Boots - sore feet

[R D S]

You're a sage & experienced old bunch hence I thought i'd put this to you;

I bought some new boots (Grisport Fuse) at the back end of last year, from a long established outdoor shop and took advice from the proprietor re size and fit. immediately did a fair bit of walking in them (up to 8 miles per day) and over the course of a couple of weeks got sore feet.

Barely worn them since but thought i'd do a bit this weekend, did a couple of miles on Friday and 3.5 today and I have sore feet again. The soreness is around the broadest part of the foot, in front of the ankle, it doesn't look bruised, feels sort of like it has been crushed.

I've never had bother with footwear before beyond rubbing, can't decide what to do ie. get some different boots or man up and see if it sorts itself out.

[David]

If your arch is hurting then it may be that the boots lack arch support.

Don't know which shop you used, but Cotswold Outdoors seem to have a reasonable boot fitting service.

If the boots fit around the edges then you may need some inserts to provide more support for the foot.

Is the pain only in the top of the foot?

Could be something as simple as having the laces too tight, but I would go back to the shop where you bought them and describe the symptoms or alternatively go to your nearest reputable boot store.

Cheers

Dave R

[mick]

I'd try playing with the lacing. Undo the laces until you reach a point in front of where the tightness begins, keeping the laces reasonably tight. At this point tie them off so that they don't move (check that you can still get the boots off and on!). Your heel should be as far back as possible. Now carry on with the rest of the lacing, but you won't need to lace as tightly so there'll be less constriction.

[R D S]

The pain is largely in the top of the foot. I bought some new footbeds for them yesterday in the hope that this would improve matters.

The chap there when I bought them certainly seemed knowledgeable, had me walking up and down a ramp in various sizes. This is part of the reason it's pissing me off, i'd normally buy something on the net and have no bother but put a bit of effort in and I can't wear the chuffing things!

[rick]

Footbeds may actually make it worse as it narrows the free space. Are you using a good hiking sock ?these have loop pile area over the upper foot to protect against lace over pressure.

[polygonum]

I have great difficulty in finding footwear that doesn't cause that! My unusual feet mean that the upper can very easily press down on my instep. No visible bruising but very uncomfortable and once "crushed" that can last for days.

As others have said, loosen laces. I usually have laces so loose that I can easily slip shoes off without undoing them. And good, soft, padded socks - but be careful that they don't actually increase pressure.

[F Murtz]

Unless you are stomping through rough terrain, use what professional walkers,runners wear not boots.

[Brian Gaff]

You don't say what they are made of or what the insides are lined with. Normally leather can be softened and made looser. The effect sometimes occurs due to the bend when only the toes are on the ground kind ofbringing down the top onto the top of the foot some way back from the toes. I tend to pack mine out when not in use untill it either stops or I throw them out in disgust...:-) Brian

[PeterC]

That works for me. On some boots I slacken the laces below a certain point, then tie a reef knot and carry on lacing. On shoes, I tend to start lacing 1 or 2 'holes' up. I like the laces tight, as I can't stand(!) the shoe moving on my heel.

[polygonum]

Not appropriate for many reasons:

Running shoes, trainers, etc. are not acceptable for work; I cannot buy such footwear that fits my feet comfortably. Simply not available.

[Allan]

One solution might lie with the insoles. I understand that boot manufacturers supply an insole that is effectively worth no more than a piece of cardboard because they cannot expect to know what each person's feet are like and they expect you to replace the cardboard and use something like Superfeet insoles which adapt to your own feet. If you are near Whalley (Lancs), I would recommend Whalley Warm and Dry for their fitting service and their different level of custom insoles Website:

They have various types of insoles ranging from off-the-peg, through off-the-peg moulded on a heated pad while you wait, and full custom-built insoles. I have no connection with Whalley Warm & Dry other than as a customer. I have used them to buy boots and have been impressed, and know other walkers who have used them with similarly satisfactory results.

As another poster pointed out, maybe trail shoes would be an option instead of boots, but it depends on your prefernece, the terrain you walk on and the weather.

I have x-posted to uk.rec.walking as although that group is now quiet-ish, you might get some feedback from there too.

[David]

Depending on which shoes you are saying you can't buy, and what the shape of your foot is; have you tried New Balance trainers?

I have a broad foot, and NB do 4E width fitting which seems to suit me. I haven't yet found any other trainer which fits.

I happened to be in Sydney a while back, and there was a shoe sale on. Went in just to see if they had anything different (Sydneysiders seem very much into trainers and running in general) and the shop manager said that they had plenty of wide fittings and he was sure he could sort me out.

After working his way through the usual suspects I ended up with another pair of New Balance.

