Foot/Toe Care for Climbing

Hello!

I just recently got into climbing and was so enthusiatic that I was going 2-3 times a week to an indoor climbing gym. I knew it was a matter of time but both of my big toenails are bruised and one of the toenails is coming loose. Hence now, I am taking a break from climbing. However, my other toenail is just dark purple which I am hoping and waiting until it falls out so I can climb again (which I know will take months). I currently have no pain with my toes.

Has any bruised toenails stopped anyone from climbing? Did your purple toenail fall off or healed on it’s own? Did a falling off toenail stopped you for climbing and for how long?

I tried searching medical articles but it’s pretty basic and recommends to stop the spot until healed... which I don’t want to do. 

Any recommendations on foot/toe care?

Thanks in advance! Stay Safe!

Amanda R wrote:

Any recommendations on foot/toe care?

Let's assume that you do not have any underlying medical conditions that might cause what you describe.

Then, the first advice that springs to mind - you shoes do not fit your feet. Based on the fact that your big toes are suffering - your climbing shoes are a bit too symmetrical. Another possibility - wrong size. 

Here is a typical beginner shoe LaSportiva Tarantulace - 

Here is a different, more asymmetric shoe - Evolv Geshido

Notice how the toe box differs

Now, I am not saying that you should get this or that shoe, just consider that what you chose might not be the best choice, and there are other possibilities.

Now, as to your current situation. You can definitely climb :)

Got purple toenails from climbing in soft symmetric shoe. Got much better when using stiffer and/or asymmetric shoes. Eventually went away. 

amarius wrote:

Let's assume that you do not have any underlying medical conditions that might cause what you describe.

Then, the first advice that springs to mind - you shoes do not fit your feet. Based on the fact that your big toes are suffering - your climbing shoes are a bit too symmetrical. Another possibility - wrong size. 

Here is a typical beginner shoe LaSportiva Tarantulace - 

Here is a different, more asymmetric shoe - Evolv Geshido

Notice how the toe box differs

Now, I am not saying that you should get this or that shoe, just consider that what you chose might not be the best choice, and there are other possibilities.

Now, as to your current situation. You can definitely climb :)

That’s interesting! Thanks for your input! I currently wear Scarpa Force V which are neutral shoes... and I had to wear toe caps on my big toes. I will definitely look at the different toe boxes! It’s just frustrating because workers say it’s supposed to be uncomfortable but not painful.

Amanda R wrote:

That’s interesting! Thanks for your input! I currently wear Scarpa Force V which are neutral shoes... and I had to wear toe caps on my big toes. I will definitely look at the different toe boxes! It’s just frustrating because workers say it’s supposed to be uncomfortable but not painful.

Anything to help a fellow addict!
Probably worth adding - shoes are being marketed for women and men, but it really means that volume distributions are a bit different. So, when shopping, ignore what gender the shoe is marketed for, look for fit.
BTW - advice "uncomfortable but not painful" is not really wrong, but perhaps you got pushed into the "painful" fit :(

Edit - someone commented below that their climbing shoe match street shoe size. This brings up another really important point - making a decision regarding climbing shoe size JUST based on numeric value will be frustrating since those sizes are more for guidance, even more so when comparing different shoe manufacturers.

All of my climbing shoes match my street size. Maybe some day when I climb 5.15 I will size down like Ondra. A reasonable and comfortable shoe has always worked for me.

I used to wear heinously tight shoes for bouldering (street shoe 47.5, bouldering shoe 41.5), and never got bruised/detached toenails. I wouldn't recommend that sort of fit anymore though. Sounds like you either have a terrible fit in your shoes (not too small, just bad fit), or you're doing something like kicking or dragging your toes on the wall, maybe without noticing.

How often do you take your shoes off? At the gym, I only have my shoes on when I'm on the wall. Take them off immediately, even if your climbing partner has to wait all of thirty seconds between routes. I definitely remember having to break in my feet when I started climbing, but never to the point of toenail loss.

I find that trimming my toenails very short solves the problem.

I’d definitely take a good look at your shoe fit - you definitely shouldn’t be having toenails bruised. Trim nails nice and short, try some different shoe volumes and shapes, like others have noted, and I think the big thing to consider is that “uncomfortable but not painful” thing. I got pushed into a really bad fit on shoes early in my climbing because of that advice and let’s just say I’ve moved on to bigger shoes and better climbing. Your shoes should fit close/snug, but especially as a beginner, they shouldn’t be super tight. Just tight enough to not allow your foot to move around in the shoe. Let the shoe do the rest of the work.

Almost all the advice on this thread so far appears to be "don't size your shoes too tight." While I agree that this is very good advice, I'd be really interested to hear any other advice people have. Assuming I already have reasonably sized shoes, is there anything else that people find helpful?

Chris Stocking wrote:

 Assuming I already have reasonably sized shoes, is there anything else that people find helpful?

I assume foot and toe care?

Wash your feet after climbing.
Trim your toenails, preferably not in the gym just before climbing -recently cut nails tend to be sharp can cut your skin, introducing all sorts of nastiness.
Dry your shoes after climbing, at least let them air out. I purchased shoe drier on amazon a few years back, works like a charm. Some find drying inserts useful.
Don't walk around barefooted.

Amanda R wrote:

That’s interesting! Thanks for your input! I currently wear Scarpa Force V which are neutral shoes... and I had to wear toe caps on my big toes. I will definitely look at the different toe boxes! It’s just frustrating because workers say it’s supposed to be uncomfortable but not painful.

What are these toe caps you are talking about? You “had to wear toe caps”— is this before the toe bruising, or after?

if you are wearing something on your toes inside your shoes, I would blame that something, first! I cannot imagine having anything on my toes inside climbing shoes! Based on that, I would actually say that your shoes are improperly fitting, but they are possibly too big, not too small, abd you are getting the bruising because the toes are sliding around snd hitting the front of the shoe.

I wear tight climbing shoes. They fit like a glove, and I never had any bruising, blistering, etc from wearing climbing shoes. I climb 3-4 times a week. The only toe bruising I’ve ever heard of in the context of gym climbing was from a bad fall and hitting the protruding feature with the big toe (not me, someone else). Unless you are repeatedly stabbing at the wall with your toes, I’m not sure how the bruising happens... maybe you ARE stabbing your toe when you desperately try to hit a foothold? In that case, working on precision, and improving your footwork would help.

Also, in case you aren’t already doing this: when you are at the gym, take the shoes off in between climbs. 

Lena chita wrote:

I would actually say that your shoes are improperly fitting, but they are possibly too big, not too small, and you are getting the bruising because the toes are sliding around snd hitting the front of the shoe.

You wear LS Testarossas which are quite asymmetric - here is the link to LS website - Testarossa bottom
Here is more neutral LS shoe, LS Zenith - Zenith bottom
And here is what OP has - Scarpa Force V - Force bottom

Notice how Testarossa has more space for the big toe than the more neutral shoes. I bet if you tried to achieve the same level of snugness in Zeniths as you do in Testarossas you would have some "kind" words to say to anyone who tried to convince you to wear them.

But, we have no idea what OPs feet look like, this is all conjecture. You could be right that the shoes are too large, and you are most definitely right that wearing anything over toes would put more pressure on toes.