While we are on the subject of feet and pain, I was wondering if anyone has ever had this:

This just started with me about a 1/2 year ago (I've been skating for over 20 years and never had this.) I can skate for two hours and am perfectly fine. About three hours after I skate, I feel like someone is taking knives and shoving them in my big toe. Sometimes it's just one toe, sometimes it's both.

At first I thought I was having "tight bite." You know thats when the seem of the tights on the foot is pushing up against the tip of your toes. So, I rotate the seem underneath my toes, but it hasn't solved this problem.

Does anyone else out there have this, or is it just me???

Could you have ingrowing toenails?

I know when mine start hurting, it's time to cut my toenails.... but I don't actually have ingrowing toenails these days.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I have something similar that may be related to how tight my boot is over the mid foot area. The toes on my left foot start to feel very cold and painful, almost a burning sensation. I think it's a circulation or nerve problem.

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I tend to get some pain in the big joint under my big toes if I skate too long (over 2 hours for me)...but not actually in the toe. Doesn't sound like fun

DBNY,

That's exactly what it is--a burning sensation at the top of my big toes! I don't have any ingrown toe nails, so now I have to think it is a circulation problem. Should I tie the area around my toes looser?

My big toes hurt if I am feeling kind of not "into" the ice or if I need a sharpening -- but for me it's less like a stabbing pain and more of an ache. I often feel like I am "holding on" and gripping with my big toes. I have noticed this more as I approached and turned 50 than before.

I chalk it up to "old age" more than anything else. My skates are comfy in the toe-box and the nails are fine.

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

My toes have lots of wiggle room, so that wouldn't help in my case. I do have Reynaud's phenomenon (read both pages) that affects a little finger from time to time, and think that maybe what's going on with my toes. I'll look at them next time to see if they are white, which, along with the sensation, is a good indicator. The thing that helps my Reynaud's is to warm my core. For example, if I'm in the car when it happens, I put the air system on hot and point the blowers mid-body. Warming the finger directly doesn't help.

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Dbny,

I was googling Toes/Circulation today, and came across the Reynauds Syndrome...I've been reading about it all day today. Your article is really good. I'm pretty sure this is what is going on with me, because all of the symptoms described are exactly what I am experiencing...now I have to have a plan of action, which will NOT include moving to Florida! Thanks everyone for your help! I feel a lot better now that I know what's going on with my big toes!

Many thanks,
Lovepairs

lovepairs, have you looked at the toe and seen that it is white? My little fingers get so white it's scary, but I've never thought to look at my toes because it usually happens after I've gone to bed for the night. Glad to have helped.

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Hi DBNY,

I read in one of the articles on Reynauds that in some people the progression of color change can be from white to blue to red, but the article also said that the color change doesn't have to be all colors and can come in a different sequence during an attack. I never get the white, or blue, but my toes are always flamming red during one of these episodes.

Now here's the curious thing: I have had an issue with my thumbs almost my entire adult life. The skin on my thumbs do, indeed, turn white, but the whole thing is accompanied by a super dryness of the skin on my thumbs (don't get this on my big toes.) Because of this super dryness the skin cracks. Do you ever get this really dry skin associated with the white color on your fingers during an episode of Reynaud's?

You've read a lot more about it than I have! I never get the dry skin thing. Sorry to hear that you do.

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One thing that really helps with Raynaud's is warmth. Does this happen if you take off your boots and warm your feet each hour? If you have enough room in the toebox, you can get those disposable glove sized finger warmers and stick one under your toes - (helps for about an hour only but I just don't have enough room in my boots.)

If warming doesn't help, consider gout (nobody mention that word to johns!)
Lyle

Hi TeamA,

Usually, the pain kicks in about an hour after I skate. I know this, because it takes me an hour to drive home, and I can barely stand to put my foot on the pedal at the end of my drive.

Today, I experimented and put my car heater on high, but had the heat come out down by my feet. Good results, hardly any pain...just the slightest amount for the shortest period of time. I think a gradual warming is the way to go with this thing.

Thanks,
Lovepairs

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have never heard of anyone else having this! My mom has it, and I have it just a little. It only affects my fingers though, and I don't get the color changes (beyond a reddish color, that is). Just the burning sensation in a finger or two while the others are freezing in the winter or when I skate. I guess it's not as uncommon as I thought.

could it be Sesamoiditis?
http://www.foot.com/info/cond_sesamoiditis.jsp

Could be what is called подагра in Russian. Not sure of the English name. It used to be called rich people's disease in Russian.

It's a chemical problem inside the body, which is worsened by eating a lot of protein-rich and animal foods. The kidneys no longer take out the... again in Russian, that's called Мочевая кислота, something like urine acid? Anyway the kidneys don't take it out of the body (even though the kidneys aren't malfunctioning otherwise) and it stores itself in joints as crystals and thus you get sharp stabbing pains in joints and it usually starts in the fingers or toes.

The main risk group are males over 40 years of age but pretty much anybody can get it any time. Usually, the first problems occur in the big toe, right where the big toe is joined to the rest of the foot. The toe goes red or puple and it hurts to touch the outside of the toe as well.

Another symptom, which isn't always present, are sort of bubbles on the ears which you can feel if you squeeze the ears and bubbles near elbows and other joints.

I believe officially it's a form of arthritis.

The English word is "gout".

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Google agrees. But what's the swelling of this throat iodium processing gland called then?

That's called a "goiter".

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Goat and goiters, cool, that's what a lot of kings and royals had. I actually used to have troubles but a lot of that was caused by the fact that I one, cleanly broke my r toe dropping a platter on it and two, crushing my left toe by dropping a large piece of granite on it.

I get regular 2x a month pedicure and I don't tie my skates as tight through the toe box and I get the toe box punched as needed to make my boots more comfortable.

Currently, I also keep heavy things away from my feet.

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Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

good idea! All I did was stub my little toe the other night and Boy it sure hurts to put on skates! {Note to self - rearrange furniture to have a clear line to toilet at night}
Lyle

A girl at our club got stuck with her toes inbetween the floor and a sitting couch the morning before a test. She skated and passed.

I once got stuck between the floor and an opening door with my toes.