Ball of foot soreness?

[diamond10x]

I wear schnee’s beartooth II’s. Use them for my hunting boots and have for several years now. They fit my feet well and are comfortable. My issue is if I’m putting down some miles, say 10-15, the balls of my feet become sore. Then it just gets worse and worse as the trip goes on if I’m hiking a lot on continuous days. If I’m packing out heavy loads it compounds on the soreness. It’s almost as if my feet get bruised and will take several days of wearing crocs and not being on my feet much to go away. The soreness doesn’t build up in my heel, arches, toes, it’s all in the ball of my foot.

Has anyone else experienced this? I’m thinking it’s due to a hard sole and too thin of an insole or the insole being worn out. I’m thinking of replacing the insoles with some sheep feet or similar but don’t want to spend that kind of money if it isn’t going to do anything.

 

[huck]

It might not be the boots , it might be a foot problem. my wife has the same problem if she doesnt rest her feet for at least half of a day . she has planter facea however in the hell you say it.

 

[Ron.C]

Diamond10x, Years ago I had a podiatrist make me custom orthodics for my flat feet. I have always had issues with my feet and footwear.

Anyway, my Hanwag trapper tops ( have about 100k on them) had been giving me the same issues as you describe.

After messing with various foot beds, Met pads etc. that didn't seem to help I was ready to give up on the trapper tops. The issue actually got worse with more cusion. A few weeks ago I messed with the lacing/tighness. I found lock lacing to ensure I have no heel lift really helped but didn't fix it completely. I then eased up on the lace tightenss over the top of my foot, (still snug but not tight). I think what I had been doing was overtightening the forefoot laces to compensate for a bit of heel lift and I was applying allot of pressure the the ball of my foot.

Anyway, messing with lacing techniques and tighness really seems to have worked for me. By lock lacing you can apply different pressure to different parts of the foot and keep it like that for the duration of your hike.

might be worth a try

Hope it works out for you

 

[Pony Soldier]

This is out in left field but--- have you had your blood sugar tested. I have a friend who is a field geologist who reached a point he couldn't walk cause his feet hurt so bad. His blood sugar was over 400.

 

[DMadsen]

I have fought the pain on the balls of my feet as well. As Ron C. recommended, making sure the laces are not too tight over the top of your feet is important.
I have tried many foot bed contortions and for the last few years have found relief using AirFeet insoles as a second layer underneath another traditional foot bed. For the top layer I have found Sof Sole (from WalMart or most anywhere) to be better on my feet than the more expensive alternatives.
It takes a while to get used to the Air insoles because it feels like your walking over a swamp, but it has really helped the rubbing and pounding that I have had with more firm insoles, especially when loaded with significant weight.
The AirFeet are very thin and don't require upsizing your boots (which I have also tried to accommodate multiple insoles with varying success).

 

[diamond10x]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think y’all might be on to something with the over tightening of my boots over my foot and toes. I’m definitely going to try playing with the tension on my laces this spring Turkey and bear hunting.

 

[TraskI]

I had this same issue. After a few days of hunting/packing meat I would have to soak my feet in ice water for days go get the swelling and soreness to settle down. They were my most painful area after a backpacking trip. I picked up a set of Sheepfeet insoles and they completely fixed my issues, like my feet don't hurt any after a trip now. Spendy, but we'll with it IMO if your having issues.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[TSimons9]

I would bet insoles. I had the same issue until I switched to a higher quality insole.

 

[rideold]

Sounds like Metatarsalgia.....only because I have the same problem. Good insoles and a stiff soled shoe help me tons. You might talk to a Physical Therapist as well as a Podiatrist. I put metatarsal pads on my insoles to help relieve the pressure.

 

[jdubrr]

I had the same issues with my Crispi Nevada's. I went through a few different insoles and when I got my Sheep feet the issue went away

 

[Daniel Boone]

My foot doctor put metatarsal pads on my custom orthotics and it helped relieved most of the pain in the ball of my foot. The pads are really cheap on Amazon.

 

[Honyock]

Try the Lathrop and Sons Synergy insole

 

[jhm2023]

I have the same issue but only on the ball of my right foot. I've tried different lacing and insoles to include different types of superfeet. My Lowa Tibets are great and this only ever seems to happen about half way through a sheep hunt when I'm spending a lot of time walking on rocks. I haven't found a solution yet. It was never an problem in my younger years and makes me wonder if 12 years doing fun stuff in light infantry units walking everywhere with unreasonably heavy rucks caused the problem. Maybe I'll try sheep feet this year.

 

[Pn8hall]

Could be Neuromas possibly. I have had pain in balls of my feet on/off for the last year. Depending on activity level its worse some days than others. I have Plantar fasciitis as well and wear 2 different pairs custom orthotics and am no stranger to pain from the PF. The balls of the feet pain is new and just last week was diagnosed with Neuromas. I believe that its similar to PF for most people and comes and goes with rest and stretching but flares up with hard use.

 

[UncleBone]

Diamond, what size do you wear? It seems like kenetrek and schnees seem to be having the same issue on their larger sizes. It appears the hardware is too high up on the footbox, creating a bad crease under the hardware that puts pressure on the top of the foot. It took me a while to realize that was the issue with my mountain extremes, but it is even a problem on the brand new ones I saw today at scheels. Swapping them for some zamberlans or crispis, which have a totally different design.