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Please recommend me some ankle walking boots that my physio will approve of

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi,

I'm back from the physio today still trying to get over this rotten plantar fasciitis (sp?) complaint. I've just ordered some blue spot heel cup gizmo's - My Physio said I could probably get them quicker than she could (I need them before start of June and it will save the NHS cash!). I've ordered two sets - one to keep in my regular trainers and the other set to shift between other shoes.

I am booked up to take the kids on a holiday where we hope to go walking, perhaps doing anything from 4-10 miles a day. My Physio would sooner see me go walking in basic trainers due to the cushioning effect, but I have a preference for a proper ankle walking boot for support and waterproofing. I have a Go Outdoors and Sports Direct within striking distance and wondered if anyone might have any recommendations for a walking boot with a huge amount of heel cushioning that I might be able to go and try on (I have awkward feet when it comes to boots - wide foot - high instep, so like to try them on if possible) at one of these big shops.

I'm currently using a Karrimor KSB 300 Skye with a Vibram sole - can I improve on this for cushioning? I'm happy to go and buy new boot if its worth doing so to give me a more comfortable holiday.


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 16-05-12 13:23; edited 1 time in total
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Megamum, Before I reached your final paragraph, I was going to suggest Karrimor - I have two pairs of trainer-type things by that company, and have walked many, many miles both rural and urban in them. Not sure
if your physio would approve but could you try inserting some of those memory-foam heel lift wotsits? I have some in a pair of Reebok easytone trainers which came too high up my heel and caused horrendous blisters - not a single one since using the memory-foam pads. They are pretty cheap and you can get them in - amongst other places, I'm sure - Matalan. The comfort is greatly improved too but whether they would address your condition, I don't know - perhaps worth investigating or asking your physio?
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Anniepen, The daft thing is that although I've never had problems with the Karrimor boots that I have I swear it was a pair of Karrimor walking trainers that gave me the problem in the first place - I bought them, wore them as regular shoes and I think the thin sole caused the initial bruising - it started about 3-4 weeks after I started wearing the Karrimor trainers. I've got memory foam whatsits in my Nike Running shoes (that I am wearing as the requested every day supportive and cushioned trainer). However, the way that they flatten I'm less than convinced that they help Laughing
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Don't forget that the Karrimor brand was bought out by Sports Direct a little while ago. I would hazard a guess that anything pre then is much better quality than post.
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Colin B, I think my current walking boots probably pre-date that buy out - they were about £65 from Blacks about 5-6 years ago
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I have a pair of Keens mine are low, but they do a variety, they are wide and very comfortable.

http://www.keenfootwear.com/us/en/wall/shoes/women/trailhead
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Trouble is, with softer soles your feet will wobble about more causing more strain on your ankles.

IMV, you may be better off with a normal, stiffer, boot but with a rubber or gel insole to absorb any shock.

You might try:
http://www.sorbothane.co.uk/
http://www.spenco.com/

There are loads of different versions so you might seek professional advice as to which one is best for you. Perhaps you could wave a product guide in front of your physio.

They can take up quite a bit of room so you'll need to use them when trying on boots.
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altis, that's a fair thought - I may even be able to use my existing boots with a suitable soft cushion-y insole.
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don't over do the cushioning in terms of either boot or insole, too much cushioning will accelerate the pronation of the foot which can exaggerate the pain.... a good insole needs to have a firm and deep heel cup which will compress the soft tissue of the heel pad form the sides, this stops the splay of the fatty pad on the base of the heel and give cushioning = to over 25mm of sorbathane

hopefully the physio had explained the mechanism of injury and found the route cause of either tight calf muscles, excessive pronation, traumatic incident or a combination of t or more , they should also have given you a few stretches to do along with some friction massage and perhaps even some ice to ease symptomatic pain at the end of the day and also the support from the insole and a few small routine changes to daily habits to reduce the tear /repair cycle which occurs and is the main reason PF is so hard to shake off

