Boots for Ailing Feet

[Stinky Buffalo]

Hey everyone,

I have an issue with my feet - on and off, I've had plantar fascitis, especially in my one foot, but I've been able to manage that with a careful selection of footwear, Voltaren, and orthotic insoles.

Now, I have a new condition over the past year now, which is Haglund's Deformity. Basically, I have a painful lump on each heel (more on one than the other).

While bear hunting last weekend, while wearing my Muck boots for over 10K (alternating between walking through standing water and dry trail) the heel slippage became so bad that I blistered badly.

And that's my quandary - if I have footwear that locks my heel in, my heel bump and Achilles tendon become sore and inflamed. If I wear looser boots, then they chafe.

I'm fairly comfortable in my Elk Trackers (and I do use a sock liner for chafing), but they are not great for super-long hikes and standing water.

Do any of you have a similar condition, and how do you deal with it?

TIA!

[Shtukscoda]

Hello, I've had issues with my feet pretty much my entire life from having too high an arch, I saw a podiatrist 12 years ago and got custom orthotic insoles made, I think the total cost was about $600 bucks at the time so not cheap, but worth every penny, and they're still holding up well after all this time.

I would definitely recommend going that route. Also as an fyi, the ones I had made were from molds they made of each of my feet, I had other ones made before that from a physio therapist that were ground into shape to match my feet, and they were complete garbage.

[Albertajeff]

I seen a foot specialist for similar issues. Had went through the orthotics rote in the past and wasn’t doing that again, didn’t work for me and was crazy expensive. Consulted my family dr with results from specialist and he told me he uses and recommended Superfeet Orthotics.

Done, never looked back. I order off of amazon. I have two pairs always and rotate them with new pair when the get worn right out. I just ordered a new pair for $44 last week and last about a year between two pairs.

[artie]

I have had plantar fascitis in the past and did lots of physio.
one thing they had me do was lots of stretching of the leg muscles which helped with the feet problems
But I wear always a good arch support i think they were around 500 dollars
But my health plan paid some of it if you get a doctors note.
But i have to wear good fitting mountain boots even for walks around town with the dog. I am using hanwags now but Mendals fit me better but I have not seen those for sale for a long time
So then you have to deal with the wet maybe try trail runners when you are in the wet and keep your other boots dry.
I recently watched Justin Outdoors on u tube where he hiked the great divide trail from the American border to north of Jasper in 36 days. He was young with no foot problems and used trail runners for all of it
I could not have hiked the section north of Jasper and been in wetlands and lots of stream crossings. Just with my age and foot problems I would not do it.another thing I tried was using a wet sock but that never worked for me.

[Deb]

I have felt your pain. Literally.

Had surgery for Haglund's (and Achilles' detachment, debriding and reattachment) in 2018 and, until then, the only relief I found was to raise my heel up on the affected foot. And even then, the relief was minimal and probably caused my Achilles' tendon to shrink even more. Anti-inflammatory and pain meds will only get you so far. If you do put a lift under your heel, watch your back - it changes the way you walk and may cause you another kind of discomfort.

If you consider surgery, do your research. It's a long and uncomfortable recovery. Feel free to message me if you need more information.

(The only shoes that don't seem to chafe against the area are Hoka Bondi - they're expensive, but work for me.)

[lmtada]

The Walk shoppe - Edmonton. Sells custom boots, and custom orthotics (expensive @ $500.00/each). Was skeptic at first. Wow. No knee pain. I can walk 15-20 km at 5-6k/hr. Looking forward to my Moose hunt (If We are drawn).
https://customorthopedic.ca/

[Pathfinder76]

Sheep Feet

[Stinky Buffalo]

Thanks for all of the responses, so far, Everyone!

Originally Posted by Deb

I have felt your pain. Literally.

Had surgery for Haglund's (and Achilles' detachment, debriding and reattachment) in 2018 and, until then, the only relief I found was to raise my heel up on the affected foot. And even then, the relief was minimal and probably caused my Achilles' tendon to shrink even more. Anti-inflammatory and pain meds will only get you so far. If you do put a lift under your heel, watch your back - it changes the way you walk and may cause you another kind of discomfort.

If you consider surgery, do your research. It's a long and uncomfortable recovery. Feel free to message me if you need more information.

(The only shoes that don't seem to chafe against the area are Hoka Bondi - they're expensive, but work for me.)

Absolutely - I've looked at the surgery, but the recovery and concerns about weakening my Achilles would make it a last resort. Thank you for the tip re: Hoka Bondi!

I've been avoiding heel lifts exactly for those reasons - Achilles shrinkage as well as how it changes how I walk, which can affect the hips, back etc. I have been using the Bauernfeind brace, which has been helping, actually. Just bulky. And I think I broke mine already, I need to do a bit of stitching to fix it up.

