Flat Feet and Spurs

[tree dude]

foot pain

i feel your pain.
i have flat feet and plantar facitis.
i go to a foot doctor regularly. he had my feet casted and $300.00 inserts made for my shoes.
these help for every day living,but as soon as i slap on my gaffs and get into that bark i feel that pain coming on.the next day it feels like someone beat my arches with a louisville slugger!
i take anti-inflammatorys 2x a day also which helps.
i was thinking of trying foot plates but i hate to spend $80.00 on them and they don't work.
same with boots,i need to find a good pair of them also.

let me know how the new boots work out.

tree dude

 

[polingspig]

Tree Dude,
I feel the same about spending money on things that might not work. But, you never know until you try. Of course there's always ebay to get some of the money back if they don't work.

 

[woodchux]

Pick up the foot plates and try them out. If they dont help, I'll buy them from you if you decide to sell em.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

i feel your pain.
i have flat feet and plantar facitis.
i go to a foot doctor regularly. he had my feet casted and $300.00 inserts made for my shoes.
these help for every day living,but as soon as i slap on my gaffs and get into that bark i feel that pain coming on.the next day it feels like someone beat my arches with a louisville slugger!
i take anti-inflammatorys 2x a day also which helps.
i was thinking of trying foot plates but i hate to spend $80.00 on them and they don't work.
same with boots,i need to find a good pair of them also.

let me know how the new boots work out.

tree dude

I suffer from the same thing and also have the inserts. Some shoes/boots have a good arch and I don't need the inserts.

I climb on a pair of ASOLO's......got them at Eastern Mountain Sports. At $200 they are pricey but the comfort level is far and away the best that I have found!!!

 

[Lonnie]

try

Look up wesspurs and they sell spur plates to get the wieght off the middle of ya foot and more on the hole foot....

 

[(WLL)]

i have a pair of the 16in red dogs they are great and well worth the price 200 is much better than 400. they are a bit big so order small and if they dont fit send em back befor u wear 2 work

 

[jonseredbred]

I have been buying Red Wing Loggers with heavy vibram soles off of scam bay. They are factory seconds. The last pair I bought were $90.00 and It had a minor cosmetic stiching blem.

I will never buy full price again, I hope!

 

[Jumper]

No joint in the big toe? That sucks! Was it like that before you joined the Amy? If so, how did you get in? I had to keep what little joke of an arch i do have cramped during the physical so I could get in the AF.

No , toe got broke during military PT, a fun little game of soccer no less. 28+ years later still remember it was a guy named Les Waldron and me both going to make a big clearing kick, and he kicked my right foot instead. Swelled up huge, healed half assed and over the years the joint got arthritis and "disappeared" due to a lack of a better description according to a specialist.

It was suggested I could have it fused, but the thought of a permanent limp and as Old Monkey intoned, back problems downstream turned that idea off right quick.

 

[Lonnie]

I to have one foot trouble my right one was crushed by a sliding log....I was cutting below where others had already cut and was clearing out around a tree to be cut....I thought it was just a top and yes i was swearing both the cutter that cut the treee and the boss for making him but anyway come to fine out it was not a top but a tree...I cut one fork out then the other and it started to slid down hill so i jumped to get out of the way and it pinned my foot into the tree i was going to cut......So i was stuck between a llog and a hard place heheheh i cut the log and used my saw as a cane to get back to where the dozzer was... Time i got to it i thought my boot was going to bust a stich hehehe.... so i made note to self dat day never ever cut below where some one else had cut hehehe

 

[EngineerDude]

i go to a foot doctor regularly. he had my feet casted and $300.00 inserts made for my shoes.
these help for every day living,but as soon as i slap on my gaffs and get into that bark i feel that pain coming on.

I also have flat feet. The cast inserts tree dude is referring to are called "orthotics". The concept is that the podiatrist holds your foot into exactly the right position (the position your foot and leg would normally assume it if wasn't for having flat feet), and then he makes plaster casts of your feet, and then sends the castings off to a company that uses them to make custom fitted shoe inserts that put your feet into the right position all the time. These inserts can be easily moved from one pair of shoes to another.

Unfortunately, I don't have gaffs, and so can't comment on tree dude's experience of having the orthotics not be effective while wearing the gaffs, but I can tell you that when I was climbing last summer doing TD's on a couple of trees on my property, and was wearing boots (but obviously not gaffs), and my feet started hurtin, I put the orthotics in my boots and things instantly improved greatly.

Polingspig, I seriously recommend you call a podiatrist, explain your problem, and ask if he thinks orthotics will help. I've got two pair of them, and I swear, I will never be without them again!

 

[polingspig]

EngineerDude, I will see the doc soon.
I got my boots from Bailey's today, along with new Aluminum Spurs. I will let y'all know tomorrow if there is improvement just having the right equipment.
I have to let you know now that they are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn right out of the box. Well, I added a set of gel inserts from wally world like I always do. The funny thing is that they are awesome when I am standing, walking or sitting with my feet flat on the floor but they hurt when in any other position. I wore them to the store for some milk. My left foot was flat on the floor and had no trouble, but my right foot (on the gas at an angle) hurt the entire drive. Walking around the store they felt GREAT. Right foot hurt on the drive home again. Weird. Maybe it's just the way a hire arch affects flat feet. It wasn't an awful, unbearable pain. It was annoying though.
Can't wait for tomorrow. I feel like I did the night before my first camping trip with my Dad.

 

[polingspig]

Definite improvement!!!

I used the new Bailey's boots and aluminum spurs for the first time two days ago. I scared the crap out of myself. I was about 50 feet up a Longleaf Pine and slipped. I had my lifeline false crotched around the trunk and only slid about 1 and a 1/2 to 2 feet but it still took my breath away. I am not accustomed to spurs.

The boots were an awesome improvement with regard to the pain in my feet. I would not have been able to finish without the lifeline to rest on now and then, but still much, much better on my feet. I kept my weight off the lifeline as much as possible to get a good feel for the spurs. I think I will get a lot of use from them.

Yesterday I took down a Popcorn Tree and only used the spurs (with new boots) and a lanyard. I only had to climb about 10 ft. so I didn't tie in.

That's the update.

 

[The Climber]

I've tried lots of difrent boots until I bought my first pair of Red Wing loggers. they are by far better than any I've had beforer. I Have no problem with pain from wearing spurs now. Make sure you get the ones with steel shanks.