Runners Feet

[Hanaldo]

Hey all,

So this is a somewhat delicious topic, but I am getting sick of the constant pain of runners feet. As a bit of a quick background, I play amateur football (soccer) pretty competitively, and I do a fair bit of running as part of that. I hit the gym every day except Sat/Sunday, so I'm relatively fit albeit pre-season. I figured somebody on here surely must have similar problems so it would be worth asking.

Basically what I'm talking about is this:

The black toenails, the blood blisters and normal blisters, calluses, etc. That second picture shows pretty much all of the above on my one toe, while that first photo is generally what I have to deal with every week. I run myself into the ground at training and on game days and always go home looking like this. Calluses crack so bad that they bleed like that first photo, I often develop blisters on my blisters, calluses and toenails develop blood blisters underneath, sometimes I get toenails just coming off, etc. Pretty I know.

What I wanted to ask is, has anyone experienced similar problems? What have you done about it?

[Dani Boi]

Go to a podiatrist would be my suggestion.

[Hanaldo]

I have, but they weren't very helpful. He explained the causes but didn't provide me with any solutions.

[Tangles]

Try taping your toes individually, like footballers and some cricketers tape their fingers.....

Just wrap around each toe a couple of times to create a 'fake' surface area. Might help; worth a go.

[10 4]

Thanks for the warning Nigel Thornberry -_-

Wear thick socks and change your boots? I never get this - I do the the black toe from someone stamping on it but that's as far as it gets.

[The Bogan]

Wrong fitting or old shoes.

[sydking]

i ran up to 10km per day in thailand and trained 6 hours a day on a concreat slab with no issues that a strip of tape couldnet fix.....There must be an underlying issue somewere?

[Hanaldo]

Thanks for the warning Nigel Thornberry -_-

Wear thick socks and change your boots? I never get this - I do the the black toe from someone stamping on it but that's as far as it gets.

Hahaha I thought you'd like this

I wear football socks and get new boots every season. I've got 5 pairs of boots that all do this. Some people get it some don't, common issue with long distance runners. I run ~15kms a game. Don't wear my MiCoaches at training so not sure what I do at training but it must be similar.

Wrong fitting or old shoes.

This is pretty much what the podiatrist said. Not so much that I'm wearing the wrong size boot, but I wear a size 11 normal shoe and a size 11 boot, which fit perfectly. But when you run, your feet swell a little bit. Thing is, I have weird feet. They are oddly wide. So I have to wear a size up as it is not to accommodate their length but their width. So wearing an additional size up would mean I'm wearing a boot that is two sizes too long. I'm not sure if you've ever tried kicking a ball with clown shoes on but it's not easy.

[10 4]

Are you wearing those plastic type boots?

Ive got those synthetic leather cheapies ($60) and they stretch to accommodate my wide feet, same goes for my indoor boots.

Also, I'd be VERY surprised if you ran anywhere near 15km a game. I definitely don't get close, maybe a third if I'm lucky...

[Hanaldo]

Are you wearing those plastic type boots?

Ive got those synthetic leather cheapies ($60) and they stretch to accommodate my wide feet, same goes for my indoor boots.

Also, I'd be VERY surprised if you ran anywhere near 15km a game. I definitely don't get close, maybe a third if I'm lucky...

Nah man, Adidas F50 MiCoaches http://news.adidas.com/GLOBAL/adizero-f50-powered-by-micoach/s/3353ae67-c34c-4b23-a446-516696142f97

I get my running data straight from them, I ran 12.3km in our friendly on Sunday (in 42 degrees) and 14.7km in the friendly we had last week Thursday.

[10 4]

That's the plasticy boot material I mean.. It doesn't let your feet breathe = sweat and rubbing = blisters, no?

[Trozzle]

What the shit....I've NEVER experienced that in the 12 years I played competitive soccer. Perhaps you need better fitting boots or better socks? My feet never even seemed to get damp from sweat, let alone soaked :\

[TM7GTR]

Nah man, Adidas F50 MiCoaches http://news.adidas.c...46-516696142f97

I get my running data straight from them, I ran 12.3km in our friendly on Sunday (in 42 degrees) and 14.7km in the friendly we had last week Thursday.

