Dahlek,
sorry for the confusion, what were once somewhat flexible are becoming more and more rigid now - the toes still bend but w/ a lot of effort and discomfort. I've tried the marbles and towels for a long time, as in months and made no progress w/ either - my toes curl so much that I can't retrieve anything. I also take each toe and all of them together and bend them backwards as far as possible to stretch the tendons - same effect as doing toes stretches or hamstrings on the edge of a stair - tried those too.
the complication here is that the big toe has been sreiously pulled out of alignment, .i.e back and to the left or right depending on the foot, because of the tendon shortening - net result I can no longer straighten my toes or feet at all. this is why I feel like