Home from my Camino and my feet are changed...(along with the rest of me.)

[kelleymac]

So I walked the camino with my 14 year old son in March/April of this year. Before I left I was concerned with my feet as I often had heel pain if I stood still for over 5 minutes or walked with a load. I damaged my feet badly in 1987 in a 12 foot fall while rock climbing (I was being stupid.. but that's another story.). For two years I walked on the balls of my feet, not my heels. I saw all kinds of foot specialists. Slowly my heels improved, but never healed completely. I saw a sports doctor before I left for Spain-- in the hopes of stronger pain killers than ibuprofen-- but the Dr suggested physical therapy, saying he thought that by walking on the balls of my feet, some foot muscles had weakened. -- So there I am weeks later, walking the camino, and my feet are killing me. The blisters and impact on my toes (my shoes were too small), overwhelmed any pain in my heels. I took ibuprofen regularly, even to sleep. I ended up loosing both my big toe nails. Sometimes when I was walking my feet would cramp up, but then they'd get better. I kept walking. At night, I swear I could feel my feet healing. -- In Santiago, my too small shoes were tossed in the bin, and I appropriated my son's shoes, and left him to walk in his sandals. His shoes were heaven! -- Since I've gotten home, I have had no problem in standing. My feet literally touch the ground differently than they did. My guess is that walking for days and days on end increased muscle size and strength. I ordered hiking shoes (men's shoes) that have more toe room than women's, and they're a size and half bigger than I used to wear. I find I really hate my once beloved mephisto clogs, because they squish my toes and remind me of the hated too-small-hiking shoes I wore for weeks. My feet are wider now and I seem to want to use my toes more when I walk. The idea of wearing heels is appalling. -- I am wondering if anyone else experience new foot strength on coming home, and the need to toss out most of their shoes. -- For me, having strong healthy feet after almost 30 years is a miracle. --

 

[dougfitz]

I don't know about foot strength, but after a couple of long pilgrimage walks, my old comfortable street shoes are very tight, and I have moved up a couple of sizes in the hiking footwear I buy.

 

[wayfarer]

Same here, left home with just big feet, came home with two barges.
Went up at least one size.

 

[dougfitz]

Same here, left home with just big feet, came home with two barges.
Went up at least one size.

In 2010, I walked in a pair of size 42 Scarpa boots. I knew these were not really big enough for the foot expansion that I expected, and I replaced them with a pair of size 43 3/4 Asolo boots in 2012. I currently wear size 45 Scarpa, although I occasionally wear the Asolos with summer weight socks.

 

[Kanga]

My feet are now paddles. I no longer need flippers when swimming....

 

[cher99840]

Count me in the big feet group. In US lingo I wore a size 9 but bought size 10 for the Camino in 2013. Bought size 11 for St Olav's this year.

 

[SafariGirl]

Ouch! These aren't posts that I'm happy to read . I already feel I have big feet for my size, so the prospect of them growing larger is not good news...but looking on the positive side my natural sense of balance is not great, so maybe bigger feet will help in that department...que sera sera...

 

[Kanga]

@SafariGirl that is funny! I love the idea of bigger feet helping with balance.

 

[vgen5122]

So I walked the camino with my 14 year old son in March/April of this year. Before I left I was concerned with my feet as I often had heel pain if I stood still for over 5 minutes or walked with a load. I damaged my feet badly in 1987 in a 12 foot fall while rock climbing (I was being stupid.. but that's another story.). For two years I walked on the balls of my feet, not my heels. I saw all kinds of foot specialists. Slowly my heels improved, but never healed completely. I saw a sports doctor before I left for Spain-- in the hopes of stronger pain killers than ibuprofen-- but the Dr suggested physical therapy, saying he thought that by walking on the balls of my feet, some foot muscles had weakened. -- So there I am weeks later, walking the camino, and my feet are killing me. The blisters and impact on my toes (my shoes were too small), overwhelmed any pain in my heels. I took ibuprofen regularly, even to sleep. I ended up loosing both my big toe nails. Sometimes when I was walking my feet would cramp up, but then they'd get better. I kept walking. At night, I swear I could feel my feet healing. -- In Santiago, my too small shoes were tossed in the bin, and I appropriated my son's shoes, and left him to walk in his sandals. His shoes were heaven! -- Since I've gotten home, I have had no problem in standing. My feet literally touch the ground differently than they did. My guess is that walking for days and days on end increased muscle size and strength. I ordered hiking shoes (men's shoes) that have more toe room than women's, and they're a size and half bigger than I used to wear. I find I really hate my once beloved mephisto clogs, because they squish my toes and remind me of the hated too-small-hiking shoes I wore for weeks. My feet are wider now and I seem to want to use my toes more when I walk. The idea of wearing heels is appalling. -- I am wondering if anyone else experience new foot strength on coming home, and the need to toss out most of their shoes. -- For me, having strong healthy feet after almost 30 years is a miracle. --

I walked the Camino France's for 50 miles with small shoes in August of 2013. We were in a small town and I was able to buy bigger shoes, but they were running shoes. They were not very good as I ended up feeling every rock or pebble my feet walked over. I know your pain and next time it will be different for me. Glad to hear your feet are doing better. Buen Camino.

