I was a physiotherapist specializing in manual therapy for over 37 years.
In the body, there are usually nosy victims and quiet culprits. Which means, when one part of the body is stiff or not working properly, a different part will pay the price.

Often these culprits are sore initially, especially if there is trauma, but then settle down and are just stiff. Often, the body compensates for this loss of mobility in one area by forcing another to move more than it’s designed to, creating a victim. The victims are usually nosy.

The plantar fascia is typically one such victim. Stiffness of the first metacarpal joint, where the big toe meets the foot, tight achilles, stiff mid-foot joints, tight hamstrings, weak gluteal muscles, poor core are all possible causes. Treating the victim can settle it temporarily, but until you hunt down the culprit that is driving the problem it often doesn’t go completely away.

The numbness in your toes may have been caused by a dropped transverse arch in your forefoot. This part of your foot should be concave with the mid point higher than the outside. When the transverse ligament stretches, common in people who are mobile, overpronators, the metatarsals drop, the arch becomes convex, and bones get closer together. In addition to developing a callus under the 2nd metatarsal head, ( in the middle of your foot) the digital nerves that run between the bones can become compressed. When chronic, people can develop permanent numbness in their toes, particularly between the third and fourth toes.

Using a metatarsal pad that looks like an upside down tear drop, placed just behind the metatarsal heads, (not on them!) can help. Wide toe boxes are crucial, anything that squeezes your toes together will cause issues. And in the when you run, often your feet will swell, exacerbating the problem. Doing exercises for the intrinsic muscles in your feet, the little muscles between the bones, can also help.

Oi. Sorry about the rant!! You’re probably all better now and didn’t need any of that, but…once a physio, always a physio, lol

I’ glad you got it all figured out. Great article by the way,