Suggestions for post-walking foot care?

It sounds you might be describing a "heel spur" which is related to plantar fascitis. If you Google "heel spur" you will get a lot of websites to check out, including this one: http://heelspurs.com/index.html

peregrina2000 said:

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

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My feet gave me the most discomfort of any body part during the Camino. First off, they're flat (no arch), which is a recipie for discomfort due to no natural support. I also had to deal with plantar fascitis, and a couple foot bones that I'd broken years ago acted up as well. In addition, I had some blistering early on in my arch area due to too-hard foot inserts, along with a recurring heat rash. And my feet tend to cramp up where my arch is supposed to be, and also on one or two of my toes.

Of course, good boots, boot inserts, good socks, and blister management were paramount (I replaced my boots and boot inserts early on during a break day in Logrono). But as for soothing them at the albergue, I did the following: 1) Took a hot shower - and sometimes a cold one just for the feet. 2) Massaged and stretched them as needed. 3) Rubbed them down with an analgesic gel, such as Reflex or some other pain-reliever from a farmacia. 4) Took an ibuprofen tablet or two to reduce pain/inflammation. 5) Treated any signs of blistering or rashes with antibiotic ointment, iodine, and cream. 6) Took a nap to let them rest. 7) Gave them a chance to breathe by walking around in Teva-style sandals post-nap. 8. Kept nails neatly trimmed. 9) Drank plenty of vino tinto to relax and dull the ache - and orujo de hierbas, when available, was a special tonic for that purpose. :wink:

One thing I had to be careful of in the albergues was getting out of bed during the night or in the morning - especially if I was in a top bunk. Despite my above efforts, my feet always stiffened up while I slept. In addition, the plantar fascitis is the most painful upon awakening, due to the aforementioned feet stiffening caused by the inactivity of sleeping. Therefore, I had to be very cautious. Jumping from basically any height was out of the question due to the pain and potential for injury - both to my feet, and to other parts of my body when collapsing due to the agony of landing hard on a cold concrete floor with stiff/sore feet. :cry:

Finally, I avoided doing too much pain prevention in the mornings. So I never took the ibuprofen before walking (although I did take a single aspirin, mainly to promote heart health). I did put some of the analgesic gel on my feet before donning my socks, mainly to relieve my stiffness and plantar fascitis. But I wanted to avoid killing too much of the pain because it's the body's warning signal. Short-circuiting that alarm system is a sure way to damage the feet by pushing them too hard. So, I figured it was best to save the majority of pain management for the albergue. :arrow: