Clenched Toes & Rider's Heels

[Jackie_Cochran]

On Wednesday my riding teacher got after my heels not going down enough. Lately I had a minor problem with a “sub-strain” of my right ankle (it never hurt, just a little swelling) and this week my heel bone decided it needed its bone spur again, at least that was my excuse. She told me this had been going on a while but she had not been getting after me about it (I just walk and trot) because of my problems with my right foot but now both heels are getting worse about not staying DOWN. I guess it is really irritating her now.

This morning I woke up and realized that I have been clenching my toes a lot when I walk around my house barefoot. Since I have MS it helps to walk barefoot so the nerves of my feet feel the ground under my feet which helps my horrible sense of balance. I have NO sole pain or pain elsewhere in my feet or ankles.

Could this compulsive toe clenching of mine be bringing my heels up when I ride?

I am working on keeping my toes relaxed right now. It will take me constant vigilance to keep them relaxed because this has become an atavistic habit (from earlier primate evolution in the trees–grasping a branch with the toes for greater security). This has gotten worse since I had Covid-19 in January 2020. Covid-19 affects me neurologically on top of my MS. My balance is worse, and I think that might be why I am clenching/stiffening my toes more.

Could my compulsive toe clenching make my whole seat worse?

[outerbanks77]

Yes, it is all certainly connected! There are some interesting Feldenkrais exercises where you just sort of play with rolling each toe between your fingers, and feel how that changes the movement of the ankle, and then the shin, knee and hip. It’s really gentle work, and I think you could play with that, and then stand barefoot and try for a feeling of spreading your toes and forefoot down into the ground to help re-wire a bit.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I have been trying to stop clenching my toes all the time.

It is a lot harder to keep my balance walking on my feet. This means I have to walk slower, I sort of sway from side to side, and it feels like I lost my nerve connection to my feet, I can feel them but I am not very sure where my feet actually are while I walk.

I looked for stuff on line that I could wear for therapy. I ended up looking at stuff for plantar fascitiis. There are a few interesting things that are socks or foot bands that have a strap going from to tip of the toes to higher up on the lower leg, holding the foot at a 90 degree angle to the lower leg. My problem is that I have to find one that does not use neoprene since I get contact dermatitis really bad from neoprene, my skin looks like I rolled around in a patch of poison ivy when I wear neoprene (and my riding teacher ends up with this gear since it does not bother her at all.)

Several times a day I am moving each toe so it points directly up and holding it for a little bit. I am also grabbing my toes and holding my foot at a 90 degree angle to my leg. I am concentrating really hard at not clenching my toes but this is a hard habit for me to break because it made me feel more secure walking.

I never realized that my toes could affect my position on horseback so negatively. Live and learn.

[anon55755751]

Jackie, are you able to do an exercise like this: standing on the ground with your feet at shoulder width, very slowly go through a posting motion? It does not have to be a very deep squat, but you have to pay attention to where your center of gravity is and focus on keeping it over your heels rather than the middle of your foot. You may have to push your hips out behind you. I think it would be ok to hold onto a bar or walker if that helps.

IME, clenching toes is a product of pitching forward. If you can balance more over your heels then your feet have the freedom to unclench. Then the heels will come down on their own.

Usual disclaimer: not a doctor or PT, but do chronically fight against pitching forward in the saddle and i do this exercise not infrequently.

[Jackie_Cochran]

Thank you @anon55755751.

I just tried this and I will try to remember to do this regularly. I still had to watch my toes, only now they are curling up. No problem, I have to keep my attention on my toes anyway and as my body gets used to this it will figure stuff out.

Obviously this is a new habit that I have to ingrain into my nervous system, both central and peripheral. Heels down from my center of gravity being over them instead of trying to force them down behind my center of gravity.

[anon55755751]

You might also look into textured insoles. I read an article about reducing stumbling in neuro horses by resensitizing the feet by sticking a piece of rubber across the frog.

Quickly searching, it looks like there is a company called naboso that has textured insoles and other equipment like toe spacers for foot sensitization and health. Just the first thing that came up when i searched, you will have to look into their research to determine if it is valid or bogus!