Nike Turbo Shox: Great At Cushion, But How Stable?

Nike Women's Turbo Shok 

Hi, Doc.  You helped me immensely with my bunion / hammertoe combination on
my Left foot about a year ago.  THANK YOU.  I now have a shoe question:

I bought a pair of Nike Turbo Shox shoes about Xmas time & for 6 months I

was so happy & they seemed to the best shoe EVER for my feet.

HOWEVER, recently I have very tight muscles on my inner soles & very tight
lower calf to heel muscles, especially in the morning, especially my right
foot.

My Questions:  (1) Do you think my Nike Shox shoes are causing these
problems?  (2) Do you have an opinion re the design of this shoe for my
bunion & hammer toe prone feet?

Thanks & best regards,
Cindy

Dear Cindy, This type of shoe in my experience is for cushion, especially at heel impact, and for ease of motion. They lack the qualities of a Motion Control Shoe or Stability Shoe in terms of stabilization. This is intentional as they are designed to exercise your feet. When you have bunions and hammertoes in my mind, you need to err on a more stable shoe for the stress of running, at least 50% of the time. Bunions and hammertoes are caused by instabilities within your foot and gaining stability out of a shoe and orthotics can be very important. With all this said, and the strain you are feeling probably from many factors, in which the shoe is just one, I would recommend running 50% of the time in this shoe, and 50% of the time in a more stable shoe. This is a Golden Rule of Foot for shoes. Runners for years have alternated between 2 slightly different shoes to vary the stresses in their feet and legs and prevent injuries. Another Golden Rule of Foot: Cut your mileage in half, until your symptoms begin to improve, then slowly go back to your present distance over the next month. Hope this helps. Rich Blake