Cupping guides

Toe pain: big toe, little toe, under and between the toes – what it can be (bunions, stiff big toe, gout, Morton's neuroma, hammer toe, nail problems, stress fracture), when to seek care, and what helps: shoes, exercises and cupping of foot and calf

The toes carry the whole body weight with every step and are crowded into shoes that rarely have their shape, so it is no wonder they hurt. But where it hurts says a lot: the big toe joint on the inside with a bump is a bunion, a stiff and swollen big toe joint that aches upwards is a stiff big toe or osteoarthritis, a suddenly red-hot big toe at night is gout, burning pain under the forefoot with numbness between the third and fourth toe is Morton's neuroma, a toe that curls and rubs against the shoe is a hammer toe, and toe pain after increasing your running can be a stress fracture. Here we go through the toes part by part, what points to what, when to seek care (gout the first time, suspected fracture, sores on the toes if you have diabetes, infection at the nail), and what helps: shoes with room for the toes, toe exercises and toe separators, offloading insoles, and cupping of the sole and calf that makes the foot more mobile and less sore, even though the cups are never placed on the toes themselves.