so in terms of boots i would look at a good boot with a firm insole so as to give control and use the natural cushioning which is in the heel, even a 1/2 decent trail shoe would be good, ankle & foot "support" comes from under the foot itself and not from a boot which (unless it is a crampon compatible rigid boot) will only give ankle protection in terms of knocks and abrasions
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Karrimor from Sports Direct are a house brand and a very different proposition from the KSBs of old I think in terms of quality and engineering.
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I leurve my Brasher boots. http://www.brasher.co.uk/catalogue/products/hillmaster-r-gtx-hillgtxwn
They are the most comfortable footwear I own.
Disclaimer: I don't have plantar fasciitis. I do have small, square-ish feet. I know nothing about walking boots. Toofy Grin
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Pedantica wrote:
I leurve my Brasher boots. http://www.brasher.co.uk/catalogue/products/hillmaster-r-gtx-hillgtxwn
They are the most comfortable footwear I own.
Disclaimer: I don't have plantar fasciitis. I do have small, square-ish feet. I know nothing about walking boots. Toofy Grin


+1 for Brasher boots, additional benefit seems to be that these are very well made and hard to wear out.
Also have been a fan of Walsh fell-running shoes/boots for years, quite minimalist, but well made and stable - which a super-cushioned boot would not be. Then go down the route of a quality insole/footbed (superfeet are very good) to help your feet move through a 'normal' range.
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CEM, thank you Very Happy Does this sound right?

The physio thinks I initially bruised the plantar fascitis and since then have done nothing except aggrevate it. She has explained that first thing in the morning is where the most damage is done, the foot relaxing and ending up toe lower than the rest of the leg thus shortening the achilles tendon. The moment I jump up and bend the foot and place the foot on a hard surface I stretch the shortened tendon too quickly and the plantar which has started to mend overnight sets up micro tears where it has started to join and I'm back to square one.

I have been banned from foot flat on the floor, I have to wake up and stretch the achilles for two minutes then immediately put on the training shoes. I have to stretch when I can during the day, do an ice bottle under my arch, find positions where I can stretch the tendon, and 'activate' the ankle and foot prior to movement after sitting, I also mustn't stretch down to a lower stair with the foot - so that's one stair at a time (very taxing), and mustn't wear my wellies (currently in plastic bags over the trainers to do the animals).

I explained about the upcoming walking trip. The instructions for that is to go, but take precautions, stretch after 20 mins walking and frequently during the walk, get some cold on it at the end of the day and take some anti-inflammatories at the day end too, and to put these blue spot heel cups into any shoe that I ultimately walk in. She wants to see me post holiday to see how much I've aggrevated it!!
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Ian Kenvyn, I've got green superfeet as insoles in my ski boots - I wonder if it would be worth seeing if they would fit my walking boots.
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Megamum wrote:
Ian Kenvyn, I've got green superfeet as insoles in my ski boots - I wonder if it would be worth seeing if they would fit my walking boots.


Possible - I too have superfeet insoles in my ski boots, but if memory serves they are designed for ridgid soled boots and there is a different insole for trainers. Sorbothame insoles are a good replacment, although I have a 2mm neoene insole that goes between the running shoe sole and the insole and it it is amazing how effective they are - but my issues are up in my knees rather than in the plantar area.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
here is some stuff i wrote a while back on this for our customers (couldn't find it earlier) just copied and pasted it in here, hope it is useful


Plantar fasciitis or PF is one of those injuries, which can affect anyone; young, old, fit or sedentary; it tends not to worry about whom is in the firing line. So what is the injury? The plantar fascia, a thick band like structure which runs form the medial side of the heel to the base of the 5 toes, it is neither ligament nor tendon although acts more in the way that a tendon would. Starting form a single point at the heel the band splits into 3 main sections and then again towards the front of the arch to form 5 attachment points at the base of the toes. Plantar fasciitis is in text book terms an inflammation of this structure, however often times there is no inflammation present just pain, this pain or inflammation can be anywhere along the length of the fascia but most commonly either at the insertion point on the medial tubercle of the calcaneus or in the medial arch.

