Correct Toes,a toe spacing device made of flexible and durable medical grade silicone, is a small but mighty ally when it comes to achieving and restoring optimal foot health. It's a natural alternative to the most commonly prescribed foot care products—such as arch orthotics and motion control footwear—as well as surgical procedures, and it accomplishes major foot health feats for a fraction of thecost of these more well-known (and usually, ultimately, far less effective) approaches.
We believe that Correct Toes is the most powerful foot health tool available to consumers today, and we want to tell you why. In this post, we'll share with you the top 10 benefits of Correct Toes toe spacers and explain in detail why this toe spacing device is such a great little helper for your feet and toes. Read on to learn whyCorrect Toesis, in our experience, not onlythe best toe spacer on the marketbut also the best all-around piece of footgear for rehabilitatingyour feet and toes and restoring natural foot health.
Your Natural Foot Health Heritage
Almost all of us were born with perfect feet; that is, with toes that are straight, splayed well apart, and highly dexterous.Noticethat in the feet of theyoung child above, the widest part of the foot is at the ends of the toes, not the ball of the foot as is so common among shoe-wearing adults. With the proper care and attention (and with thebest possible start in life) each and every one of our adult feet would look very much like a larger version of theseperfect little feet.
After yearsor decades of wearing conventional footwear, however, most of us have at least some type or degree of passive toe deformity that alters the appearance of our foot from the ideal depicted above (e.g., toes that are crooked, curved,curled, bent,or stiff, a big toe that deviates toward the other toes, etc.). Most of us need to actively rehabilitate our feet and toes in order to achieve optimal foot form and function, and Correct Toes plays a crucial role inaccomplishing this.
SHOP CORRECT TOES
Correct Toes toe spacers help you reclaim your natural foot health heritage, and through the process of using this device, there are a number ofrelated positive foot health outcomes that can occur. In our experience, we've found the following to be the top 10 benefits of Correct Toes.
Correct Toes toe spacers help:
- Enable natural arch support
- Improve blood flow toyour plantar fascia
- Restore proper sesamoid bone orientation
- Giveyour body the most stable possible foundation
- Encourage the development of your intrinsic foot muscles
- Allow you to become the best possible athlete you can be
Let's take a closer look at each of these important Correct Toes benefits.
1.Address Foot & Toe Pain, Ailments & Deformities
Correct Toes was designed and developed by renowned sports podiatrist Dr. Ray McClanahan to address and prevent a wide range of foot and toe ailments and deformities, painful or otherwise. Because the underlying cause of most chronic foot problems usually has a common origin (i.e., footwear that prevents the foot from functioning naturally), there is often auniversal approach to alleviating these problems too. In our experience, we've found that restoring normal and natural toe splay is the key to addressingtoe problems such as bunions, tailor's bunions, hammertoes, other types of crooked toes, hallux limitus, and ingrown toenails, but it's also helpful for ball of foot conditions such as sesamoiditis, neuromas, and capsulitis.
What's also fascinating is that using Correct Toes to realign the toes can help address foot and lower leg problems that seemingly have nothing to do with the toes. Plantar fascia pain is a perfect example of this. As is describedin greater detail later in this article, realigning the toes with their corresponding metatarsal bones has a profound effect on blood flow into and out ofthe plantar fascia and helpseliminate the heel pain that's characteristic of plantar fasciosis. Other lower leg problems can also be helped by Correct Toes, including shin splints and runner's knee. In the case of these latter two lower leg problems, it's the enhanced stability of the ankle complex due to optimal toe splay that accounts for the beneficial effects of Correct Toes.
2. EnableNatural Arch Support
The concept of natural arch support is one of the true fundamentals of natural foot health. This is the idea that your main foot arch (i.e.,your medial longitudinal arch),as well as your other foot arches, can supportit*elf ifyour foot is allowed to function the way nature intended; that is, without any outside intervention—such as conventional arch orthotics or motion control footwear—that acts to prop upyour arch or rigidly controlyour foot.
The conditions that must be satisfied to enable natural arch support are the following:
- Your toes must be well splayed.
- Your foot must rest or act upon a completely flat surface (such as in a men's or women's zero drop shoe).
Some of the best “support” your foot arch can receive, then, is a level surface upon which to act and sufficient room for your toes to spread out.
