Toe Spacers – useful or not?

Toe spacers are used either at night or in wide fitting footwear to “correct the toes”. Feet spend the day in footwear, that somewhat compress the toes and changes the natural alignment of the toes. The idea of the toe spacers is to undo that unnatural force. Most commentary online about these are usually accompanied with this picture or something similar:

The is a somewhat simplified view of reality, but is a good way to appreciate and illustrate some of the problems with wearing shoes. It does make sense to do something to counter the forces causing this and improve the alignment of the toes, especially if you are having problems.

Do the toe spacers correct the toes or work?

Yes, they probably do help. They will improve the alignment and flexibility of the toes which is a good thing. But, are they the holy grail that many places claim that they are and fix so much that can go wrong? It is not unusual to see these toe spacers advertised or promoted to cure bunions, hammer toes, claw toes, morton’s neuroma, plantar plate dysfunctions, plantar fasciitis and even ingrown toenails!. Firstly, it should be an alarm bell if one thing is claimed to fix so much – its doesn’t. Most of the claims made for these types of products are just made up. However, that does not mean they should not be used. There is a mechanism by which the toe spacers could potentially help all those conditions (except ingrown toenails!), but they probably should not be the primary treatment for them, but used as an adjunct. They are very useful for that.

Using the toe spacers

Toe spacers are easy to use. Just place the silicone gel spacer on the foot at night and wear while sleeping. You may find you need to put a sock over them to avoid catching them on the bed linen. If you want to be more adventurous and get a bigger affect, then wear them during the day in extra wide fitting footwear. Start out small, only using them for short periods of time and then building up from there. Experiment, try different things and see what works for you. You will soon see an increase in the mobility of your toes after the use of these.