- Time of past OR future Camino
- Most years since 2012
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I've had some foot issues over the years and want to encourage others to try to get to the root (or foot) of the matter. Some problems can be helped.My feet will just quit while the rest of me is good to go.
I have very mobile metatarsals and the joints scrunch together (my non-medical description) This is Morton's Neuroma. The nerves are scrunched and become inflamed. You do realize that the padding will break down over the 300+ kms you walk. Buy 'Chiropodist's Felt' and cut it to size and replace as it is squashed down from time to time. I suspect stress fractures are a lot more common than known. They glow in an ultrasound. Keep walking!I am focusing these days on keeping up or increasing my regular walking - whether for health in general or for another Camino. On another thread, I was struck by the following comment, which I think many of us can identify with.
I've had some foot issues over the years and want to encourage others to try to get to the root (or foot) of the matter. Some problems can be helped.
Is the pain something you need to "walk through" or is it something that will get worse with over-use? Over the past 10 years, I've had problems with both feet, that persisted for weeks or months and took the pleasure out of walking more than 5 or 10 km. "Walking through" them was not helping.
I find it amazing that 1 or 2 mm of extra support here or there can make such a difference. With the new orthotics, I walked 70 km last week in comfort. It seems that I have very mobile metatarsals and the joints scrunch together (my non-medical description) if not carefully supported for long walks.
- Pain in ball of foot at base of big toe - Resolved after I got my first custom orthotics.
- Metatarsal pain - Turned out to be a stress fracture which was confirmed by a bone scan. (It's otherwise often hard to diagnose.) Resting with virtually no walking and soft house shoes cured it in 7 weeks.
- Pain at the top of my foot on the inside of my arch - Resolved with new orthotics with different arch support.
- Pain on top of base of middle 2 toes - Resolved by changing to shoes with a soft flexible top (Brooks Ghost 13).
- Pain on top at base of 2 different toes - An x-ray revealed no evidence of injury/fracture, but some arthritis. This is my current challenge, and seems to be much improved with new orthotics with metatarsal pads, which I didn't have before. The fellow added the pads for both feet, though, and created a new pain in the left foot while relieving the pain in the right foot in a week of testing. Now I have the metatarsal pad in only one foot.
All of these problems are things that many people suffer in silence all the time. They stop trying to walk so far or so much, or they accept the pain as an inevitable consequence of aging. Sometimes there IS no solution, but I have been lucky to be able to manage these issues.
I suspect that orthotics are over-sold, but for me they have proved essential. The problem is that you will never know unless you try them and you have a helpful professional, and custom orthotics are very expensive. Mine are covered by my extended health insurance - I doubt that I would have spent the money in the first place, but now I know they are worth it to me.
One other point - I always used to go barefoot or socks-only inside. Now I love my Hoka Recovery Slides and wear them constantly around the house. They provide cushioning and a sort of arch support.
Here's another good thread on foot problems beyond metatarsal issues.
@C clearly, I'm wondering if the Hoka's would be good evening/shower shoes on the camino. Are they lightweight?One other point - I always used to go barefoot or socks-only inside. Now I love my Hoka Recovery Slides and wear them constantly around the house. They provide cushioning and a sort of arch support.
A fraction under 300g. I looked at them but stuck with my Birkenstock EVAs.@C clearly, I'm wondering if the Hoka's would be good evening/shower shoes on the camino. Are they lightweight?
Disappointing for me. I've posted elsewhere that Birkenstocks hurt my flatish feet as they have such stiff high arches that do not work for me...ouch!A fraction under 300g. I looked at them but stuck with my Birkenstock EVAs.
No. I expect these conditions could exist together, and confuse the diagnosis, but I don't have Morton's Neuroma. The nerves are not affected - no "pebble in my shoe" or tingling toes. My pain is from the bones being scrunched together at the joints - more on top than the bottom.This is Morton's Neuroma. The nerves are scrunched and become inflamed.