 

[nidarosa]

I met a lady who kept falling over and couldn't understand why ... I remembered wobbling a bit myself after buying new and much bigger mid boots in Logroño, so I asked if maybe she had bought larger shoes for the camino, and she had. I am all for that, but make sure you walk in them a bit before you go, because you will need to adapt to the larger contact area with the ground!

Oh, and yes, my feet are now bigger, or at least I prefer my shoes a size up from what I used to do, and I never wear heels anymore (I blame it on the PF). And they are much happier.

 

[melaniedc]

My Goodness this makes me soooooooooo freakin Happy!!! I have heal pain like mad, wear braces at night, been to the docs, physical therapy, blah, blah, blah... all that! I've found some shoes that are less painful to walk in HOKA's .. and I am walking the Camino starting Sept 2 NO MATTER WHAT Ha! If it helps my feet in the long run I am super happy! What a gift!!! Maybe that's the reason I'm going and I didn't even know it! Thank you for this Ah, the feeling of hope is sooo nice!

 

[Kanga]

@melaniedc your joy is infectious. Lovely to see. Have a wonderful camino.

 

[volleyjanice]

You people and your tales of terror are worrying me! I already have enough difficulty housing these pontoons in decent looking footwear without worrying about an increase in their size! I suppose all the little people on the Camino can look for our discarded boots for shelter when the bed shortage looms!

 

[Katie Soup]

@SafariGirl that is funny! I love the idea of bigger feet helping with balance.

Uh Oh! I am a 9 b/c of having 4 children. Ha Ha! Now I may need bigger hiking shoes for Camino. Yikes! LOL!

 

[ricitosdeplata]

Just have to share my experience with buying larger shoes for the camino. I happened to mention what size I bought to my mother, who is barely 4ft 8 in (about142 cm+) and wears size 7 US shoe size. At 92 still grieving for Dad, who had just died a few months earlier, she was understandably not as interactive or lively as she once was. Well, to my joy, I never saw her laugh so hard or as long, to hear that I had bought size 11 shoes. Through muffled laughs she revealed, "Your dad wore the same size!" So now in addition to becoming "the son she never had" as I impress her with my willingness to take on chores Dad used to take care of, I also have the feet to show for it.

 

[SafariGirl]

@SafariGirl that is funny! I love the idea of bigger feet helping with balance.

Your 'paddles' description made me smile too Kanga!

 

[mikevasey]

I used to be size 10(UK), I now wear 11. After my 1st Camino I realised that I couldn't tolerate slightly tight shoes. Since probably my late teens I must have become used to cramped footwear, it needed the Camino to come along with its blisters and foot pains to make me look at what I was wearing.

 

[Angelo]

Yes, my shoe size definitely changed too!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Wearing a backpack adds weight just as a growing baby does during pregnancy, add to that the 30 000 daily steps,and voilà: huge flat feet!

 

[bystander]

My feet are now paddles. I no longer need flippers when swimming....

Kanga, large wide shoes/boots are known, hereabouts, as "bog-plodders"!

 

[Kanga]

@bystander quite appropriate for me; there is some Irish ancestry and Sydney has been cold and wet lately. Bogs anticipated.

 

[peregrina2000]

My Goodness this makes me soooooooooo freakin Happy!!! I have heal pain like mad, wear braces at night, been to the docs, physical therapy, blah, blah, blah... all that! I've found some shoes that are less painful to walk in HOKA's .. and I am walking the Camino starting Sept 2 NO MATTER WHAT Ha! If it helps my feet in the long run I am super happy! What a gift!!! Maybe that's the reason I'm going and I didn't even know it! Thank you for this Ah, the feeling of hope is sooo nice!

