Hot spots on the balls of my feet. Solution??

[tdot]

I have small feet for my size (6.5”, size 11 narrow) so the pounds per sq inch on my feet are a bit extra. I’ve had hot spots no matter the boot, sock combo. I’ve worn every boot known to man. I have some that for me perfect now, still get them.

Here’s my go to solution.

First I put down Leuko tape, around the ball of my foot and heel if going up hill all day for goats. Not too tight to cut off blood, but tight enough not to roll the edges.

Darn tough or similar with injinji toe socks under them, keeps friction to a minimum.

I change them out as needed to keep dry, as my feet sweat all the time no matter the footwear.

This is the only solution I’ve found, can hunt days on end for Goats, sheep etc this way. One day without up there and I start hurting.

I'm definitely going to have to try taping my forefoot. I've never experienced movement in front of my ankle due to my ridiculously wide feet. So this is a whole new experience for me. I still dont have to worry about friction between toes.... who knew that having webbed feet would help outside the swimming pool.

 

[Lingling]

After reading another recent post about gout I'll throw this out there...I had the exact issue with hotspots in the balls of my feet right behind the big toe.
Spent lots of money on shoes trying to get it solved but it wasnt until I had a full blown gout episode, lifestyle change, and recovery that I realized the hotspots were gout/arthritis. That hotspot feeling is now my canary in the coal mine to refocus on diet.

 

[Marble]

The lukotape needs to be put on in strips where the ends are not being rubbed by boot movement. Similar to wrapping an injury. If I put it in my wife's foot it will last 4 to 7 days of hunting.

Standard tape, dry foot.

So for the back of the heel it goes around the back to the front top of foot.

Bottom of heel goes around hot spot and up to ankle bone.

Front pads receive a wrap around entire foot.

I

 

[tdot]

After reading another recent post about gout I'll throw this out there...I had the exact issue with hotspots in the balls of my feet right behind the big toe.
Spent lots of money on shoes trying to get it solved but it wasnt until I had a full blown gout episode, lifestyle change, and recovery that I realized the hotspots were gout/arthritis. That hotspot feeling is now my canary in the coal mine to refocus on diet.

Hmm. After watching a buddy be diagnosed with Gout in his early 30's, I'm hopeful that isn't it. But thanks for that tip. It's definitely something to keep an eye on.

 

[WyoWrangler]

I need quite alot of arch support, so had steered away from Lathrop's insoles. But I'll shoot them a message and see what they recommend. Thanks

I did the same, but they will call you back instead of messaging and talk to you about your problems. Great guys, that know feet.

 

[tdot]

Thanks to the help on this thread, I took a 2nd look at my insoles. Turns out my off the shelf inserts had started to collapse through the arch support. I did some more research into this and ended up getting some custom orthotics made (covered by medical as they are medical devices, so cheaper then off the shelf options!). I'm just starting to break them in, but foot pain is 100% gone, also some minor, but increasing, knee pain and back pain, which I'd simply associated with training fatigue, is also gone. I was super lucky this didn't happen on my hunt and I just barely have enough time to properly break in the new orthotics.

 

[Jimss]

I have horrible feet and have found I need extra padding. Hard insoles such as superfeet may offer better support but are murder! I've found that padded insoles work. I also use socks with extra padding in the bottom of the feet. There are different thickness of socks available with padding for different temperatures (summer vs winter). I started buying boots around 1 size larger for larger volume insoles plus socks. I losen the laces with heavier winter socks and tighten them back up for summer use.