Splaying your toes provides a very stable support end for your arch (to accompany the very stable calcaneus, or heel bone, which is the other support end of your main foot arch) and helps provide “loft” in your archin weight-bearing situations (e.g., standing, walking, running, etc.). After years or decades of wearing conventional footwear with all its many design flaws, however, most peoples' toes need some gentle assistance in order to sufficiently spread out to the point where they can contribute to natural arch support. This is where Correct Toes comes into play and performs so admirably.
3.Prevent Overpronation& Ankle Sprains
Correct Toes toe spacers help prevent both excessive foot/ankle pronation and ankle sprains. Pronation—the complex culmination of three distinct foot and ankle movements: Subtalar eversion, ankle dorsiflexion, and forefoot abduction—is a normal and natural action and is an important part of weight-bearing activities, including walking, running, and stair climbing. A problem arises, however, when this pronation becomes excessive. With excessive pronation,your main foot arch collapses andyour first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint becomes partially dislocated (i.e., moved from its proper position) and compromised.
The conditions that contribute to excessive pronation are most pronounced in conventional footwear, which elevatesyour heel, springsyour toes upward, and pinches your toes together. In this configuration, withyour heel and toes raised andyour toes squeezed together,your foot and ankle have little option but to roll inward, into overpronation. Overpronation is notjust a problem that occurs when wearing conventional footwear,however, but also outside of it (i.e., when you're barefoot) becauseyour foot “learns” the shape imposed on it by conventional footwear.
It's only onceyour foot is allowed to rest on a completely level surface (i.e., in zero drop shoes or onthe ground) andyour toes are allowed to splaywith the help of Correct Toes that excessive pronation is checked. In fact, restoring toe splay through the use of Correct Toes actually has a healthysupinatory effect (i.e., the opposite of pronation) onyour foot and ankle.
Wearing Correct Toes also provides a significant degree of protection from ankle sprains. The splayed-toe configuration enabled by Correct Toes is inherently stabilizing foryour foot and ankle, and that configuration, combined with gettingyour foot inside a shoe with a thin, level, and flexible sole, can significantly reduceyour likelihood of rolling your ankle. Indeed, ankle sprains are much more common in those who wear footwear that includes heel elevation, toe spring, tapering toe boxes,rigid soles, and excessive stack height. This article talks a bit more about how Correct Toes, in combination with foot-healthy minimalist shoes, can help prevent ankle sprains. And this article discusses how most of the “ankle support” (i.e., rigid uppers) that's built into conventional hiking boots is both unnecessary and ineffective, especiallywhen compared to the true stabilizing effects that come from lower downyour foot, at the level ofyour toes.
SHOP CORRECT TOES
4. Improve Blood Flow toYour Plantar Fascia
One of the mostlittle-known facts in the world of feet and foot care is that the condition commonly called plantar fasciitis—usually experienced as heel pain in the sole of the foot—should actually be called plantar fasciosis. The “osis” refers to cell death, whereas the “itis” refers to inflammation. Histopathologists have looked at this condition at the microscopic level and have found no inflammation in people who have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. What they find insteadis dead tissue. We have written and shared quite a bit about this topic on our site, and you can find more info about the commonly misunderstood underlying cause of plantar fasciosis here and here. Understandingthis condition is the first stepin permanently alleviating it.
The important point here is that Correct Toeshelps improve circulation throughout your foot, including inyour plantar fascia, byencouraging more fresh, oxygenated blood to enter and by allowing more spent blood and metabolic byproducts to be flushed out. It does this by reducing the tensiononyour flexor retinaculum—a fibrous band of tissue atyour ankle under which various structures pass, includingyour posterior tibial artery and vein. The tensionon the flexor retinaculum is caused by the chronic deviation ofthe big toe towardthe second toe—a commonoutcome of wearing conventional shoes with tapering toe boxes. By realigning allyour toes (includingyour big toe) with their corresponding metatarsal bones, Correct Toes reduces the tension onyour flexor retinaculum and allows blood to flow more easily into and out ofyour plantar fascia. Improving circulation inyour plantar fascia directly leads to a reduction in dead tissue (and the pain associated with it) and allows damaged cells to regenerate more quickly.
5.Restore Proper Sesamoid Bone Orientation
Two small, corn kernel-sized bones, called sesamoids, situated under the base ofyour big toe, play animportant role in big toe function,particularly inimproving the ability of your big toe flexor tendons to transfer force fromyour lower leg muscles tothe base ofyour big toe. Essentially, they function like a kneecap—the largest sesamoid bone inyour body, anda structure responsible for improving leverage, strength, mobility, and flexibility atyour knee—foryour big toe joint. The sesamoids also help bear some of your body weight, which in turn helps reduce undue stress on your other forefoot structures, such asyour metatarsal heads (i.e., theball of your foot) and the nerves and blood vessels that run between them.