The pain is normally worst on rising in the morning and after long periods of inactivity, many sufferers say that after the initial pain there is no pain for most of the day where others have a constant pain throughout the day. The easiest way to think about this pain during the first few steps is to understand what is happening. Where the fascia joins the heel bone it is covered in a membrane which links it to the Achilles tendon this in turn is fixed to the back of the leg via the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles and their associated tendons. If either of the calf muscles is tight then the Achilles will pull on the heel bone and in turn pull on the plantar fascia. Similarly excessive pronation (the collapsing of the arch ) can also cause tension on the fascia.

The actual injury happens when the heel is off the ground! As the arch raises and the toes are used to propel the body forward the plantar fascia is wound around the base of the toes just in front of the metatarsal heads, this winding up of the fascia creates tension in the arch, makes the foot more compact and helps to propel you forward, if there is additional tension form a tight calf muscle or excessive pronation then the fascia runs out of elasticity and begins to strain or even tear. Other causes of this strain can be a traumatic event, a sudden change of direction or even excessive pressure on the arch of the foot whilst digging the garden for example.

The reason the injury lasts so long is that every time you relax and rest your feet the tear starts to repair itself, not enough to be fully strong so every time you then stand up after a period of time you tear the fascia again, this tear repair cycle carries on day after day, week after week, month after month…. and each time a bit of scar tissue builds up on the fascia, scar tissue which takes longer to heal an hurts more when it gets damaged.

So how should we treat this injury?

1 We need to support the foot, a good supportive insole or orthotic needs to be used pretty much the entire time, I would recommend either the medical high profile or trim to fit green products from Superfeet, where other profile products can be used where required in tighter fitting footwear these two offer the best levels of support and cushioning in an off the shelf product. There is no need to spend hundreds of pounds on a rigid custom made orthotic which is likely to give no better response than the off the shelf product.

2 Stretching, calf stretches are key to keeping the tension off the plantar fascia, both straight and bent leg stretches should be done several times a day (when the muscles are warm) do not force the stretch, and always hold the stretch without bouncing for 30-40 seconds minimum to get the best effect.

3 Massage & ice, either use a pediroller or a 500ml water bottle which has been in the freezer to roll out under the arch from the heel to the ball of the foot, do this for 10-15 minutes every evening, the use of a golf ball being vigorously rubbed into the area of pain whilst uncomfortable in the short term can help with the break down of the scar tissue and promote faster healing. If you need some pain relief from ice during the day when an ice pack is not available biofreeze gel is a great source of short-term comfort.

4 Lifestyle changes, this is the hardest one for people to stick to, earlier we talked about the tear repair cycle of PF. The thing we need to do most of all is break this cycle to give the tissues time to heal and this is how we do it… The supports are now your life, do not stand or walk without them, this means that you should have the supportive insole in a shoe next to the bed and if you wake at 3am and need to get up to the toilet, you put on your shoes…your feet DO NOT touch the ground… before you do roll your ankles a few times to loosen everything off a little then shoes on and walk carefully so as not to stress or strain any of the soft tissue which is repairing itself. The same thing applies in the morning, put the shoes on and spend some time walking about to warm up the muscles and tendons before you take off the shoes to have a shower, this might mean a change in routine so that instead of heading straight for the shower, you go and have a coffee or feed the dog before taking the shoes off when the muscles have warmed up a little, this way you are less likely to do the tear bit of the cycle. Put tie aside in your day to stretch, 30-40 seconds each leg 3 times each leg 3 times a day for each of the two calf muscles use down time to do this, could be waiting for the kettle to boil or the toaster to pop, just pick a time and stretch. You also need to think about the kind of footwear that you wear, running shoes are great in terms of support and cushioning but not great for business meetings, very flat bally pumps or dolly shoes are not good as they have no structure and give no support or cushioning from the impacts of walking. Most importantly think about the most suitable footwear for the situation and consider the pain effects as well, you may need to wear a smart shoe for a meeting but sat at your desk or walking to the shops it is not required, you can also consider a ¾ length off the shelf orthotic insert for the smart office shoes which will help in reducing the pain when you do need to wear them.