Hi, Melanie, If you wear orthotics, make sure they are not hard plastic. I found that out the hard way years ago. Hard plastic orthotics on the Camino intensify the shock of the foot strike and I wound up with heel pain that ended my Via de la Plata. Since then I´ve had silicone orthotics, and my heels have been happy for every camino I´ve taken, even some at 1200 kms! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Hi, Melanie, If you wear orthotics, make sure they are not hard plastic. I found that out the hard way years ago. Hard plastic orthotics on the Camino intensify the shock of the foot strike and I wound up with heel pain that ended my Via de la Plata. Since then I´ve had silicone orthotics, and my heels have been happy for every camino I´ve taken, even some at 1200 kms! Buen camino, Laurie

When I walked el Norte with hard plastic orthotics I developped planter fasciitis. I consulted a podiatrist and she put me on soft orthotics full ti,e for a month and then on the Camino I had to alternateur between the two. Not a day of pain! Laurie's advice is worth listening to. Go visit a good podiatrist before leaving home. And BTW, the soft ones only cost 50$, but were still prescription.

 

[melaniedc]

Hi, Melanie, If you wear orthotics, make sure they are not hard plastic. I found that out the hard way years ago. Hard plastic orthotics on the Camino intensify the shock of the foot strike and I wound up with heel pain that ended my Via de la Plata. Since then I´ve had silicone orthotics, and my heels have been happy for every camino I´ve taken, even some at 1200 kms! Buen camino, Laurie

When I walked el Norte with hard plastic orthotics I developped planter fasciitis. I consulted a podiatrist and she put me on soft orthotics full ti,e for a month and then on the Camino I had to alternateur between the two. Not a day of pain! Laurie's advice is worth listening to. Go visit a good podiatrist before leaving home. And BTW, the soft ones only cost 50$, but were still prescription.

Thank you both kindly I have been to both a podiatrist and a rheumatologist actually (my lab work is borderline positive for rheumatoid arthritis). I actually am not wearing any orthotics (I have had special made ones, prescription ones that just didn't help OR made it worse! .... but I haven't had silicone). The combination of Hokaoneone Shoes, Superfeet Orange Insoles, Compression Socks, Mobic, Night Splints, and LOTS of Stretching is helping. I did some ultrasound too. I'm an ER Nurse working 12 hour shifts so my feet take a pounding regularly.

My plan for the Camino is to take 2 pairs of Hoka shoes along with the rest listed above. I plan to switch out shoes and socks throughout each day (I do this at work and it really helps). My one concern is if the Hoka soles will last but I just have to take my chances because these are the only shoes that I can walk in somewhat comfortably for any amount of time - it's because of the immense cushion, cushion like no other shoe I have ever had. I bought 2 pair of the Hoka trail shoes Mafate 4's they call them... I'll see how they hold up!

(I've tried Keen's - Merrel's - Kuru's - New Balance - Brooks..the $ I spent to find the 'best' pair of shoes to take! O My goodness!)

I'm SO SO SO Excited! I can hardly wait! I want to leave TODAY!!! I just want to be on that plane!

I'm also keeping my pack as light as possible. I'm only taking what I KNOW I need, if I think I need it then I'm NOT taking it

Thank you ladies I love this forum!!
Melanie

 

[tpmchugh]

In 2010, I walked in a pair of size 42 Scarpa boots. I knew these were not really big enough for the foot expansion that I expected, and I replaced them with a pair of size 43 3/4 Asolo boots in 2012. I currently wear size 45 Scarpa, although I occasionally wear the Asolos with summer weight socks.

In 2013, I walked in Scarpa old size 9, my normal shoe size being 8.5. In 2015, I bought the exact same boots and found that my big toe now pushed against the inside of the boot particularly on the downhills. So yes, reckon my feet are a half size bigger than they were on my first camino

 

[Richo]

Before I started the CF in September 2014 I bought size 10.5 (US) Salomon boots which were a little too big for me. By the time I got to Santiago the boots were miraculously a perfect fit. Now all of my shoes are too small (damn!). My podiatrist is disbelieving so I am glad I am not the only one who has experienced this. In preparation for my next camino, VDLP in 2016, I have ordered the same boots, online, but in size 11. Maybe I should have ordered 11.5

 

[HeidiL]

I walked my first Camino in Euro size 38. This year, I was wearing 39 1/2, and I'm considering buying 40 for next year. I have also donated all my high-heeled shoes and bought new, slightly bigger shoes with lower heels.

 

[kelleymac]

My Goodness this makes me soooooooooo freakin Happy!!! I have heal pain like mad, wear braces at night, been to the docs, physical therapy, blah, blah, blah... all that! I've found some shoes that are less painful to walk in HOKA's .. and I am walking the Camino starting Sept 2 NO MATTER WHAT Ha! If it helps my feet in the long run I am super happy! What a gift!!! Maybe that's the reason I'm going and I didn't even know it! Thank you for this Ah, the feeling of hope is sooo nice!

I am just reading this! How was your camino? How are your feet?