BootsnAll Travel Community

Another thread about feet

I just saw a foot Dr. and they told me my arches have fallen about an inch and that's the major source of my foot problems. Now, there is no way to have the orthontics made before I leave and they said that backpacking isn't really the ideal situation to break in a pair.

Anyone here have this problem? How did you deal?

Yes. I don't have health insurance. I would love orthotics, and yes, it may take two tries to get them right(though with my brother they worked immediately)

I have flat feet. I use:

Sandals with high arches:
Chaco canyons seem to be comfortable enough

I used to search for hiking boots with high arches, and wear Rocksports, which have good orthotics for plain old flat feet.

When I can't get Rocksports, I used Dr. Scholls generic orthotics and slip them into any shoes that seems lacking in arch support. So far they're doing fine, and I've worn them for a year with no problems.

Its a cheap fix for a potentially foot and trip flattening problem. No walkee well, no feelee well.

You have flat feet and you still wear shoes with arches?

I find that's what hurts me the most. I have a few pairs of shoes with higher arches and after a few hours of wearing them my feet ache.

They might take gatting used to, but from what I understood at my docs, the arches are there to keep your feet from getting flatter. So since mine dropped just a little bit, when I got inlays the added arches to ensure that the feet wouldn't get even flatter and to support the arches. Felt odd at first but now shoes without arches feel are the ones that fell really strange to me.

By the way, try researching this on http://www.medlineplus.gov/
It's one of my old standards for medical research because the info is really reliable and well researched. But if you're into alternative methods you'll need to look elsewhere.

Thanks Elis! I've used Medline quite often and prefer it to other medical databases. Although, the Health and Wellness database available through Infotrac isn't bad.

I'll just have to make due on my trip. There is simply no time.

I was born with flat feet, and orthothics shaped them to normal, more or less. Then after two years working in a hardware store, they fell again. Must have been the heavy lifting.

Thats when I started wearing rocksports. If your arches really have fallen, you need to support them or the weight will go onto other parts of your foot, which hurts much more.

Or so I've found.

Oh, and Libby, don't forget the other part of the equation when it comes to treating your feet well: pack light. Although I know that can be difficult. Especially in those final, exciting days before you leave. But every ounce in your pack means more hardship for your feet.

So love your feet, pack light, and have a great time (there! knew I could get at least one positive smiley in this thread!)

I am lucky in that I won't be doing all that much travelling with my pack. Weight, while an issue, isn't the make or break for me. But you are right that it's something I have to seriously think about because of my feet.

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. I only wish I had seen the specialist long before now. I just assumed the pain in my legs came from being on my feet all day at work and was nothing more than being tired.