[pct-l] Bunions and long distance hiking

[mkwart at gci.net]

Hi, Ruffwork:

I have a bunion on my right foot. The biggest thing I did to mitigate 
problems was start wearing shoes that were larger in the toe box. Hiking 
naturally makes your foot grow larger, and I have gone from wearing a 
woman's size 8 1/2 to a man's size 9, so my toes have more room to 
spread out.

I also got a custom made orthotic which I wore for several years. It had 
no padding on the bottom and the bottoms of my feet started to hurt 
after about 10 miles of hiking, so I now use "Sole" padded and arch 
support footbed. You heat the footbed in the oven, then insert it into 
your shoe and stand in it to mold it to your feet. I really like it.

As a result of wearing larger shoes it seems to me that my bunion is 
correcting a little. I also do stretches for the top of my foot and walk 
barefoot at home to strengthen my feet.

I decided not to have surgery, fearful of the recovery time cutting into 
my hiking. I asked people on this list serve the same question as you a 
few years ago, and some people had successful surgery. The consensus was 
that if the bunion wasn't painful, don't get surgery. Also, someone 
recommended going to a foot and ankle clinic where they treat foot 
problems holistically. Your gait may be causing part of the problem. I 
had a gait analysis for IT band problems and found I turn my right foot 
out too much and the arch collapses, causing pressure on the side of the 
big toe--hence the bunion. But this was only one part of the equation. 
Bottom line--distance hiking will continue to remain possible with some 
mitigating measures.

--Fireweed

--Fireweed