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bunions... cramping
on another thread, @judy said "...It may have started when I used a Retin A skin cream, which also seems to be what caused me to develop bone spurs, bunions, and fibromyalgia. I suspect that it is all the result of vitamin A pulling calcium out of the bones and putting it where it doesn't belong. I've been on the no-A diet for 14 months now and the fibro pain, brain fog, and lots of other symptoms are much better, but not the tinnitis or the bone related problems. Maybe it takes longer to fix bones."
I've been thinking about bunions, which seem to be triggered by squashing feet into toe boxes that are too narrow. But I can sort of see that my pinky fingers almost seem bunion-esque even thought they are not squashed into high heels, LOL. And so I think there might really be a connection to VA toxicity with the bunion problem. This could be similar to Grant's fingers straightening.
I seem to have a mild case of bunionette, which is a bunion of the littlest toe, rather than the big toe.
There are lots of nice videos now about how to help your bunions with special shoes, toe separators, and exercises. But I bet if you have VA inflammation going on, these things don't work as well. And also, bone spurs might take a long time to fix, as Judy said.
here is a guy who seems to know some good non-invasive things to do to help bunions:
I'm finding that the exercises that I'm doing are causing cramping in my feet.
Maybe we are making a mistake thinking that muscle cramping is all about electrolytes.
Maybe it is physical tightness.
Hi @lil-chick, I have pursued this further.
I have a problem in the right leg (bad accident with broken bones 50 years ago - subsequently twisted my knee and from time to time, I think when detoxing too much from the right hip, it becomes unsettled again).
I noticed in the last two years a misalignment of the big toe, nothing too bad, but I suspect it might be linked to the pains in the knee.
I have just bought gel toe correctors like the ones in your video (different make : Puikos) and I received them today.
I have put them on and immediately could feel burning on the upper face of my smallest three toes. Burning like vA burning. Apart from this, they are very comfortable, it is not at all the big toe that feels anything.
Obviously the bunion problem is an attempt by the body to slow down excretion of vA in the bunionette area.
Also this would entail a different position for the knee and hip. The body is trying to keep the vA because the trajectory of losing it is painful.
Since with less vA around (or so I hope after 2 years and 10 months) collagen is more supple in general, I hope this will help tonify muscles which were not working properly.
How are you doing with your toe, and what kind of exercises do you find useful?
Best of luck!
Interesting regarding the toes and feet and bunions possibly a result of Vit A overload. A couple years ago up till about several months ago I was having some foot problems and toes also. A few of my toes would get swollen and inflamed. Then I got to the point I was hobbling around due to pain from a bunion on the big toe side of my foot. But it is gone now. My toes aren’t inflamed and I can walk without pain. I thought it was a circulation problem. Anyways I’ve been on the low to zero A diet since March 2021. I padded the bunion for several weeks and now it’s gone and my toes are okay also now and hoping it stays okay.
Hi @Ourania and @Sussan, here is another bunion video that I like, and it has some simple stretches and ideas. One of the things I feel like I was doing was using my feet wrong. This video talks about gait a bit. Walking with the whole foot like he shows sure does put more power into the stride. Another video I watched said you should also be sure that each foot is coming in for a soft landing though.
I do think that circulation is part of it. My foot problems such as cramping and stiffness are much worse when my feet are cold.
I need to solve the issue of what to wear all round (house, outside etc) in my life that keeps my feet warm but yet doesn't squash the toes or lead to wrong walking habits.
Every morning I stretch both my hands and feet, and the curling under is as hard as the stretching out.
One thing that has come to my attention is that when I spread my toes while standing I'm MUCH more stable. Who knew? I suppose that might be one of the reasons older people fall.
I watched another video last night and it was pointing out that the widest part of the foot isn't where the foot measurer goes, it's where the toes are (or at least that SHOULD BE, if the toes weren't squished). So, you don't really necessarily need WIDE shoes, you need a wider toe box. You can evaluate shoes by putting them upside down and there should be room all around your toes with some to spare. ah, here it is, found it: you don't need wide shoes, you need FOOT shaped shoes., LOL
Very good videos. Interestingly for the last six months I have started spreading my toes and wriggling them for no reason several times a day. I think the vA is leaving, the collagen is getting more supple and I do what the baby does while I read!!!!!
The fact that cramping and stiffness are worse in the cold is most probably because lymph, which is mainly fat, flows less easily in the cold, and it carries out a lot of vA.
I also had a cramp with my silicone separators : on the inside of the right thigh, a strange place for cramps. Something is definitely happening and a great thanks to you @lil-chick for bringing up the subject. It is so nice when we can actually DO something to get better.
I think cramps have little relation to electrolytes and all to do with corrosion of vA coming out. The fact that they are supposed to be linked to a lack of potassium is because regeneration (after a bout of vA detox) consumes potassium.
Many many thanks @lil-chick!!!
After nearly three months with the toe separators, I have very good results:
- The long lasting right knee pain has completely gone. Actually it was gone after a week. It came back feebly a couple of times afterwards but now this has completely disappeared.
- The slight deviation of my thumb on the right foot is very much improved, nearly gone, I would say 95% gone;
- At the start I could not make that right thumb separate itself from the other toes without using my fingers. When I tried to do this, the thumb would just move up but not move to the left, the muscle was unresponsive. Now it works!!! Something is happening to the soles as well! I was trying to do what the Flamingo Feet guy in your first video described.
- I have improved on the vA detox by sitting in front of my vibration plate, to put the feet with spread toes in front of me, trying to force the toes apart while vibrating. I could feel the burn of vA leaving between my toes and on the delicate skin over the base of the nails (which got painful and red like in chillblains). Some vA is definitely leaving from there.
All this was very positive!!!! Thank you so much @lil-chick! I hope your toes are happy!
PS I forgot to add that when I sit in front of the vibrator, I bend forward and put my elbows on my knees. This makes my arms vibrate strongly, and I interlace the tips of my fingers together so the vibration hits all the base of the nails areas. Might be helpful for your twisted pinkies.
That's so great! I'm very excited, Ourania! Thanks for posting.
I do think there is damage in my feet too. A summer of going barefoot helped my feet a lot. I never would have thought that they would respond, and that I "needed" to wear shoes in order to not get sore feet. Chock it up to yet another "everything you think you know is wrong" moment.
However, come the cold weather I had to put shoes back on again because my feet get cold easily.
The cold is still triggering Raynaud's in the soles of my feet. And I still get cramps in them. I'm going to try putting my feet on the massager with the separators on, as you said. Maybe it will help.
"Falling over" is such a chronic thing for older people. And it leads to suffering.
One thing that is so logical is that if you spread out those squished-up toes then viola-- the whole body is much more stable.