All in all the sooner you start to get to grips with the pain the sooner it will start to go away, the only people I have ever seen with PF who have not had relief from the above plan are those who felt that it was not required to do all of the plan, those who couldn’t be bothered to stretch the calf muscles or thought party shoes were fine for all day wear.

One final point that age old thing that everyone assumes is linked to PF, the heel spur… only around 5% of PF sufferers have a heel spur contributing to their problems, it is perfectly possible to have a plantar heel spur and have no pain and just as possible to have no spur and agonizing pain.
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All this talk of 'trim to fit superfeet' started the old grey matter off - I have materialised a pair - practically brand new from the bottom of a pair of fashion boots where I put them in to take up some excess space. Where do I need them - do I need them in the trainers (Nike running shoes) that I am wearing daily? From what has been said I reckon the trainers are good enough without them - Yes? I can put them into other daytime 'office shoes' as well - such as when go to London on Friday.

Now what about these boots for walking on holiday - how about if I put the Superfeet into my existing walking boots? Would that sound a suitable combination to protect the heel when I'm out hiking? I've tried them and they fit. Should I think about adding in a blue spot heel cup when they arrive - is there any benefit in combining things like these or do the superfeet superseed something like the heel cups or vice versa.

CEM that was a very interesting read - the lifestyle things are the hardest to remember to do!
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Megamum, use the superset in everything that they will fit into, the trainers may give some cushioning but not enough support. i would also not try mixing product together it might work with some recipes but it doesn't work with orthotic insoles...thye want to sit flat in the bottom of footwear and not have additional things which can alter the angle at which they sit, maybe use the blue spot heel cup (not quite sure what ones you have got coming) in shoes that the super feet will not fit into


all of that and make sure you do the stretches /ice/massage/ lifestyle changes too Little Angel
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CEM, Excellent - I will do exactly that with the insoles - I'll put them straight into the trainers now Very Happy

The physio told me to buy these ones http://www.physiomedhomecare.com/Heel-Cups.html

It's the ice that hardest to remember - I'm being very good about not walking round in bare feet though! Toofy Grin
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Megamum, being honest those heel cups will only take some of the strain off the achillies and offer a squishy feeling, they won't do too much to solve the problem, just treating the symptoms
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Megamum, I got into the habit, some time ago, of doing calf stretches when I clean my teeth. My electric toothbrush does a 2 minute buzz - and in that time I do 30 seconds on each of the four calf stretches CEM describes. It's now almost a reflex - stick brush in mouth, stick foot out backwards. wink

I don't have PF but I do find that, with old age, getting straight out of bed onto bare feet in the morning is hard on the ankles. I have a routine including foot circling which I do before I get out of bed (I do the foot circling whilst doing "hugging knees" and glute stretching exercises). It makes a big difference. I find that unless I build that kind of thing into some daily routine, then with the best of intentions, it just doesn't happen.
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CEM, Well I put the superfeet into my tainers about an hour ago and I swear my heel is already feeling better - I was getting a lot of pain around the outer heel edge (Physio said where the foot was compensating for the PF pain and placing the weight elsewhere), that outer heel pain has now dulled considerably!!

pam w, I have got very good with my first thing in the morning stretches - I also discovered that cleaning teeth provided good opportunity too Toofy Grin
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Megamum, OMG Shocked I think this thread may have given me a real light bulb moment... got a horrible feeling I'm suffering with this. The symptoms you and CEM are describing are sounding awfully familiar Sad Thanks for posting!
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Megamum, Anyway... my recommendation for walking boots is these...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001VH6G9A/ref=asc_df_B001VH6G9A7896115/?tag=amz07b-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B001VH6G9A&linkCode=asn

