HAPPY FEET
There are some surprising results when Trail gets properly measured and booted!
Could this be the cure for all my walking aches and pains? It was a big ask, and probably a tad unrealistic… I’d never been for a boot fitting before. Shamefully, when I think about it, my boots had always been pretty much selected on which one I liked the look of most; which was daft really since I have always had flat feet, twinges in my Achilles tendons and tenderness in the balls of my feet.
So, I arrived at Whalley Warm & Dry in a sleepy Lancashire village, with a mixture of hope and intrigue. The family business at Whalley has won awards for its bootfitting service, and works with a foot and insole specialist who provides biomechanical assessment and custom-made insoles on appointment.
It was an encouraging start when, before any of the measurements and assessments had even started, Graham, the insole specialist, slipped my old Superfeet insoles out of my boots to inspect them. “Straight away I can see there is far too much pressure going through your second and third metatarsals. That often causes tightness in the calves, resulting in problems in the foot, and can also lead to problems with your Achilles,” he said. He had immediately identified my problem areas and a possible cause, just from looking at my insole. Impressive.
Peter, the bootfitter, sat me down and began the 10 measurements of my feet, and determined that I had an asymmetric
He had immediately identified my problem areas and a possible cause, just from looking at my insole. Impressive.
foot, which meant it was narrow at the heel and wider at the toes.
I’d expected to do my usual and pick out a pair of boots that I liked the look of, but there was no choice at all, Peter presented me with a pair of Altberg, Nordkapp, with an A-Forme fit, half size bigger than usual – which he assured me would fit the shape of my feet the best.
Off-the-shelf insoles for arch support and extra cushioning are available and often recommended, but I was having the gold-standard custom-insole service. Graham started with an examination of my feet and a discussion about any issues. He immediately identified that I was hypermobile in my feet and ankles, which would make foot support more important.
I walked across his state-of-the-art pressure plate numerous times and images of pressure distribution appeared on the computer screen. Graham was spot on with his earlier assessment, as it was clear that there were some bright red areas indicating uneven pressure distribution. Graham explained how tight calves can limit your foot and ankle’s range of motion, causing abnormal pronation, midfoot collapse, increased forefoot pressure and resultant pain. He demonstrated exercises that can be done to ease these.
Through a process of careful insole selection, a moulding mat, extra padding, trimming and gluing, my insoles were made and placed inside my new boots. team at Whalley had also given me an exercise roller which, combined with stretching, massages out chronic tightness in the calf muscles.
I wore the boots regularly, stretched and used the massage roller, as directed. There was no miracle overnight cure, but gradually I began to realise that the intermittent pain in my Achilles had completely gone. After a long walk, I had previously been left hobbling after any period of sitting if I was barefoot; this too was drastically improved. My feet and ankles still felt tired after walking, but there was no longer the associated pain or tenderness. It’s still early days, but let’s just say I won’t be selecting my boots based on ‘look’ again.