My main issue is that most shops in the UK don't seem to stock the extra wide fittings (although there is no evidence that Brits have delicate narrow feet).

Brasher (now Berghaus) boots seem to fit me O.K. although most other lasts don't.

Brasher come in leather which can be smart enough for work (I assume that it is appearance not foot safety that is the issue).

Oh, and I wouldn't be too hard on the boot fitter, if the problem is in the area of arch support. I think that this is quite hard to diagnose on an initial fitting.

It may be worth seeing your doctor and getting an appointment with a podiatrist, who can diagnose foot problems and provide orthotics to ease or correct them.

Cheers

Dave R

[Richard]

Why not contact Grisport and ask there?

They might be keen to be helpful.

[Huge]

I have some black leather trainers I've worn with a suit. You wouldn't know they're trainers from a distance and they polish up quite nicely.

I like these, although they stopped making my favourites.

[alan_m]

Or the tongue is rippled and has maintained that shape as it dried out. I've had this on one set of working boots and cured by removing laces and liberally applying some Aussie leather conditioner.

Random example of product listing - not necessarily the best price

It has a grease like consistency and it softens the leather. I now use it on new leather shoes/boots by applying thickly, then immediately wearing the foot-ware for a couple of hours and then buffing up the leather with a clean rag. I find with this method the shoes/boots assume the shape of my feet better with no pressure points.

[polygonum]

Extreme width (my current shoes are marked HH+) plus an extremely high instep that rises very steeply. Add a heel that, whilst "normal" to others, is relatively narrow. And the inability to wear footwear with built-in arch supports. If I can't move my big toe over on top of its neighbour, I am very uncomfortable. I need at least a small heel - so flat footwear is also out.

I have had appointments with both podiatrists and a foot consultant. Both prescribed exercises and one also prescribed orthotic inserts. The exercises hurt like hell to do and simply left me almost unable to walk at all. The orthotics were even worse. Worn for less than two hours, around the house, and a fortnight of pain ensued.

I wear the few shoes I can manage and use very soft diabetic insoles. Some also need a small heel wedge.

[N_Cook]

For general insoles, forget the proper purpose made in-soles, they either soon degrade or squash to next to nothing. Go to a carpet shop and get some Moonwalk (TM) perforated bathroom spongey mat runner sold by the metre run, also sold recently in Lidl as dining table place mats curiously. Cut to your own size left and right foot, great summer-time advantage of being perforated material . Swap and invert left and right insoles every now and then.

[PeterC]

Have a look at the middle part of this article

and see if the solution differs from what was prescribed for you - it might help.

I'm lucky in that, with suitable trail shoes, I can get away with Superfeet Green inserts.

[Peter Clinch]

Looking those up they're pretty chunky, and while it's still widespread popular belief that you need dreadnoughts with a high cuff to go off tarmac more and more folk have found out that the easiest way to stop getting sore feet is have them do less work, so lighter uppers and a more flexible sole. The usual cry is "what about ankle support?", but ankles have evolved over a long time in to a decent thing for the job of walking around and not collapsing at the first sign of rough ground.

So I'd have a look at a walking shoe, or a "trail runner" (no running required) with a decent off-road sole.

I'm a happy Superfeet user, but they don't adapt to feet (unless you get the particularly expensive custom-moulded sort), and note that different insoles are aimed at different things. Superfeet particularly to help against over-pronation, and as I tend to over-pronate that's why I use them (in shoes, big winter boots are chunky enough to solve the problem by themselves).

The terrain is much less of an issue than people assume. Look at what orienteers and fell runners go over, at speed, in glorified trainers and it's soon clear boots are not needed for rough terrain. Where they really score is on snow, keeping feet warm and giving the stiffness to kick steps in re-frozen snow, and the rigidity to hold crampons. Preference is a trump, of course, but most people change preference to lighter shoes as soon as they try them.

Pete.

[Nick Maclaren]

Quite. They need exercising, of course, just like anything else, which can be a bit of a problem for people without easy access to rough going. But you actually need heavier shoes for tarmac, to reduce the cartilage and bone damage - on the advice of a physiotherapist, I use Full Strike insoles on my sandals.

H'it h'isnt the 'eavy 'auling as 'urts the 'orses 'ooves; Hit's the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer, on the 'ard 'ighway.

Stiff soles do a lot of harm - they cause people's feet to weaken, they chew up trails, and they interfere with balance. You need fairly solid soles for sharp rock, stones, thorns etc., but traditional (i.e. Roman, Indian etc.) sandals do fine. If it were not for the cold and wet, and things like heather, I would use them for more walking. Going barefoot isn't often feasible in the UK because of the cold and wet, though I do it on occasion, and have done it elsewhere.

Regards, Nick Maclaren.