Special grooves on the bottom ofyour first metatarsal bone accommodateyour sesamoid bones. Conventional shoes, with their tapering toe boxes, pushyour big toe towardyour second toe and stressyour first MTP joint, which forcesyour sesamoids out of their special grooves and can wear away cartilage and bone, leading topain and problems at the base of your big toe. Sesamoid bones, like the other bones inyour body, can also break, and the tendons that pass over these structures can cause soft tissue irritation and inflammation—a painful condition known as sesamoiditis. Sesamoiditis is most commonly seen in runners, baseball catchers, and ballet dancers, though it can arise in anyone who habitually uses conventional footwear.
Whenyour big toe is properly aligned withyour first metatarsal bone,your sesamoids are also properly aligned and function the way nature intended; that is, providing both mobility and stability. The best way to achieve this realignment ofyour big toe withyour first metatarsal bone and alleviate any irritation or inflammation in this part ofyour foot—as well as to prevent chronic problems inyour first MTP joint, such as osteoarthritis—is to use Correct Toes toe spacers to anatomically spaceyour toes. It's a simple and effective way to restore proper sesamoid bone orientation and prevent oraddress pain and dysfunction at the base of your big toe.
6.GiveYour Body the Most Stable Possible Foundation
Your feet are your body's foundation.As with a house, having a solid and stable foundation iscritical in ensuring the health and well-being of your (musculoskeletal) structure. Without a stable foundation, you expose yourself to problemsfurther upyour kinetic chain, whether it bepatellar tendinitis atyour knee, osteoarthritis inyour hip, or pain in your lower back. A strong and resilient foot ensures that you'll be able to stand up to any physical challenge life throws at you, whether that be on the job, during activities aroundyour house, or while participating in athletic competition.
Increased ankle and knee stability areamong the most significant positive outcomes associated with Correct Toes use. So many ankle and knee issues originate in the foot, especially in feet that are crammed inside footwear that's too smallor too ill-fitting to accommodate them. By restoring proper foot anatomy and toe alignment, Correct Toes helps you reclaim your stable footing and, in the process, helps create healthier lower limb movement patterns. Form follows function is the age-old adage; however, when talking about the effect of Correct Toes on the functioning ofyour lower body during weight-bearing movement, it would be more appropriate to say that function follows form.
7.Encourage the Development ofYour Intrinsic Foot Muscles
Intrinsic foot muscles, all four layers of them, are a group of muscles that originate atyour heel bone, attach toyour toes, and exist only within the confines ofyour foot (i.e., they do not crossyour ankle). Intrinsic foot muscles(aka plantar arch muscles) are important because they provide dynamic support foryour medial longitudinal arch.Most people who are chronic wearers of conventional footwear possess intrinsic foot muscles that are either atrophied or simply not performing up to their potential due to insufficient recruitment and use. Indeed, conventional footwear essentially immobilizesyour intrinsic foot muscles (due to the rigid soles and built-in arch bumps or props included in many traditional shoes) and strips them of their vitality and resiliency.
The simple act of restoringyour toes totheir intended position through the use of Correct Toes can have a favorable effect onyour intrinsic foot muscles. Withyour toes intheir proper anatomical position,your intrinsic foot muscles fire more frequently, become stronger, and improve the integrity ofyour main foot arch. For the greatest recruitment ofyour intrinsic foot muscles (and to rehabilitate them to the greatest degree possible), you should use Correct Toes in combination with men's and women's foot-healthy footwear and key strengthening exercises to “wake up” these muscles and get them toparticipate more fully in the act of walking, running, and bearing weight.
SHOP CORRECT TOES
8.Allow You to Become the Best Possible Athlete You Can Be
At Natural Footgear, we believe that every human being is an athletein one form or another (or at least has the potential to be athletic). As such, it's important to create the kind of circ*mstances in which athletic success, in whatever way youdefine it, can occur,and a big part ofthis is ensuring your feet are up to the demands that athletic activity (running, jumping, dancing, pedaling, etc.) places upon them.Using Correct Toes as part of your regular foot care routine is a great way to build strong, healthy feet that will carry you far in your athletic pursuits and prevent the kind of foot and toe problems that sideline so many active individuals.
