According Dr. Burton S. Schuler of
FootCare4U.Com, the world's greatest swimmer/Olympian Michael Phelps absolutely has a Morton's Toe.
Dr Schuler said
"I was watching the Olympic coverage of the semifinals of the breast stroke and NBC showed Michael's feet; and there it was. His 2nd toe was longer than the first toe, or the classica
l Morton's Toe." Schuler went on to say that Phelps also had a pretty noticeably bunion and some
hammer toes. According to Schuler Phelps was most probably born with the tendency to have the Morton's Toe and it was not caused by his thousands of hours in the poo.l
Schuler further states
" we know that having a Morton's Toe can make your
arch drop or flatten out This could be of great benefit to Phelps in the water, in that it could make his foot a more contiguous unit to kick with, but I would not know for sure unless I could examine him. The one thing I do know for sure is that one of his sisters or his mom must also have a Morton's Toe"
History of the Morton's Toe
In the 1920's and 1930's
Dr. Dudley J. Morton of Yale Medical School and Columbia Medical School wrote that problems with the 1st metatarsal bone, known as a Morton's Toe could be the reason for most foot problems. Dr. Morton wrote three separate books about the problems with the 1st metatarsal bone, the most famous one being the
Human Foot published in 1938 by Columbia University Press.
Dr. Janet Travell, White House physician to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and Professor Emeritus of Medicine at George Washington University took this concept further by writing and teaching that the Morton's Toe could cause pain all over your body. She wrote and taught for four decades that a Morton's Toe could cause, back, hip, knee, leg, and foot and ankles problems. She also said that the Morton's Toe could be the reason for
myofascial pain anywhere in your body.
What is a Morton's Toe?
A Morton's Toe, is either one of two problems that can affect the first metatarsal bone of the foot.
1. The first abnormal condition, and the most noted one, that can cause Morton's Toe is where your first metatarsal bone is shorter than your second metatarsal bone.
2. The second condition that can cause a Morton's Toe is when your first metatarsal bone is not as stable as it should be, and as a result, has too much motion. This is known as
"Hypermobility of the First Metatarsal Bone." About Dr. Burton S. Schuler:
Dr. Burton S. Schuler is a podiatrist who practices in Panama City Fl, He has been a leading authority on the Morton's Toe and it associated problems for almost 30 years; and the author of the 2009 book
Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot, the story of the Morton's Toe (Cardinal Publishing). . He graduated from the N. Y. College of Podiatric Medicine in 1975 at the age of twenty-four, and has been in private practice ever since. In 1982, he published his first book,
The Agony of De-Feet: A Podiatrist Guide to Foot Care. During his 37 year career, he has written for Collier's Encyclopedia and various podiatric journals and publications; has been interviewed by The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and First in Women. Dr. Schuler has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs both here and aboard. He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management, the National Board of Podiatric Examiners and the American Academy of Wound Management