In the last two weeks, a nasty dark spot has appeared under my toenails. It's like blood or a bruise, but under the nail. This is on both my feet at the second smallest toe. None of my other toes are affected. There is slight pain when I step down or touch it, but nothing serious. The nail is not falling off, though it has in the past. I'm wondering if this is the result of improper technique or footwork. Even better would be if my shoes were simply the wrong size. I played badminton with my shoes for 2 months, but this problem is only recent. Thanks for your help.
I got mine too and it has been there for a few weeks now, no pain though - and that was from me doing an extreme stretch and breaking motion. I am not a doctor, but i assume it's a norm due to the nails being lifted.
You are likely correct that it is a bruise under the nail. One possible cause is the foot sliding in the shoe during braking. So obviously make sure that the shoe fits well and is laced carefully. But you are not likely one of those who plays shuffling around in jeans and un-tied skateboard shoes. So if the shoe fit is correct, then you may want to check to see that your nail isn't catching on a seam inside the shoe. If it is you may need to bandaid the nail down for a little while. Toenails grow slowly, so don't be disturbed by how long it take the dark spot to disappear.
The dark spot is more likely from dried clotting blood beneath the nail. The medical paste "Hirudoid" can remove the dark spot. Ask your doctor for a tube. It is more likely your toe was stubbed during movement, leading to trauma at the nail and its surrounding tissue. I suggest that you trim and buff your toe nails shorter and more frequently to avoid recurrence.
I had the same problem but it wasn't from badminton. I stubbed my toe on my coffee table and it bruised my big toe. To help the recover, though the nail was peeling off, I decided against pulling it off. Listen to what qinglong said, keep your nails short and trimmed properly and (fidget) avoid sliding around. Make sure your shoes fit properly and are laced up taut. If the nail seems to be peeling off, trim off the top 1-2 mm (MILLi not centi!) and bandage the toe (not too tightly) during play. Allow a lot of rest and try not to do any traumatizing activities with the feet (soccer/football, kicking things, stubbing against coffee tables etc). The bruise should disappear after half a month or so (depending on how much rest) and a new nail will grow in its place 1-2 months. Hope this helps.
Most probably caused by your shoes. Probably the shoes that fits your smallest toe section has got some little xtra space. I suggest u can insert a small piece of cloth or cushion to fill up the gap (and thus stop your small toe of moving freely too much). Well, I hav this problem too and I inserted a piece of cushion into my shoes and it does help.
Yeah I'm hoping it's just blood under the nails, which I have no idea how it got in there, but I'm blaming my footwork. I land on my toes usually when I lunge and sometimes land on my toes when I do overhead strokes. And when I lunge my toes always point inwards, so I'm trying to fix that. My alternative is to cut training for a bit, but I haven't felt any pain from the toes for several days now. As a last resort, I'll find new shoes. The toes in question are, if my toes were lined up 1234554321, the smallest as one, and the big toe as five, both the 2s in the line. At the moment they have turned into a dark shade of red completely filling the toenail. I'm leaning towards it being a shoe problem because the same toe on both sides are affected. Also, I have the nasty habit of stepping forward with my left foot, or the non-racquet foot when it's more convenient. Yet I've been wearing the shoes for a couple of months and it has only just appeared.
