Happy Feet

Patching Heel Blisters

Ok, it’s time to get back to what I promised a few posts back – patching heel blisters. If you spend any amount of time with bad feet, you’ll notice that probably 80% of heel blisters are on the sides of the heel, towards the back of the foot. The exact location is easy to see. They start where the shoe’s insole connects with the shoe’s upper. From this point, they grow upward and to the sides. This was explained in my Heel Blisters post on August 5.

     Patching them is fairly easy and yet can seem complex. There are several steps basic to all blister patching.

Check out my Fixing Your Feet Blog for more on Blisters

Every five to seven days I publish a new post on this Happy Feet blog. These are fairly short posts, usually on one subject related to foot care - usually around 400-500 words.
     What some of you may not know is that every month I publish my Fixing Your Feet Blog. It is a much longer blog post, with many different topics. In fact today's blog is almost 4000 words! Below are two short paragraphs from today's Fixing Your Feet blog. I encourage you to read about it's content and then check it out. I recently talked about Heel Blisters. The article The Art of Lancing Blisters is important to treating heel blisters and will help you understand my next post on heel blisters specifically.
     The new Fixing Your Feet Blog has an editorial about The Art of Lancing Blisters, Twyla Carolan is back with an article on Heel Pain Be Gone, there is one photo in the Bad Feet section, one new web site and product for athletes, advice from readers, and a whole bunch of reader feedback. Oh yea, and a great offer for those with copies of the 4th edition of Fixing Your Feet! The same offer is made to subscribers of this Happy Feet blog
     The Fixing Your Feet Blog has been updated with a new design to offer you search capability of all posts, or the web; a new color to better show links; updated Feedblitz subscription option (Feedblitz send you an email when a new post is made); and an added poll feature. Check out the extra stuff on the left side of the screen. You can also post a comment, just like here.
     To help my Happy Feet blog subscribers, I added a search feature to this blog too. You can search the blog for any topic. A very handy tool.
     If you are new to either blog, I encourage you to  check them both out, subscribe, and pass the blog information along to a friend.

Getting a Good Fit with your Shoes

Without properly fitting shoes or boots, your feet will encounter many problems that can initiate many others. If your footwear is too loose, your feet will slide around, creating friction. If your footwear is too tight in certain areas, your feet will experience excessive pressure. Wearing too loose or tight footwear will change the biomechanics of your foot strike, which in turn will affect your gait and throw off your whole stride and balance. This will stress your tendons and ligaments. When your feet and toes are pinched in too-tight shoes with socks that make the fit even tighter, the blood circulation is reduced. To top it all off, you will endure aches and /or pain, and will be more tired from dealing with all of the above. Sounds like fun, right? So what are some of the things to watch for when trying on shoes? Here are my favorite tips:

·        Try on and fully lace both shoes.

·        The shoes should feel comfortable. You should feel no discomfort in any part of the shoe’s fit.

·        Feel around the inside of the shoe for rough spots where the parts of the uppers are stitched together.

·        Your feet should have some room to breathe and swell.

·        Your toes should have plenty of room to move and wiggle, and the toebox should not be too short in height or length. Aim for at least 1⁄2 inch to 1 inch of space between your longest toe and the front interior of the shoe.

·        The tops of your feet should not be pinched when the shoes are laced properly.

·        Be sure the shoe’s counter (the part that wraps around your ankle and heel) does not rub your foot wrong. Your heels should be snug in the heel counter of the shoe and should have little up and down movement. There should be a firm grip of the shoe to your heel, but not too firm.

·        The arch of each foot should be supported, but the shoe arch should not be too high, or too far backward or forward, for your foot type.

·        The shoes’ shape (last) should be comfortable and not overly curved or straight for your foot type.

·        The shoes should fit well with the same type of socks you will be wearing in your training and/or race event.

·        The shoes should flex well for the type of terrain you will encounter and at the right point of your foot. This will help provide support to your ankles and prevent uncomfortable heel to toe transition or pinching of the toes.

·        The shoes should provide adequate protection for the bottom of your feet from rocks and uneven terrain.

·        The fit of the shoe should come from the shoes themselves, not from tying the laces.

·        The laces should stay tied the way you like them without coming undone.

·        The shoes should have outersoles for the type of event or race you will be doing.

·        If the insoles that come in the shoe are weak and flimsy, replace them when you are buying the shoes—get a pair that provides support and cushioning.

·        If you will be using orthotics or special insoles, make sure they fit in the shoes without pushing your feet too high in the shoes’ uppers or too far forward.

Heel Blisters

One of the more common blisters found on athletes’ feet are on the heels. Is there a reason for this? Why do so many athletes blister there?
     The best answer is that heels move around a lot in their shoes. Both up and down and side to side. Some shoes have plastic in the heel counters—a piece of plastic that is curved around the back of the heel. This plastic piece can sometimes be an irritant and rub on your foot, causing a hot spot that turns into a blister. Another irritant is the edge of the insole. The edge of the insole, where it meets the inside of the shoe, is a common blister-causing problem area. Of all the heel blsters I have treated, most have been at the point where the insole joins the shoe's upper. Most heel blisters here start small and then expand upward to just below the ankle bone.
     Run your fingers around the inside of your shoe. Feel for seams or the hard plastic heel counter that can cause blisters. Feel the edge of the insole. Some insoles have a thick edge, while others are thinner. Another insole may fit better and not have the problem edge. Try a few at your local running or camping store. Click here for a post on insoles.
     I would love to see an insole company take the lead and make an insole that extends upward at least 3/4 to an inch higher than normal. This extra “cupping” of the heel could prevent the common problems with shorter insoles and their edges.
     As far as heel movement, the heel has to move some. One-quarter inch of movement is considered normal. More movement that that can lead to blisters on the side of the heel, at the back, and on the Achilles’ tendon. So the number one rule of all footwear is the shoes or boots have to fit correctly. With a well fitting shoe, the movement will be controlled and the likelihood of blisters will be reduced.
     Before we talk about how to fix heel blisters, in the next blog post, we’ll look at fit. I went looking for a post on fit and didn’t find one. So we’ll pause the blister talk to spend a few minutes on fit next time.