For serious athletes looking to eke out a competitive advantage, Correct Toes can be very helpful, too. This flexible, comfortable, and durable device helpsyour foot become stronger, which allows you to recruit more power for propulsion, and it helps make your foot more adaptive so that you can better avoidsloppy footfalls that lead to acute trauma or chronic injuries. Correct Toes has been adopted and used by world-class runners, basketball players, football players, golfers, and other elite athletes to help optimize performance and enhance career longevity. At the elite level, athletes must pay attention to everyfacet of sports participation in order to remain competitive and consistently deliver world-class performances. Ensuring that the feet are in fine fighting form and functioning at a high level is one consideration that can have a significant positive impact.
9.Enhance Your Balance, Weight Distribution, Proprioception & Dexterity
Using Correct Toes to returnyour toes totheir proper anatomical position helps improve your balance and distributes the force of body weight more evenly over the surface of your foot. With your toes fully splayed and in line with their corresponding metatarsal bones, and with your heel planted firmly on the same plane as your forefoot, your foot functions like a tripod, essentially, to keep you upright and your foot and ankle stable. The wideryour toe splay, the greateryour balance will be. Spreadingthe toes, especiallythe big and little toes, can be particularly helpful for seniors orthose who struggle with balance issues, and it may even help reduce the likelihood of falls.
Splayingyour toes fully helps spread body weight over a greater surface area on the sole ofyour foot and reduces point pressure on just one aspect ofyour foot (i.e., the ball ofyour foot). Reducing pressure on the ball ofyour foot helps reduceyour chances of developing common forefoot problems, including neuromas and stress fractures. It also greatly improves foot comfort while standing or during gait.
Shifting gears a bit, proprioception is the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientationthat arises from stimuli withinyour body itself. It's the sense we all possess of the relative position of our body parts in space as well as the degree of effort being expended by those parts during movement or activity. Sensory feedback is an important part of proprioception. Correct Toes helps flattenyour toes toward the support surface (whether it be the ground or the bottom of your shoe), and in so doing allows them to participate more fully in weight-bearing activity. This,in turn, enables more ofyour foot's sole to bein contact with the ground or support surface. With more skin in contact with the support surface, all those many nerve endings inyour sole (including inyour toes) can do their job and tellyour brain how to properly placeyour feet for optimal low-impact gait.
Finally, a lot of people have, through the prolonged use of conventional footwear, lost the ability to spread their toes on their own, without using their fingers to manually realign them. One of the great benefits of Correct Toes toe spacers is that they can helpyou recover this ability and gain significantly more toe dexterity as a result. Combining Correct Toes with foot-healthy footwear andkey foot and toe exercises is a great way for you to buildor preserve the kind of toe dexterity found in infants andin unshod populationsaround the world.
10.Make Your Feet Stronger, More Resilient & Better Ableto Support Themselves
The confidence that comes from knowing that your feet can carry you anywhere you desire, pain free, is one of the greatest gifts and benefits of Correct Toes. Correct Toes is, most definitely, a foot rehabilitation tool that's intended to make your feet stronger, more resilient, and more self-sufficient, but it's also an important source of hope (and peace of mind) for many people battling foot ailments of all sorts.
For those who have dealt with ongoing foot problems thatreduce quality of life and prevent participation in cherished athletic or leisure activities, thepossibility of finally overcoming these problems for good is a true cause to celebrate. With time, patience, diligence, and dedication to Correct Toes use, most people, most of the time, can build sturdy, resilient feet that resist injury and stand up to all of life's many challenges throughout all stages of life.
Correct Toes: A True Companion on the Path Toward Optimal Foot Health
Allof the above benefits—combined with the fact that Correct Toes is comfortable, customizable, and can be worn inside men's and women's wide toe box footwear while weight-bearing during regular activities or athletics for the greatest corrective effect—make this device indispensable when it comes to cultivating or preserving foothealth and function. If you haven't already done so, consider picking up a pair or two of Correct Toes for yourself or a loved one; it's an investment that will paytremendous foot health dividends.
SHOP CORRECT TOES
Additional Correct Toes Resources
Here is a list of other helpful Correct Toes resources that we have available on our website:
- Correct Toes Sizing
- Correct Toes Review
- Correct Toes e-Course
- Common Correct Toes Modifications
If you have any questions about Correct Toes toe spacers, please don't hesitate toreach out to usthrough our contact form or leave a message or question for us in the comments section below. We're happy to help however we can!
