The hole in the boot effect
It was fair warm today, so we decided to practice Karate outdoors (as is our custom when it's not bloody freezing). Pretty soon the sun went down and, naturally, it became as cold as it has been these past weeks, that is to say, EXTREMELY.
Everyone's toes rapidly became numb.
(NB: I maintain that achy, numb feet is better than practicing with Uggs on, which one girl tried to do (understandably!) but she couldn't do anything with those huge boots on, so Dr. Chandler made her take them off.)
After a while my toes weren't just really really cold. Both of my fourth toes became numb proper: I couldn't feel them, as if they didn't exist. And when that happened, I started getting the "hole in the boot" effect. I'd press my toes into the turf, and I'd get touch-sensory "pressed into turf now" feedback from 8 of my toes, but no such feedback from the fourth toes. It feels like more downward motion is necessary, which makes it feel like there are holes in the turf directly beneath my fourth toes.
O.o o.O O.O
I call it the hole in the boot effect because it also happens when I'm skiing, partly because of the cold and partly because of circulation restriction with a too tight boot. Every time I go skiing, without fail, my fourth toes become numb proper and I get this effect. Every single time. Very rarely, it'll happen with my pinky toes as well, but that only happens when it's extremely cold, or storming. The majority of the time it's just my fourth toes.
Why, I wonder? Are the blood vessels for my fourth toes just a little too small? Is there some kink or fault in the nerves? Whatever it is, it's symmetric, so it's probably a genetic or developmental fault. At least it has to be the symptom of something that happen[s,ed] to both feet symmetrically, which I suppose could include a very unhealthy pair of shoes, but I doubt that. I say genetic or developmental. (BTW, "developmental" here takes on its specialized biological meaning, which is: having to do with the growth, differentiation, and death of cells in the zygote/embryo/fetus. Developmental biology is one of my favorite branches of biology.)
Everyone's toes rapidly became numb.
(NB: I maintain that achy, numb feet is better than practicing with Uggs on, which one girl tried to do (understandably!) but she couldn't do anything with those huge boots on, so Dr. Chandler made her take them off.)
After a while my toes weren't just really really cold. Both of my fourth toes became numb proper: I couldn't feel them, as if they didn't exist. And when that happened, I started getting the "hole in the boot" effect. I'd press my toes into the turf, and I'd get touch-sensory "pressed into turf now" feedback from 8 of my toes, but no such feedback from the fourth toes. It feels like more downward motion is necessary, which makes it feel like there are holes in the turf directly beneath my fourth toes.
O.o o.O O.O
I call it the hole in the boot effect because it also happens when I'm skiing, partly because of the cold and partly because of circulation restriction with a too tight boot. Every time I go skiing, without fail, my fourth toes become numb proper and I get this effect. Every single time. Very rarely, it'll happen with my pinky toes as well, but that only happens when it's extremely cold, or storming. The majority of the time it's just my fourth toes.
Why, I wonder? Are the blood vessels for my fourth toes just a little too small? Is there some kink or fault in the nerves? Whatever it is, it's symmetric, so it's probably a genetic or developmental fault. At least it has to be the symptom of something that happen[s,ed] to both feet symmetrically, which I suppose could include a very unhealthy pair of shoes, but I doubt that. I say genetic or developmental. (BTW, "developmental" here takes on its specialized biological meaning, which is: having to do with the growth, differentiation, and death of cells in the zygote/embryo/fetus. Developmental biology is one of my favorite branches of biology.)