The Human Foot by Dr. Dudley J. Morton, the most important book ever written about the Morton’s Toe
Dr. Burton S. Schuler foot specialist , podiatrist , of Panama City Fl, has published a new press release on the Expertclick wire service that states that Michael Phelps the greatest Olympian of all times has a Morton’s Toe.
Schuler pointed out that while watching the broadcast of the semifinals of the breast stroke NBC showed Phelps’s feet and Schuler saw that his 2nd toe was longer than the first toe. This is the Morton’s Toe. In the press release Schuler points out why the Morton’s Toe could help Phelps in the pool. Continue reading →
Dr. Dudley J. Morton, author that Dr. Burton S. Schuler of Panama City Fl based his work on
The clinical term for flat feet is “pes planus”. According to Dr. Burton S. Schuler a Podiatrist Foot Specialist from Panama City Fl a flat footed person’s feet will turn inward, causing their arch to fall. Schuler feels this is due to a condition that causes pronation; known as Morton’s Toe. In his book about the Morton’s Toe Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot Schuler, states that the real cause of flat feet is a hypermobile (excess motion) of the first metatarsal bone that, causes a laxity of a ligament that runs along the bottom of the feet; which affects the longitudinal arch and the front part of the foot. The foot’s stability and weight distribution is affected by hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone, which causes improper weight bearing in the foot causing the arch to fall. This is “flat feet”. This puts abnormal stress on the whole foot and is the cause of swelling of the feet and ankles
The Human Foot by Dr. Dudley J. Morton, book that Dr. Burton S. Schuler of Panama City Fl Based his work on
As Dr. Morton wrote in his 1935 book The Human Foot, “Laxity of the plantar ligaments of this segment affects both the longitudinal arch, by impairing the stability of the foot as a base of support, and the fore part of the foot, by causing an improper distribution of weight upon the metatarsal bones. In other words if you do have hypermobility at the first metatarsal bone, you will have improper weight bearing, and in turn, will lose the stability needed in supporting the arch.
This is the real reason why our arches fall. Dr. Schuler says you can now impress your friends or family by explains to them what a fallen arch or flat feet really is by saying, “Did you know that according to Professor Dudley Joy Morton, fallen arches or flat feet are caused by the laxity of the plantar ligaments, causing a hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone, which affects the stability of the longitudinal arch?”
Schuler says the treatment for fallen arches is a simple homemade toe pad first developed by Dr. Dudley J. Morton, in 1927. The toe pad is to be placed under the first metatarsal bone. The pad redistributes weight that is unevenly distributed, correcting foot pronation if a runner struggling with flat feet believes the only strategy is to change their stride, or add additional arch supports; they may be sorely disappointed over time. As Schuler points out, the problem of flat feet is structural and therefore a structural solution like the toe pad needs to be employed for optimal results.
Dr. Schuler, is a foot doctor, foot specialist, podiatrist of Panama City, Fl . He graduated from the N. Y. College of Podiatric Medicine in 1975 at the age of twenty-four, and has been in private practice for 37 years, 28 of them in Panama City He is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management, and the National Board of Podiatric Examiners. Dr. Schuler is certified as a wound specialist from the American Board of Wound Management, for over 30 years he has been a menber of the American Diabetes Ass. In 1982, he published his first book, The Agony of De-Feet: A Podiatrist Guide to Foot Care. He is the author of the newly published book (2009), Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In the Foot. The book is published by the La Luz Press, Inc and is disturbed national by the Cardinal Publishing Group. Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts In The Foot, is the story of how one bone in your foot could be the real reason for pains thru out your whole body During his thirty- seven year professional career, he has written for Collier’s Encyclopedia and various podiatric journals and publications. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, First in Women, and other publications. Dr. Schuler has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs both here and aboard
Here is a popular blog I wrote almost 2 years ago, except I now include a video on the bottom of the page to help people under stand it better
Everybody knows or has heard of “fallen arches”. The million dollar question is: why do we get fallen arches or flat feet to start with?
The Why: Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) causes fallen arches and flat feet. Dr. Dudley Morton wrote passionately about the true causes of fallen arches, tired feet and weak ankles in his article of 1928, and his books of 1935, 1939 and 1952. He had no doubt that all of these problems were caused by a unstable first metatarsal bone. He said there was a loss of stability at the arch when you had hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone. This loss of stability will then cause the arch to fall, tilt or collapse inwardly because it has less support than normal in keeping the arch up.
He said that once this collapsing starts toward the inside part of the foot, then a chain reaction begins to take place that can cause many problems of your foot, heel and ankle. The muscles of the ankle will attempt to fight off this unnatural inward titling or collapsing of the arch. But if the abnormal forces put upon the muscles at the ankle and at the arch are too great, then these muscles will become strained and exhausted. They will then start to hurt in their attempt to prevent the arch from collapsing and to maintain the balance of the feet.
This unsuccessful battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing by the muscles of the ankle is also a common cause of tired feet and weak ankles. Chronic ankle sprains can also be caused by this acquired instability at the ankle joint due to its battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing. This straining or exhausting of the muscles can also cause spasms at night.The good news is that these problems can be easily treated with a toe pad or a shoe insert. In reality, true “fallen arches” are a rare thing. In spite of the fact that the term is now used to refer to several foot problems, in actuality it means a total breakdown and substantial deformity of the foot. This severe condition is, in fact, a truly uncommon occurrence in our time.
