Runner's Toe

Runner’s Toe, sometimes referred to as tennis toe or black toenail, is a painful bruising of the toenails. When toenails experience the repetitious trauma of hitting or rubbing against the top of shoes, the front of shoes or both, bruising occurs. Blood collects under the nails, causing them to take on a black or deep purple appearance. Symptoms range from mild to extremely painful. In severe cases, black and blue toenails detach and fall out over time.

Runner’s toe usually results from higher levels of activity including long distance running, basketball, and tennis.

1. Begin with good shoes and get the right fit. Always get both feet measured, allowing enough room for your toes in both length and width. However, make sure that shoes are not too roomy. Just as shoes that are too short cause toe trauma, shoes that are too big allow our feet to shift around inside our shoes with the same results.

2. Select a shoe shape that matches your foot shape. Avoid shoes that taper off at the toe box. While the toe area should be rounded and roomy enough, the heel and midfoot of the shoe should fit snugly like a glove.

3. Take care to securely lace your shoes before exercise activities. A securely laced shoe will reduce sliding and friction inside the shoe.
   

4. Proper insoles are essential. Pressure on the toes doesn’t always come from the end of our shoes. Black toenail causes can stem from the design of our shoes and also from a breakdown or wearing out of a shoe’s internal structure. For example, footwear built with thinner midsoles and running shoes that are compressed and flattened out internally don’t supply enough cushioned support for the soles of our feet, in particular underneath our toes. Running for long distances then amplifies the shock and stress from ground reaction forces. Insole upgrades supply important protective padding for our feet.

5. Wear socks for padded protection and extra cushioning. Our CoolMax® and SmartWool socks offer moisture management qualities to keep your feet comfortably cushioned and dry.