Help! Sheep hunt in 2 weeks, Metatarsalgia flare up......

[Lil-Rokslider]

I've never had foot issues previously, but I've been dealing with ball of foot pain behind my second toe on my right foot since a scouting trip 2 weeks ago. I believe a steep downhill hike for a couple miles is what aggravated it.

I've got an archery sheep hunt in 2 weeks, that lasts the whole month of August..... I'm looking for any advice to help me get through this hunt, and the scouting and working out leading up to it.

It definitely hurts more after being on my feet all day, and hurts more after hiking. Even walking barefoot on my wood floors aggravates it.

Right now, I just need to get through the end of August without it being debilitating. I can take a more long term approach to healing it after that. Any help appreciated!

 

[Joseph2186]

You can go possibly go to a podiatrist and get a Cortisone shot in your foot to help with inflammation and pain.

 

[Joseph2186]

Id certainly not still be training hard when your to weeks out if your foot is that bad also just my opinion. When I went on my I really toned down the training a couple weeks out for fear of injury. But good luck on your hunt .

 

[Fowl Play]

You got 2 weeks to rest that as much as possible. Take every avenue you can to make that happen.

 

[pacoalcracker]

your foot needs rest. i would not be training on it....and even scouting keep to a moderate level, No amount of training or scouting will be beneficial if you can't walk much and you are in constant pain.

 

[LCguy]

I am not a doctor and this is not medical adive but 1000 MG ibuprofen and 1000mg Acetaminophen at the same time will knock out any pain. Your stomach will be pissed but you'll be able to walk on your hunt.

 

[Sneaker]

Pedag T Forms, . You just stick them on your insole behind you ball areas as it shows on instructions. Helps a lot.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Pedag T Forms, . You just stick them on your insole behind you ball areas as it shows on instructions. Helps a lot.

Just ordered some. Thank you

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Alright, rest it is. I ordered some metacarpal insoles, and the pedag t forms for when I've got to be on my feet at work all day. Any working out I do will be low impact (probably mostly rowing). I'll wear my wide toe box squishy sole altras on the wood floors when I'm at home. And hopefully I am feeling great by the opener. Thanks everybody.

 

[Trr15]

Man, I had that issue a few months ago for the first time. Felt like I had a marble in the ball of my foot. It was miserable and took about a month to completely resolve. Granted, I did nothing to treat it other than hobble around and try to keep weight off of it. Still weight trained, but cut out the cardio and legs for a month. Hope you heal up quickly.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Start doing calf and toe stretches twice daily. Avoid poor arch support footwear like flip flops and wading boots or being barefoot on hard floors. I've had a similar issue where I would aggravate the ball and arch of my foot from overuse like a big day of hiking, or spending the day in poor arch support footwear. A few times I woke up and could barely walk on it the next morning and this would last for several days. Stretching daily fixed it almost overnight and I've had no issues since.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

Start doing calf and toe stretches twice daily. Avoid poor arch support footwear like flip flops and wading boots or being barefoot on hard floors. I've had a similar issue where I would aggravate the ball and arch of my foot from overuse like a big day of hiking, or spending the day in poor arch support footwear. A few times I woke up and could barely walk on it the next morning and this would last for several days. Stretching daily fixed it almost overnight and I've had no issues since.

Any toe stretches other than pulling my toes up?

 

[atmat]

You might try regular icing, as well as soaking your foot in epsom salts.

Agree to see a podiatrist — even if it’s just for a cortisone shot.

 

[cacklercrazy]

I am not a doctor and this is not medical adive but 1000 MG ibuprofen and 1000mg Acetaminophen at the same time will knock out any pain. Your stomach will be pissed but you'll be able to walk on your hunt.

That will help, but if his bone is coming down through his pad like did it wouldn't help enough.

 

[cacklercrazy]

Get some powerstep inner soles with a met pad. You might need to add more pads to the inner sole. Definitely go see a foot doctor. I had the exact same problem. I ended up with surgery on my foot. It helped, but boots with steep pitch heel to toe are a no go! The flatter the boot the better you will feel. Another thing to try is see if there's a chiropractor that will work on feet. I've hear about that after I had surgery.

 

[Mangata]

I would see a podiatrist or orthopedist so as to have an actual diagnosis and treatment plan.

 

[turbobrick]

If it feels like you have a rock in your shoe even if you’re barefoot it could be Morton’s neuroma, that’s what mine was. Happened during Covid, right before an elk hunt. I had a tough time getting medical help, the cortisone shot did absolutely nothing.

I made a thick pad of leukotape to keep pressure off the area and went on the hunt. I tried all of the stuff above to heal it, but nothing worked. Just lived with it until about 1.5 years ago, new podiatrist had a new treatment, shot in the nerve once a month for 10 months.

He also built me a custom set of orthotics and modified my existing Sheep Feet to the same spec. These orthotics are not very comfortable, but man do they work for the neuroma. I can still feel a slight dull pain after a long hike, but it’s mild and goes right away, nothing like the constant screeching pain it was before.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Any toe stretches other than pulling my toes up?

That and calf stretches is all it took for me but any other stretches you can do will probably be helpful as well.

 

[Ryan R]

I get ball of foot pain that comes and goes. On our sheep hunts I will put a few strips of leukotape on the ball of my foot. Then a few strips of a thin paper tape on top to stop the leukotape from sticking to my sock.

 

[S-3 ranch]

podiatrist
For some special insole and a shot

When I went to B.C with my uncle to help him on a shone sheep hunt
I found out walking down the drainages was much more painful then going uphill. I had a custom set of foot gloves and insoles made afterwards
Tylenol and Advil, and embrace the pain if you don’t have the time to get the needed healing time