[pct-l] nerve problems in feet/bigger size shoe needed

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

I think it was/is overly supportive shoes that have caused the  
problem for me. Since I have been home I have been wearing mostly  
very simple shoes walking to work. I made the mistake (yet again) of  
wearing stiff hiking shoes on a few recent hikes and it was horribly  
painful. My feet hurt less the simpler the shoes are.

Recently I bought some Feelmax shoes, which are pretty much like  
moccasins but they look like shoes. I wore them as well as some $40  
running shoes backpacking. The cheap sneakers felt better than any  
motion control, insole-plagued shoe I've ever used. The Feelmax shoes  
were extraordinary. I could feel the ground under my feet. I've  
always thought it was the shoes that performed, but in reality it is  
my feet that do the walking. My feet are sore now from wearing the  
Feelmax shoes (for about 7 miles!) but it's a different sore. There  
are a lot of muscles that never get used wearing shoes with arch  
support and a big heel. The Feelmax shoes forced my feet to use these  
muscles.

Just like it made sense when Ray Jardine said to get strong ankles  
wearing low-cut shoes instead of propping them up in big boots, I'm  
going to build strong feet wearing moccasin-like shoes. I'm not  
hiking the PCT (maybe dayhiking a few times) and not advocating  
moccasins (or VFFs or whatever other minimal shoes) for the PCT (that  
is your choice to make). But I do think this might actually help me.

I don't think I was born broken. Just made that way by walking too  
far in shoes that caused damage because they are not shaped like my  
feet. The podiatrist tells you that your metatarsals are unusually  
long and you have a gait problem. Having long bones should not be a  
medical issue unless they simply don't fit a product made on an  
assembly line. And what caused the gait problem? Those same products  
that don't fit the shape of your foot? I don't know but it seems to  
be the case for me.

Diane

On Apr 5, 2010, at 3:09 AM, Thomas Jamrog wrote:

> May not be bullshit.  There are vastly different reasons behind why  
> some people's feet heal and other people's don't.  I have tried all  
> the things you list including acupunture ( 12 sessions out of my  
> pocket) . Plantar facistis is a differing condition than the  
> neuromas that plague some of us. The body and especially the feet,  
> with the multitiude of small bones and nerve pathways is  
> astoundingly complex.  In my case it was a biomechanical gait  
> problem along with unusually long metatarsal bones that contributed  
> to my forefoot problem.  The podiatrist first thought I had a  
> stress fracture in my left forefoot,and then after ruling that out  
> with the x-rays, instantly pegged the problem as soon as I ambled  
> across the room. In a separate 2nd opinion,  an excellent PT came  
> up with the same reason without xrays by observing my gait in the  
> hallway.  The best info that has moderated my discomfort is from  
> Sherry Brourman, PT, " Walk Yourself Well" is essentially a bible  
> on gait recorrection.
> Uncle Tom
>
> Uncle Tom
>
> Follow Uncle Tom on the PCT 2010.
> 2,656 miles from Mexico to Canada.
> Tom is posting online reports on http://www.trailjournals.com/ 
> tjamrogPCT/
>
> tjamrog at me.com
>
> http://twitter.com
> httpp://tjamrog.wordpress.com
>
> On Apr 4, 2010, at 9:13 PM, Kathryn Zimmerman wrote:
>
>> Diane,
>> I can't believe a doctor told you that...that's bullshit!  I hiked  
>> the AT in
>> '07 at age 58 and my feet hurt every day due to plantar  
>> fasciitis.  By late
>> in the day I was hiking on the balls of my feet.  Poor insoles was  
>> probably
>> the main reason.
>>
>> When I got home I did deep tissue massage - lots of it!...then  
>> cold laser
>> therapy.  Then I pretty much stayed off them for a year.
>>
>> But they HEALED!  I only walked in Chacos in the summer and  
>> Dansko's in the
>> winter because they have good arches.
>>
>> Now, as I train for the PCT, I have no foot pain.  Zero, nada, I use
>> Birkenstock insoles.  And this time my feet will get massaged  
>> every time
>> before I stand up.
>>
>> But I want to say, they should heal.  Don't just accept foot  
>> pain.  Try cold
>> laser or acupuncture, better shoes with more arch support...but  
>> don't give
>> up!
>>
>> BagLady
>>
>>
>>> I'm 45. My feet hurt a lot more now than before the trail. I've
>>> always had a hard time finding shoes that fit and don't hurt and it
>>> is worse now. My toes used to be scrunched together. Now they are
>>> separated from each other. This means I have to buy bigger shoes  
>>> than
>>> before by about 1 or 2 sizes. No numbness or tingling. Just general
>>> soreness after hiking that goes away the next day, plus tendonitis
>>> and sesamoiditis.
>>>
>>> Every time I bring stuff like this up to my doctor he just says it's
>>> part of getting old (welcome to the ibuprofen club, he says) and  
>>> part
>>> of doing too much and that I should take it easy. But I like a life
>>> of adventure, so I live with the pain.
>>>
>>> Diane
>>>