[pct-l] Foot Expansion

[Yoshihiro Murakami]

Dear Shroomer

You wrote :
>  When you really use your feet, as in a thru hike, all
> the incredible network of muscles grow and become stronger and bigger, and
> the structure of the foot seems to actually spread, hence the need for a
> wider toe box.

As a whole, I agree, but became nervous about " the structure of the
foot seems to actually spread".

You also had written "That is funny.  I needed to be able to strap one
of those on after about 2pm, when the steps got a bit slower." in
response to the passive walking robot at 2011/05/16.

How does your arch of foot changed? If the arch became  lower, there
is a probability of flat foot, which may be resulted from the overuse.
The flat foot cannot kick ground effectively, so the flat foot person
are easy to fatigue. You are trained enough, and you seems to be
supplemented by your physical strength.  But if your arch remains
high, you can walk  longer with constant speed.

In my case, my foot became large very slowly in 20 years (rated is
1/20 size/year) . My arch of foot also became high, but the width of
foot remains narrow. So, I need not  wide boots. In Japan, wide
footwear are predominant, and all the footwear are small for me. I
import footwear from USA personally. ( I am sorry my favorite boots is
Asolo Titan with soft insole. In every day life, I wear boots, so the
weight is not my concern. )

My walking speed is slow, but stay constant, never became slow after 2
pm. Last summer, I had to shorten my schedule due to my wife. So I
walked until 7 pm two days with an accelerate speed ( from Agnew
Meadows to Purple Lk, and from Purple Lk to VVR  via Goodale Pass )

I have just noticed the probability of overuse syndrome is included in
the foot expansion phenomenon. If your arch became lower, the
efficiency of kick is disturbed, and it mus be compensated by the
muscle power of your sole. Then the energy consumption will increase.


-- 
Sincerely
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Hiro    ( Yoshihiro Murakami  村上宣寛 )
facebook  http://www.facebook.com/completewalker
Blogs  http://completewalker.blogspot.jp/
Photo  https://picasaweb.google.com/104620544810418955412/
Backpacking since 1980 in Japan, A foreign member of PCTA
JMT, 2009, 2010, 2011(half), 2012
Handbook of Hiking will be published in 2013
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