Any Bowsite Podiatrists or Orthos?
Elk
I broke my ankle and dislocated my foot about 12 years ago. It still hurts almost every day of my life. It was really killing me about this time last year and I mentioned it to a niece who is a PT. She checked it out and I basically had no mobility in it. She started working with me and gave me exercises and it is much more flexible and I have much more mobility now.
I still get a lot of pain after hiking 3-5 miles. The majority of the pain comes from the inability of my foot to extend or flex properly. I’m guessing it is about 70-80% of normal. Walking up a steep heel or doing air squats will have my heel off the ground. It just won’t bend far enough to stay in contact with the ground. With all that said….I wonder if some type of brace that limits my ankle flexion and extension inside of a boot would help while elk hunting?
What about a different boot? Something with more ankle support? I currently wear Meindl Perfekt Hikers and am open to anything.
I'm neither of those things, just a guy that has had a fair amount of surgeries on my legs. Latest was an achilles repair 2 years ago, which is still a work in progress as far as rehab goes. I can't walk up a steep hill without my foot having to turn out due to lack of calf strength. Insoles help me with the aches I get, but I just try not to think about it. I think you are asking the wrong question in how to support limiting what your joint can do. I think you should keep up with the PT and figure out how to get it past 80% and back to as normal as you can. Ramp it up! Don't know if that will help the pain at all, but will make hunting and hiking easier.
Bowfreak - I have had some foot issues. I am not an ortho or podiatrist but wanted to share a couple of things with you. I have a really wide foot. I need either 12EE or 13E for it to fit well. Most shoes "feel like" they fit but what I realize is that shoes are shrinking the soles and putting more flexible materials in the upper part of the shoe to make it not feel cramped. The consequence of this is that your foot is not able to spread out and flex like it needs to do.
I learned a lot from this podcast: https://peterattiamd.com/courtneyconley/
I have a chronic foot issue in my left foot near the ball of my foot. And over the past 6 months have been having a lot of heal pain.
Over the past 4 weeks I have been focusing on stretching out my feet, and especially my big toe. I bought a pair of barefoot style shoes that I thought would be miserable but was going to try them. I absolutely love them and how they let my foot flex and my foot strength and balance is so much better in them than my standard gym and office shoes.
The shoes I bought are "Xero"s. I would have never guessed I would find them as helpful as I have.
All that to say, try to spend some time educating yourself on what you can do on your own. I found that less support was better for me than more support.
Nearly all of my foot pain is gone and I am beginning to believe that my problem is strongly related to wearing too much support since a young boy and not having shoes that are wide or flexible enough.
Thanks all. I should have mentioned….I plan to see a podiatrist soon. I was just hoping that others that are familiar with what it takes to hike mountains might be able to provide some insight.
When I had shoulder surgery, I was having issues with my mobility. When I spoke to my PT they mentioned there was scare tissue that was limiting mobility. So they had me stretching and icing it about 4 to 5 times a day.
Not sure what your recovery PT was from 12 years ago, but could be scare tissue that never healed correctly limiting your mobility.
I have had major issues with Planters that helped with rolling my foot with a lacrosse ball and taping it with KT tape.
Hopefully your stretching and when you see your foot DR will help you find a solution.
arthritis after ankle fracture is very common and if severe enough will limit motion. Anti inflammatory medication (alleve,advil , or prescription) often helps. You need an x-ray,which will show if arthritis is present or not.Sometimes an AFO will help if it is arthritis, but it works by limiting your motion. Hope this helps
I found what Candor says interesting. In the last year or so I’ve discovered that I’m better off with no cushion in shoes than with the fashionable cushiony ‘On Cloud’ or ‘Hoka’ brands. I can wear boat shoes with no padding all day, fine. Three hours in the others and I’m in pain. I now wear Hanwegs to work even though it’s way more than I need for the job but the stiffness keeps my feet from hurting.
re. what Candor says, too-narrow shoes can cause bunions, distortions of the big toe joints. Got rid of all my 'D' width shoes, spend more time barefoot (indoors) and am experimenting with those 'barefoot' shoes. Look dorky but very comfortable. Feet are improving. (Still prefer more support in rough terrain.)
Take a look at healing peptides. Injectable TB500 and BPC157. Heal from the inside.
Not sure it would help but purchased a Tayco brace for my September elk hunt . The X model although I never wore it but do have some chronic ankle issues. NFL players wear them.
I’m an orthotist here in Wichita Kansas, sounds like you might benefit from an Arizona AFO. Not something you’d need to wear all the time but for you more extreme activities
Mark, you might also want to talk to Steve Lathrop at Lathrop and Sons. Podiatric orthopedist, and his father is a podiatrist. They did a great job with me after my 2022 word record blister accumulation with previously good boots.
Nothing worse than hurting feet on a hard hunt.
Stiff boots would help. Try tightening up the laces on the ankles as well.
Again, what is an AFO and BK, I called them last week and am waiting for a return call.
Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO)... It is a type of splint. My son had to wear them for a while
sorry, just got back to bow site. As Mo/Ark said ,it is an ankle foot orthosis. You can google it and images should pop up. Most are plastic and will fit in a shoe. They are cheaper online, but it may be worth paying more to get an orthotist to fit it. An arizona afo is much harder to wear and more costly and is usually used when the posterior tibial tendon is incompetent. It also limits motion and may be more than what you need, but may work well for you
i'm not a fan of kennetrek boots but they make a model with additional ankle support. it is called the guide ultra NI. might be something you want to look into.
Update:
I have an appointment with a podiatrist next week. Hoping he can help me.
Hope it works out for you. Good luck.
