Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 1/10/2011

Question
Dear Dianne, I am a young adult advanced ballet student and I dance on pointe about ten hours a week. When I was younger, I never wore toe padding. Now that I am dancing so much my big toes are feeling lots of pressure. I wear Russian Pointe shoes. Recently I have tried lambs wool, Ouch Pouches and SkinnyDibs, but still feel toe pain.

Can you tell me what the professionals use to protect their toes? Do they wear toe pads?

I have considered getting Gaynor Mindens and wondered if professionals wear any padding with those?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Chris.

Is there any chance the box of the shoe is a bit wide for you? I see you have experience with pointe shoes, but now that you are doing so much in them, and you are feeling such pressure, I ask that because when the box is a bit wide, the toes will slide down into it more.

A properly fitting box will support the toes so that the weight isn't simply bearing down on the toe tips.

Do you perhaps need more padding on the other four toes, not the big toe, so that they take more weight?

Professionals will wear padding when needed - heavy schedules, different flooring, whenever conditions demand it.

Again, with Gaynor Mindens pointe shoes, wearing padding would depend on the feel of the shoe.

If you have developed inflammation in the ends of your toes, an Arnica cream applied to the fleshy areas can help. Traumeel is a good one.

Sometimes a professional may even use a shoe half a size larger to wear extra padding, when they have pain. If your pain persists please consult with your ballet mistress or a podiatrist to seek a solution. You may have to lessen the hours on pointe to recover completely.

All the best, Dianne