Originally Posted by lmtada

The Walk shoppe - Edmonton. Sells custom boots, and custom orthotics (expensive @ $500.00/each). Was skeptic at first. Wow. No knee pain. I can walk 15-20 km at 5-6k/hr. Looking forward to my Moose hunt (If We are drawn).
https://customorthopedic.ca/

Will check them out, thank you!

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

Sheep Feet

Never knew these existed, Pathfinder76. Very interesting concept for sure. Do you use these?

[Pathfinder76]

I do, yes.

[pikergolf]

Most medical plans cover custom orthotics if you have one. Just get a prescription from your family doc first.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Hey everyone,

I have an issue with my feet - on and off, I've had plantar fascitis, especially in my one foot, but I've been able to manage that with a careful selection of footwear, Voltaren, and orthotic insoles.

Now, I have a new condition over the past year now, which is Haglund's Deformity. Basically, I have a painful lump on each heel (more on one than the other).

While bear hunting last weekend, while wearing my Muck boots for over 10K (alternating between walking through standing water and dry trail) the heel slippage became so bad that I blistered badly.

And that's my quandary - if I have footwear that locks my heel in, my heel bump and Achilles tendon become sore and inflamed. If I wear looser boots, then they chafe.

I'm fairly comfortable in my Elk Trackers (and I do use a sock liner for chafing), but they are not great for super-long hikes and standing water.

Do any of you have a similar condition, and how do you deal with it?

TIA!

Sounds like we have similar feet! My left Achilles and left foot are touchy.
This seems to be associated more with my calf muscles than I realized. When I keep them stretched out my feet are a lot better. When it’s really bad I wear an ankle brace to bed, it keeps my foot in the “walking” position and not relaxed too much. When it relaxes my calf muscle bunches up and in the morning when I hit the floor everything gets stretched in a bad way. So instead of boots I’m suggesting a really deep calf massage by a professional and an annkle brace while sleeping.

[cody j]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Hey everyone,

I have an issue with my feet - on and off, I've had plantar fascitis, especially in my one foot, but I've been able to manage that with a careful selection of footwear, Voltaren, and orthotic insoles.

Now, I have a new condition over the past year now, which is Haglund's Deformity. Basically, I have a painful lump on each heel (more on one than the other).

While bear hunting last weekend, while wearing my Muck boots for over 10K (alternating between walking through standing water and dry trail) the heel slippage became so bad that I blistered badly.

And that's my quandary - if I have footwear that locks my heel in, my heel bump and Achilles tendon become sore and inflamed. If I wear looser boots, then they chafe.

I'm fairly comfortable in my Elk Trackers (and I do use a sock liner for chafing), but they are not great for super-long hikes and standing water.

Do any of you have a similar condition, and how do you deal with it?

TIA!

I don’t buy muck boots anymore, the lining on the heel can wear out quickly and when it does I will destroy your heel. Chinese junk

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Pathfinder76

I do, yes.

Great, thank you!

Originally Posted by calgarychef

Sounds like we have similar feet! My left Achilles and left foot are touchy.
This seems to be associated more with my calf muscles than I realized. When I keep them stretched out my feet are a lot better. When it’s really bad I wear an ankle brace to bed, it keeps my foot in the “walking” position and not relaxed too much. When it relaxes my calf muscle bunches up and in the morning when I hit the floor everything gets stretched in a bad way. So instead of boots I’m suggesting a really deep calf massage by a professional and an annkle brace while sleeping.

Ah yes, I have been using a Straßburg sock to help with that at night. It's not the greatest; I'll check with my doctor if I should be using someting more rigid. I have some more exercises that I'm beginning to do to stretch further up my hock.

Originally Posted by cody j

I don’t buy muck boots anymore, the lining on the heel can wear out quickly and when it does I will destroy your heel. Chinese junk

Aha! OK, so I'm not alone in that. Into the bin they go. Any suggestions?

I did have some Cambodian Tire Itasca rubber boots - they were by far the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. They didn't last long though. Pretty much disintegrated after two seasons.

[fordtruckin]

That sucks… literally! One thing I’ve done to help avoid my feet rubbing if your boots are a bit worn or loose is to double up on socks. Put a pear of wool dress socks on first and then your hiking socks. The dress sock holds to your foot better and takes the brunt of the rubbing. As for boots, have you tried a pair of the tennis shoe type hiking boots? Not sure if that will help or not. I have a pair of kennetrek hiking boots. Best pair of boot I’ve ever had for rough rocky country. Glad work paid for them as I would have never dropped +$400 for them. Good luck and let us know what you come up with.