Expert: Dianne M. Buxton - 9/12/2011

Question
Hi! I have Grishko Fouette pointe shoes, and no matter what I do, my big toe always hurts! I have lambs wool, and all other solutions that haven't helped. My mom is sick of  buying new things- they're really expensive-so I was wondering if you had any homemade suggestions to relieve pointe pain. Thanks!

Answer
Hi Madison. Since I can't see your feet in the shoes, and tell whether they truly fit well or not, I can only suggest that you ask your teacher, explaining the pain is not going away with any padding. Your shoes may be too short. They may not be tapered enough for your feet if you have the "compressible" foot type and the shoe is not supporting you properly.

http://ballettoeshoes.blogspot.com/2011/02/for-pointe-shoe-exercise-get-big-toe.
The above is an article about strengthening the big toe, just in case there are any tips in there for you.

I am assuming that it is the tip of your toe (s) that is hurting, not the joint or nail.

I always used kleenex to wrap around my toes, since I could make it thicker as needed. Once I started dancing longer days in pointe shoes I went up half a size so I could use more padding when needed.

Annoying as it is, some pairs of pointe shoes hurt more than others. I remember with one pair of shoes I ended up getting some dense foam heel pads and cutting them, so I could put them under my big toes.

Hope that helps some, regards, Dianne.