In other words if you do have hypermobility at the first metatarsal bone, you will have improper weight bearing, and in turn, will lose the stability needed in supporting the arch. This is the real reason why our arches fall causing flat feet.
How many times in your life have you heard the term “fallen arches” and had no idea what it really meant? Now, the next time you are sitting around with friends or family and someone mentions fallen arches, you can impress the heck out of him by saying , “Did you know that according to Professor Dudley Joy Morton, fallen arches are caused by the laxity of the plantar ligaments, causing a hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone, which affects the stability of the longitudinal arch?”
How a Morton’s Toe makes you hurt, or what goes wrong
In a perfect situation, Mother Nature makes the first metatarsal bone as long as or longer than the second metatarsal bone. “Mom” also designed the first metatarsal bone so that it would be able to carry twice the weight as the second metatarsal bone. However if the first metatarsal bone is shorter than the second metatarsal bone, then this proper lifting by the first metatarsal bone cannot take place This is because with every step, the second metatarsal bone will abnormally meet the ground before the first metatarsal bone does. When this happens, the first metatarsal bone is not able of doing its job of supporting most of the weight of the front part of the foot. The second metatarsal bone is now forced to not only to lift its share of the burden, but now is made to absorb the first metatarsal bone’s share, as well. This makes the second metatarsal bone do 100% of the work, when normally it would be doing only one third of the work. This puts a tremendous amount of abnormal stress on the second metatarsal bone. It is this “super stress” put upon the second metatarsal bone that starts the chain of events that can cause us to hurt all over. More important this stress also results in something known as pronation.
Here is a popular youtube video (about 45,000 viewing) about the Morton’s Toe)
About the Author: Dr. Burton S. Schuler foot doctor, foot care specialist, podiatrist of Panama City, Panama City Beach Fl , is a 1975 graduated of the New York College of Podiatric Medicine , and has been in private practice for over 38 years. He is an authority on the human foot and has written two books and hundreds of articles about the foot published in numerous podiatric journals publications and at www.FootCare4U.com. He is this country’s leading authority on the Morton’s Toe, ((Long Second Toe) and its associated medical and health problems and on the life of Dr. Dudley J. Morton,
His, first book about the Morton’s Toe, Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts in the Foot published in 2009 is the leading authority on the Morton’s Toe. and presently has over 7,000 copies in print, and sold has thousands of eBook copies ( Kindle) on Amazon. The book is published by the La Luz Press, Inc and is disturbed nationally by the Cardinal Publishing Group. Dr. Schuler’s next book about the Morton’s Toe, called the Morton’s Toe Book will be published in 2014 also by the La Luz Press.
In 1982, he published his first book, The Agony of De-Feet: A Podiatrist Guide to Foot Care. During his thirty eight year career, he has written for Collier’s Encyclopedia and 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 both the American Academy of Pain Management, and the National Board of Podiatric Examiners. Dr. Schuler is certified as a wound specialist from the American Academy of Wound Management. He has been a professional member of the American Diabetic Association for about 35 years. . His professional and civic accomplishments have earned his inclusion in the 1999-2002 Who’s Who in America (Marquis)
The most common reason for people to have foot problems is due to an abnormal amount of a motion of our feet know as Pronation. There are two types of pronation, normal pronation and abnormal pronation
Normal Pronation or just “Pronation”: A certain amount of Pronation is absolutely needed for the human foot to work properly. Pronation (normal Pronation) allows the foot to become a “Bag of Bones” (loose), in order for it to act as a shock absorber so it can adaptor to all of the different walking surfaces we are on. This adaption (pronation) is only supposed take place for a split second. When it goes on longer than that split second is when we start to have a condition known as Abnormal Pronation.
Abnormal Pronation: This is when the foot does not stop pronating when it should. When this happens the entire foot is put under a great deal of stress and strain leading to bunions, corns, hammer toes, s and numerous other foot problems. Having a flat foot is often releated to abnormal pronation when it is really is not. Plantar Fasciitis is most often caused by abnormal pronation.
Supination: This is the opposite movement of pronation. Our foot must be able to “supinate” at the proper time so our foot can push away from the ground. If our foot can’t supinate when it should, because of pronation it can cause all of the above problems
One of the main reasons for abnormal pronation is due to a Morton’s Toe, (see below) which is an Inherited Trait. The long term treatment for abnormal pronation is relatively simply. With an Orthotic we are able to control the abnormal pronator forces in the majority of our patients. Surgery is not needed, but again a orthtic is mantaory if you are going to control the abnormal forces caused by overpronation
WHAT IS A MORTON’S TOE OR LONG SECOND TOE
In the 1920’s and 1930”s Dr. Dudley J. Morton of Yale Medical School and Columbia Medical School wrote that a problem with the 1st metatarsal bone, known as a Morton’s Toe could be the reason for most foot problems. Dr. Janet Travel, 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 foot and ankles problems. She felt that the Morton’s Toe, was so important that at the age of 89 she made a video tape to teach other physicians about how to recognize it and how to treat it.
Dr. Janet Travell with President Kennedy
Morton’s Toe can also cause fibromyalgia, arthritis, sleep disturbances (RLS), temporomandibular joint pain, and numerous other problems through out the body The good news is that all of these problems can be treated with a simple pad that costs about two to three dollars. The bad news is that in spite of the fact that two of the most famous doctors of the twentieth century were behind the Morton’s Toe, most modern day physicians are not aware of Morton’s Toe or of it ability of causing pain all over the body.
