[pct-l] Desperately need help for "Delicate Princess Foot Syndrome"

[hdfullofrox at yahoo.com (Maggie)]

Thanks for the contact cement idea!

I admit to not having put a GREAT deal of effort into
the podiatrist route thus far. However, I have spoken
to one podiatrist who suggested I wear cotton socks. I
was not particularly impressed with that advice, as
you can well imagine.

Other podiatrist offices I have called have required a
referral from my regular doctor. I don't actually HAVE
a regular doctor...and don't have health insurance.
Interesting way the medical world works these days. At
any rate, I initially became rather discouraged by my
attempts to find help from the medical community. At
this point however, I might just show up and hold a
podiatrist's office hostage with my hiking poles if
that's what it takes to get back on the trail.

Your feet sound VERY similar to mine. However (and I
have long since lost the little worksheet from my foot
measuring) I recall that my forefoot still falls
within the "narrow" category.

I usually get blisters on my heels. Even if I let them
callous over, they will develope a new blister on top
of the callous on the next hike. Occassionally I've
even gotton blisters on the BOTTOM of my heels-- ouch!

I started trying out sandals, and initially had
excellent results. This weekend's trek over Donahue
Pass to Thousand Island Lake on the JMT resulted in my
toes rubbing together and blisters forming between my
toes! (That's a first!) With unbearable foot fatigue
after about 4 hours of hiking, even with numerous
stops and chances to soak my feet in the streams. I
literally cried for the last 3 hours of the hike to
Thousand Island Lake on Saturday-- which took about 3
hours longer than it ought to have!

The GOOD news is that my HEELS are blister free this
time-- small consolation considering I'm back at home
now.

~Maggie

--- Steve Peterson <steve_peterson@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

> OK, I may as well chime in, too, having just gone
> the custom orthotic route.
> 
> Reading between the lines a bit, it sounds like your
> feet are similar to mine in 
> that we both have a high arch and narrow heel. I,
> too, can't lace the 
> shoes/boots too tightly because of the high instep
> which means my heel will 
> slide around if the shoes aren't a good fit. My
> podiatrist also pointed out that 
> my feet are extremely flexible and I have a wide
> forefoot. This combination of 
> high arch, narrow heel, etc etc, he says, makes my
> foot very difficult to fit a 
> shoe to (which I knew from experience) and difficult
> to control which means that 
> as I walk it's flexing and working very hard to keep
> me upright (and the shoe 
> isn't helping by supporting it in the correct
> places) which is why they're darn 
> tired at the end of the day. Sound familiar?
> 
> He built me some orthotics that cup the heel
> (keeping it in place and preventing 
> it from flattening out), and support the arch and
> the rear portion of the 
> metatarsals. These have made a world of difference
> in the way my feet feel at 
> the end of the day.
> 
> If I were in (ahem) your shoes, I'd get the feet
> under control first, then deal 
> with the blisters. Orthotics are an interface
> between your footwear and your 
> feet; you therefore have to select/make them
> together. Find a podiatrist who 
> deals with atheletes and who is at least willing to
> consider footwear other than 
>   stiff boots. Mine wanted me to get shoes that
> weren't so flexible he could tie 
> them in knots (he twists them longitudinally) and I
> can see the logic to that 
> (for my feet). We ended up trying New Balance 906s
> which are stiffer than 
> running shoes but still more like running shoes than
> boots and still fairly 
> cushy (which I need for other reasons). Not saying
> 906s are right for you, just 
>   indicating how the orthotics were made to work
> with the shoes.
> 
> Re the blisters, you don't say specifically, but I'm
> guessing because of your 
> foot problems you don't get to hike
> consistently--I've found that my calluses 
> don't really build up until I've done several months
> worth of weekend hikes (not 
> huge mileage, just getting out there and doing
> *something*). Also, I have found 
> as countless others have, that it's really hard to
> avoid blisters with boots or 
> other rigid footwear--especially if your foot, like
> mine, is flexing and moving 
> all around in the shoe. I ended up using Wrightsocks
> double layer socks when I 
> was using boots; with the NB 906s almost any sock
> seems to work fine. My guess 
> is that your foot is flexing/moving so much in the
> shoe that it's going to rub 
> somewhere; if you can get the flexing under control
> (with orthotics) maybe the 
> blisters will be easier to resolve (you don't say
> whether they always show up in 
> the same spots).
> 
> Finally, orthotics aren't a quick and easy
> solution--they require time to fit 
> and make, then a ton of fine tuning (unless you get
> lucky). But it's worth it in 
> the long run. Heck, it's almost worth a visit just
> to play with one of those 
> fancy models of the foot with all the bones and
> springs -- makes you wonder how 
> the heck a foot lasts longer than a week or two.
> --Steve
> 
> P.S. try contact cement to hold the heel pads in
> place--just make sure you get 
> them positioned correctly before they contact the
> shoe because you will *not* 
> move them once they touch! You can get the stuff at
> places like Home Depot, 
> Lowes, etc.



		
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