[pct-l] Feet Expansion

[christinpruett at hotmail.com (christin pruett)]

I had a size 7 foot for approximately 10 years until I thru-hiked since then 
it has been a size 8.  I'm pretty sure this isn't a perception issue, or is 
it?  I perceive that my feet are bigger and damn if they aren't!  For many 
people the repetitive pounding with increased body weight (ie. carrying a 
pack) makes their feet expand.  I'm not sure what the clinical explanation 
is... but it is definitely a reality (any MDs out there?).  Also, I wore 
boots on my entire thru-hike ...  So anyone who has never thru-hiked should 
take heed, it can happen, has happened, and is pretty miserable when it does 
happen.


>From: ROYROBIN@aol.com
>To: Bighummel@aol.com, pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Feet Expansion
>Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 17:32:57 EDT
>
>I went from size 12 to size 13, but that was when I started running
>seriously, not when I began thruhiking.  You may be right, that foot 
>expansion is more
>perception than reality.  I increased my shoe size because my toes hurt.
>That's when I began running.  Did my toes hurt because I was running or 
>because my
>original shoes were too small.  I suspect the answer to that is, "Yes, to
>both."
>
>When we begin running or hiking long distances, we quickly get the message
>that our toes need more room.  I suspect that most of us wear shoes that 
>are a
>size too small until we start really testing our feet.  Does this make 
>sense to
>anyone else on this list?

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