Charl
Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Via Podiensis 2014
Here's a foot tip emanating from our preparations for the upcoming Camino. I decided that despite the many discussions on feet and footwear it might still be useful info and perhaps save someone a bucketful of tears on the Camino.
Adeline, my wife has bought no less than four pairs of shoes, both boots and trail shoes in preparation for the Camino, but haven't been 100% happy with any of them. During our 10km practice walks she found some were close to perfect, but she always had doubts, even with inner soles, special socks and other gadgets.
With the Camino start date approaching she was getting worried to the point where she was considering carrying two pairs of shoes. On reccommendation of a friend she went to see an orthotist for some help.
He did an infra-red scan of her feet and footprints, and found that she has a very gradual, degenerative genetic condition that causes some of the bones in her feet to 'wear out' which manifests in hot spots on the balls of her feet and under her big toe, numb toes and tiredness. She's in her forties and has never noticed it with average daily walking, and even on our occassional weekend hikes she's never experienced any discomfort. However the doc's opinion was that she won't last the 900km we plan to walk without proper care, so he gave her a pair of specialist inner soles that will go some way to fixing the problem. However she'll have to get custom inners when we return... not enough time to have them made before we leave.
The take-away is, get to know your feet very, very well and do long (10km+) practice walks before you leave. If in doubt about your feet, see an expert to ensure they're in tip-top condition. It might also solve the boot-shoe debate for you as he'll give you pro advice on the best footwear for your type of feet. In Adeline's case he recommended hiking boots, to provide more support for her feet.
Adeline, my wife has bought no less than four pairs of shoes, both boots and trail shoes in preparation for the Camino, but haven't been 100% happy with any of them. During our 10km practice walks she found some were close to perfect, but she always had doubts, even with inner soles, special socks and other gadgets.
With the Camino start date approaching she was getting worried to the point where she was considering carrying two pairs of shoes. On reccommendation of a friend she went to see an orthotist for some help.
He did an infra-red scan of her feet and footprints, and found that she has a very gradual, degenerative genetic condition that causes some of the bones in her feet to 'wear out' which manifests in hot spots on the balls of her feet and under her big toe, numb toes and tiredness. She's in her forties and has never noticed it with average daily walking, and even on our occassional weekend hikes she's never experienced any discomfort. However the doc's opinion was that she won't last the 900km we plan to walk without proper care, so he gave her a pair of specialist inner soles that will go some way to fixing the problem. However she'll have to get custom inners when we return... not enough time to have them made before we leave.
The take-away is, get to know your feet very, very well and do long (10km+) practice walks before you leave. If in doubt about your feet, see an expert to ensure they're in tip-top condition. It might also solve the boot-shoe debate for you as he'll give you pro advice on the best footwear for your type of feet. In Adeline's case he recommended hiking boots, to provide more support for her feet.