Yes. I even rested my feet for 8 weeks (no recreational walking) in case it was. But the discomfort came back.I suspect stress fractures are a lot more common than known.
@henrythedog is correct. My pair of women's size 7s weighs 272 g and I think they are less bulky than Crocs. But yes, I would take them on the Camino if I didn't have another similar no-name pair that I've had for 10 years, that are perfect and weigh only 175g. I've been looking for ages for a replacement and only found the Hokas that have been acceptable to my fussy feet (aka "they who must be obeyed"). Now I can save the old ones for the Camino.I'm wondering if the Hoka's would be good evening/shower shoes on the camino. Are they lightweight?
Walking for an hour or two barefoot on squishy sand flats in the summer just about put me on crutches the next day. My husband thought it was very therapeutic for his feet.a complex bag of problems held in shape by the contents competing to fail.
my fussy feet (aka "they who must be obeyed")
Do dogs get PF? If so, front or back paws? All 4?Over a quarter of the bones in the human body are in your feet: 52/206, along with 60 joints and over 200 muscles, tendons and ligaments.
A physio friend of mine describes feet as a complex bag of problems held in shape by the contents competing to fail.
I’ve had episodes of debilitating plantar fasciitis over the years, the last of which terminated my CdMadrid in 2019. That was only relieved, at Tincatinkers advice, by liberal applications of orujo taken internally.
Significant weight-loss last year may now have resolved it.
YesDo dogs get PF? If so, front or back paws? All 4?
Paw dogs!! My two feet suffer so much. Cobbles and crazy paving! Thank you Spain!Yes
All four.
Plantars Fasciitis for Dogs · PetMassage™ Training and Research Institute
Full Title: Author: Date of Publication: PDF: Research Paper Text:petmassage.com
I’ve used recovery slides as my 2nd pair on my Caminos. Walking around town .Very lightweight. Can wear with socks. A treat for my weary feet. My wet feet did slide a bit in the slide So not as ideal for showers or walking in the rain. Only downside is that they are bulky but can be hung on the outside of your pack.@C clearly, I'm wondering if the Hoka's would be good evening/shower shoes on the camino. Are they lightweight?
I often have strange pains that bother me more at night than in the day. Maybe it is part of the whole mysterious healing process. In the middle of the night, I'll think "I'll never be able to walk as planned tomorrow" and then in the morning I am fine!I had a strange pain...
It didn't bother me during the day, just at night,
I have metatarsal issues -- insufficient fat pads on the bottoms of my feet, ruptured plantar plates, hammer toes, crunched-up nerves -- and am grappling again with getting the right combination of boots, insoles, orthotics, lacing (different lacing patterns can really help -- Google is good here), socks, etc. I have had plantar fasciitis in the past, too, but no longer do daily massage of the calf and shin muscles make an enormous difference for that. One constant that I hope never to be without: Oofos running recovery sandals. Oofos has several models; I swear by their thongs, which I took with me on the Camino Frances in 2018 and slid onto my feet as soon as I stopped each day. They're a one-piece sandal with a thick, cushy sole and arch support that takes pressure off the metatarsals and positions your weight over your heels and arches. Really supportive, really comfortable, and actually invigorating after a long day on The Way. (Dunking my feet in every cold stream along the way was also key, and a practice I continue on my daily New England walks in all weather.)@C clearly, I'm wondering if the Hoka's would be good evening/shower shoes on the camino. Are they lightweight?
I am extremely attached now to my Hoka recovery sandals - I wear them constantly around the house now. When I remove them and walk on the hard floor, my feet hurt. This is another example of how even the seemingly simple slip-on sandals need to suit your foot. The Oofos hit the wrong place on the top of my foot, but the Hoka are perfect.They're a one-piece sandal with a thick, cushy sole and arch support that takes pressure off the metatarsals and positions your weight over your heels and arches.
What a good idea that is.cause neither model has a true flex rock plate, I remove the insole, cut a silicon vegetable cutting board down to match the insole, and place that layer between the sole and insole as a rock plate.
What a good idea that is.
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Gerard
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