Hi, everyone,
I have benefited from a lot of very good advice about blisters, pain, tendonitis, etc. on this forum and others. I wonder whether you have special tips for caring for feet at the end of the walking part of the day. On my first Camino, I started getting heel pain in Arzua, and by the time I got to Santiago, I couldn't put weight on my heel. After 6 months in a walking cast (which is apparently unknown in Europe, by the way), I was back to normal and have walked every year since. My doctor tentatively diagnosed it as tarsal tunnel (the foot equivalent of carpal tunnel) and wasn't terribly helpful with suggested preventive remedies.
I had a minor recurrence a few years ago, but that year I was living in Portugal and couldn't find a walking cast or a doctor who knew what one was. I basically just stayed off the heel for several weeks and got a few cortisone shots that seemed to help.
Since then, I've decided to try icing my feet every day after walking, and I haven't had any problems. Bars are usually very accommodating (so long as I'm sitting outside) and it's a nice bit of forced relaxation. And in some places (the river in Zubiri comes to mind), it's very nice to sit with your feet in some running water. I'm not sure if the icing helps, but I haven't had any more problems, so I'm going to assume it does.
Do you have other general tips for ways to help keep the feet happy during all of the abuse the Camino gives them? Many thanks, Laurie
I have benefited from a lot of very good advice about blisters, pain, tendonitis, etc. on this forum and others. I wonder whether you have special tips for caring for feet at the end of the walking part of the day. On my first Camino, I started getting heel pain in Arzua, and by the time I got to Santiago, I couldn't put weight on my heel. After 6 months in a walking cast (which is apparently unknown in Europe, by the way), I was back to normal and have walked every year since. My doctor tentatively diagnosed it as tarsal tunnel (the foot equivalent of carpal tunnel) and wasn't terribly helpful with suggested preventive remedies.
I had a minor recurrence a few years ago, but that year I was living in Portugal and couldn't find a walking cast or a doctor who knew what one was. I basically just stayed off the heel for several weeks and got a few cortisone shots that seemed to help.
Since then, I've decided to try icing my feet every day after walking, and I haven't had any problems. Bars are usually very accommodating (so long as I'm sitting outside) and it's a nice bit of forced relaxation. And in some places (the river in Zubiri comes to mind), it's very nice to sit with your feet in some running water. I'm not sure if the icing helps, but I haven't had any more problems, so I'm going to assume it does.
Do you have other general tips for ways to help keep the feet happy during all of the abuse the Camino gives them? Many thanks, Laurie