Most comfortable things I've ever walked in (and totally waterproof), excellent boots. Comfy from the first wearing and I've walked miles in mine. Loved them so much, I bought a second pair. Bearing in mind I may well be having similar problems to you and they're comfortable for me, it might be useful info for you.
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If you want some off-width hiking boots then check out Altberg. They don't look fancy but they come in 5 width fittings. They're even made in Yorkshire and there are stockists around the country:

http://www.altberg.co.uk/
http://www.altberg.co.uk/Web/hiking_stockists_map.jsp
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altis, useful, thanks - I have wide feet and am going to Lockwoods tomorrow, to get walking boots. I see they stock Altberg boots. I will be guided by the fitters there as to the best boot for me (I have Brashers but they are not entirely satisfactory for me - doesn't help that my feet are very different from one another, let alone from everyone else's!).
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Schuss in Boots, altis, Many thanks, I'm hoping to get to the big outdoor shops before I go away, I'll look out for both those, but if I don't find anything suitable that I can try on I think I'll go with the Superfeet in the KSB's that I've got.
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I had a pair of them in extra narrow and they lasted as my summer boots for over 10 years. In those days you had to go to Richmond to be fitted. I only gave up on them 'cos I wore the soles away round the toes. The uppers were still fine.

If you want to spend serious money you can have a last made to the shape of your feet and they'll carry on making boots for you for as long as you need them.
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I tried all the cheap off the shelf supports - don't/didn't work. Went to a proper Orthotic dispensary ( in my case The London Orthotic Centre, referred by a pukkah consultant orthapaedic surgeon who specialises in feet) and paid £350 for one set of outrageously sculpted orthotics. These gave me blisters on my insteps for the first 2 weeks, but after this subsided - Hallelujah! Pay up and go to a specialist. Don't go to the local sports shoe shop and expect them to give you anything useful at all. IMHO. Your average physio will have very little useful to say on the matter.
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noggy, well that may have worked for you but i have seen countless people with these lovely £350 + orthotics which are disastrous for their condition, there was a great company in london charging over £1k a set who were closed down by trading standards a while back, but not before 100s of people fell for the sales patter and the false testimonials (think it was the testimonials that got them)... you mention the cheap off the shelf supports...how much were you paying? i had a client last month who was convinced everything we had in stock was like the things he had tried, i showed him 6 different off the shelf profiles and he said the same thing to each..."iv'e had one like that," and to the next one , "yes i have had one like that too" problem is that not one of the product he had bought had cost more than £15, 1/2 the price of any of the products we had suggested and probably about 10% of the support level too. eventually he went for a set of the superfeet green product and he came back in last week, i though he was going to be looking for the refund under the guarantee, but no he wanted to tell me that he had managed to walk round the golf course for the first time in 18 months.

as for phyios knowing nothing about PF, i guess that depends on the physio, but the ones i work with have great understanding of the condition and how to deal with it, with all specialists you need to select them carefully
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 Poster: A snowHead
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Megamum, I suffer from a connective tissue disorder which effects my feet a lot being in constant pain. I have a pair of Aku Trekker Lite GTX boots which I wear every day and have done for the last 2 years I walk about 5 miles a day and have found them to excellent. They give good support and have never a blister from day one, they don't stop the pain but make it manageable. I still use their standard insoles and found them better than super feet which made things worse.
On the exercise front I practice Ti Chi especially the movements of Qigong I have found this to be excellent and it takes about 20 mins a day. There are numerous videos on you-tube one I use is
http://youtube.com/v/c60u6WfChmM&feature=channel&list=UL I hope this information is of help to you.
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I bought a pair of Altberg Fremington boots yesterday in Lockwoods - in extra wide. With an "off the shelf" pink Superfeet insole, which was what the bootfitter recommended. Been wearing them shopping in Chichester this morning (not what the well dressed Chichester shopper is wearing...) and they are feeling good.
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http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=82847&start=40#2055972

Have a look at my report here in the ski injury and rehab thread - my physio liked the Green Superfeet.
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