up your leg at the end of a ski day

    D-side calls my brunettes trailer hitches...real sexy right?

    I have gone to the Dr. thinking they are bone spurs. X-rays show that they are they inflamed. They will tell you to take a large dose of anti-inflammatory (10+ IBskiing). They wont go away unless you fix your boots AND your foot!

    Take your boot to the 'foot dr.' and have your boot punched out at the sight of the pain. Get custom footbeds. You prolly need arch support, so your foot doesn't slide toward the front the of the boot as much. If your foot still hasn't healed then get some cortisone steroids injected at the sight.

    Makes it all betta! Also switching to tele boots helps
    "If your not livin on the edge then you are taking up to much space"

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    186
    I F-ing hate 6th toes. Mine were so bad from hockey skates and ski boots that I actually got people to believe they were 6th toes, and I was really mutated that way from birth.

    The pain got real bad. only thing that helped moderately was to make an O-ring out of some thin foam and put that around the thing to try to take some pressure of of it. I was going to get new boots, but then injured myself and haven't skied much since. the 6th toes have gone almost completely dormant. moral of the story is, as long as you keep aggravating them, their gonna suck. get new boots, or get yours blown out. its the only way.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
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    Deep Playa
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    Sweet. Thanks for the tips! They've gotten worse the past few seasons b/c I packed out my boot liner. Time to find new ones.

    Also I forgot to mention in my first post, but there is also a similar bump on the same foot, but on the inside ankle area. From the norml bone bumb, draw a line towards your arch. it is along that line about 2 inches from the inner-ankle bone bump thing (Is that the end of the Tibia in the lower diagram?)


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
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    I'll support the "get the boot blowout" position. I developed the 6th toe three years ago. New boots only delayed the inevitable surgery. When the pain, burning, & discomfort followed into the summer, impacting my running & hiking, I went under the knife (err Dremel drill). Best thing I ever did.

    Now, 2 years later, my boots are blown out and I have no problems. Don't delay to fix your boots. Maybe you can put off the inevitable for a few years. Bunions don't go away without surgery. All you can do medicate the pain & inflammation.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Philly, PA
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    SuPu- the second thing sounds like its on your medial navicular surface... again an area that made need a punch or grind. Recurrent pressure and irritation over bony prominences tends to lead to calcification which makes the area more prominent so then it gets more irritation... a shitty cycle. Don't screw around with this.

  10. #10
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    Aug 2006
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    Ogden
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    supu- any luck with the Tailor's bunion? Mine got real bad this year..going for an x-ray today. Fairly positive that surgery will be recommended and I am ready to say no, but damn, I DO NOT want to telemark for the rest of my life!

    edit to add: bike shoes hurt too... I have resorted to running
    Last edited by westoxified; 04-28-2009 at 11:07 AM.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Posts
    33,440
    Pu - I got some super anti-inflammatories if you want me to bring them to Mammoth for the mini.
    Also - blow the fucking boot out. All you have to do is tap on it with a hammer to pinpoint the location on the shell, circle it with a sharpie and tell the shop tech to punch it there.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Broakland
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    71
    Did the preperation H do anything to reduce the swelling, I have the exact same condition. Getting foot supports from the podiatrist but want to work on getting the swelling down also.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Teton Village
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    2,674
    I guess I missed this the firsttime around...

    I see bunions all the time. I'm convinced that Jackson Hole (and a few other ski towns) is one of the few places where guys get more bunions that women.

    Traditionally, women can get them more frequently than men. This is due to the fact that smaller, tighter, pointy footwear create pressure spots on the foot- like...uh...a ski boot.

    On people that I've known for years, I've seen them grow and recede as the pressure on their foot (footwear induced) changes, either increases or decreases. The best way to get rid of them is to wear a properly fit shoe or ski boot with little pressure in the affected area. I find that an immediate tiny small punch or grind in the high pressure areas will alleviate a larger punch/grind later.

    Also making sure the foot is properly seated in the boot is important. Tailor's Bunions- on the 5th metatarsophalangeal joint:



    are, IMHO, harder to get rid of. Making sure you have the correct arch in your othotic will prevent this area from getting elevated as your foot pronates or everts.

    Also don't confuse the so called "6th met" with a bunion. The "sixth met head" is actually the proximal head of the fifth metatarsal.
    Attachment 60270

    Again, this is elevated (or more properly, "rolls up") by lack of support on the medial side of the foot. Proper arch support and general correct foot positioning can help prevent this area of the foot from getting inflamed/irritated. Also make sure the boot is wide enough in that area in the first place, or if it isn't a small punch or grind will help matters a lot.

    On some people this area is barely noticeable, on others it is very pronounced.
    Last edited by skiing-in-jackson; 05-05-2009 at 07:47 PM.
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Ogden
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    937
    sshores- I have been using topical anti-inflammatories on mine with some success. In addition to some new orthotics and getting in one size bigger shoes for everything, mine have gotten visibly smaller, but the pain has not subsided.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Broakland
    Posts
    71
    A follow-up to share:

    I asked my podiatrist if there was a prescription topical anti-inflammatory that I could use to help speed my 6th toe/ tendinitis healing and he gave me a prescription for an NSAID gel called Voltaren, which has been helpful in reducing the swelling of those areas. I have been using it for about 2 weeks and have started to notice a reduction in swelling, especially in my MTP and PIP joints (thanks skiing-in-jackson)! I also found out that the custom insoles from my podiatrist are covered by my insurance.

    <edit>
    Doing some quick research online, it seems as if Voltaren, or its generic counterpart, is available without a prescription.
    Last edited by sshores; 05-19-2009 at 12:57 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Posts
    4,115
    Quote Originally Posted by skiing-in-jackson View Post
    I guess I missed this the firsttime around...

    I see bunions all the time. I'm convinced that Jackson Hole (and a few other ski towns) is one of the few places where guys get more bunions that women.

    Traditionally, women can get them more frequently than men. This is due to the fact that smaller, tighter, pointy footwear create pressure spots on the foot- like...uh...a ski boot.

    On people that I've known for years, I've seen them grow and recede as the pressure on their foot (footwear induced) changes, either increases or decreases. The best way to get rid of them is to wear a properly fit shoe or ski boot with little pressure in the affected area. I find that an immediate tiny small punch or grind in the high pressure areas will alleviate a larger punch/grind later.

    Also making sure the foot is properly seated in the boot is important. Tailor's Bunions- on the 5th metatarsophalangeal joint:



    are, IMHO, harder to get rid of. Making sure you have the correct arch in your othotic will prevent this area from getting elevated as your foot pronates or everts.

    Also don't confuse the so called "6th met" with a bunion. The "sixth met head" is actually the proximal head of the fifth metatarsal.
    Attachment 60270

    Again, this is elevated (or more properly, "rolls up") by lack of support on the medial side of the foot. Proper arch support and general correct foot positioning can help prevent this area of the foot from getting inflamed/irritated. Also make sure the boot is wide enough in that area in the first place, or if it isn't a small punch or grind will help matters a lot.

    On some people this area is barely noticeable, on others it is very pronounced.
    Just to add to this (as a former C ped who no longer practicing) it amazes me how many bunion surgeries I saw where the dr left the joint mobile with no support, so in theory the joint would start moving again and the bunion would reappear. It is so important to provide enough room, but to also stabilize the foot within the boot, or shoe.

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