Orthotic booties and/or fins?

[Rich Poorman]

I have big toe joint problems in both feet. The torque on the joints produced by kicking with fins puts a lot of strain on them, causing pain, inflammation and rigidity. For a few years, regular cortisone shots have helped, but that's a short-term solution at best, and the cumulative effect of the shots is not good. Have worked out some kick modifications — a sort of underwater limp — but the problem persists.

For the past few years, I've also used orthotic plates inside my booties which limit the toes' flexion. That helps some, but the problem is the other movement: extension. Last fall, I had an operation on one side — the podiatrist cleaned out calcium deposits and shaved off some bone overgrowth which was impeding extension of the big toe. Now that joint is a bit more flexible, but we cannot at this time know if pain will be reduced significantly. The doc and physical therapist have wondered if there is any way I could construct or modify my booties and/or fins to provide a rigid topside shell. I am also a skier and ski boots keep the joint immobile and pain free.

Anybody have any ideas or know of a manufacturer who might have addressed this issue?

 

[MRadke]

I've never tried them, and I've only ever seen one pair on a dive boat, but the first ones that come to mind are Force Fins. If you look on their web site you will see that they are an open toe design and have options for metatarsal bars on some models.

 

[Akimbo]

Is the problem on both strokes of a flutter kick or just the down stroke? I suppose you could carve the fins to remove the areas above and/or below the toe area. Check with your local LDS. They often have a mismatched fin around caused by someone losing the mate. You can probably get one of these orphans free to experiment on. Just doing laps in a pool will probably tell you if the fin surgery works and how extensive it has to be.

 

[ams511]

Rather than using a soft boot , you could try a hard boot such as a rock boot (or steel toe boots and a wet sock) . This would be expensive because you would most likely need a new set of fins besides the boots. As another poster mentioned you could try Force Fins, they are expensive but have a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. Bob Evans, the owner, is a member here. You may want to PM him and ask for his advice.

 

[Rich Poorman]

Thanks to everyone. I will look into Force fins. Hard sole boots might cure 1/2 of the issue — but I already have plastic plates which I wear inside my booties, making them as rigid as hard sole boots on the downstroke. It's the upstroke that aggravates the joint.