How do your boots fit man? I've played for many years now, and i've always worn tight boots (suits my quick feet playing style on the wing) because your feet have no room to slip around and rub. Tip I've picked up from the coaches over at Bolton is to smear vaseline all over your feet (the petroleum jelly shit in the tubs that's clear-ish like lip balm, not cream lol) then put your socks on.

Another thing you could try is to wear a thinner athletic sock either underneath or over your football sock (double up) but I find this takes away from my touch slightly, and your boots may not fit. Taping your feet may also help, and have you seen those specially made blister pads you can buy at any pharmacy? They're like a second skin over blister prone areas and have saved my feet many times during long hot trials.

**What I do personally, call it stupid or whatnot, is cut the foot part off of my football socks, and wear white anti-blister nike athletic socks instead, then you tape around the joining point of the socks (you've seen ronaldo and other players with the white socks one third up their legs right? this is what they do). These socks are much tighter on your foot and therefore prevent blisters (also great for slip in shinpads, slip them into the under-sock then tape the join). Good for your warm-up too coz you can stay cool, then just slip the other socks over the top before the game. **

The only other tip I can give is to change your socks at half time so your feet have time to air out, then start dry again.

Hope this helps somewhat coz that looks nasty dude

[Hanaldo]

That's the plasticy boot material I mean.. It doesn't let your feet breathe = sweat and rubbing = blisters, no?

They are still designed to let your feet breathe. In any case, I've had leather boots before and they are no different. It doesn't make any difference for me what the boots are made from, this has been going on for a good 6 seasons now and in that time I've been through about 8 pairs of different boots. It's not just my feet that get smashed, my boots never last longer than a season either. They ALWAYS burst at the seams on the side

What the shit....I've NEVER experienced that in the 12 years I played competitive soccer. Perhaps you need better fitting boots or better socks? My feet never even seemed to get damp from sweat, let alone soaked :\

Yeh it doesn't happen to everyone. Also just to be clear, my feet don't get soaked, they sweat quite minimally. It's more the sharp changes of direction that smash my toes against my boots than the rubbing and moisture.

How do your boots fit man? I've played for many years now, and i've always worn tight boots (suits my quick feet playing style on the wing) because your feet have no room to slip around and rub. Tip I've picked up from the coaches over at Bolton is to smear vaseline all over your feet (the petroleum jelly shit in the tubs that's clear-ish like lip balm, not cream lol) then put your socks on.

Another thing you could try is to wear a thinner athletic sock either underneath or over your football sock (double up) but I find this takes away from my touch slightly, and your boots may not fit. Taping your feet may also help, and have you seen those specially made blister pads you can buy at any pharmacy? They're like a second skin over blister prone areas and have saved my feet many times during long hot trials.

**What I do personally, call it stupid or whatnot, is cut the foot part off of my football socks, and wear white anti-blister nike athletic socks instead, then you tape around the joining point of the socks (you've seen ronaldo and other players with the white socks one third up their legs right? this is what they do). These socks are much tighter on your foot and therefore prevent blisters (also great for slip in shinpads, slip them into the under-sock then tape the join). Good for your warm-up too coz you can stay cool, then just slip the other socks over the top before the game. **

The only other tip I can give is to change your socks at half time so your feet have time to air out, then start dry again.

Hope this helps somewhat coz that looks nasty dude

Sounds like we have a similar playing style

My boots fit ok, but the problem for me is no one makes a wide boot without increasing the length. In fact I can only wear Adidas because they have a wider design, no other boot fits me. Nike is the worst. This means I have good side to side movement, but stopping and sprinting means my toes slide forward a little bit and get pummeled.

I've tried the thinner under-sock, and the blister pads, neither of which work very well. The inner socks make the boots too tight against the sides of my feet, while the blister pads last about 5 minutes before the sharp changes of direction just crumple them up and push them into the middle of my foot and become incredibly uncomfortable. Same goes for band-aids, tape, etc.

Your idea of cutting the bottom of the football socks off sounds very intriguing, this could be what I need. I'll give this a go at training on Thursday

Edited March 13, 2012 by Hanaldo

[10 4]

Also, I cut my toenails very short

[TM7GTR]

Ah yeah, I have a mate with the same problem. He took the expensive road out of it and went on Nikeid and miAdidas to purchase custom boots. Not only do they let you design a boot, but you can pick a custom wide fitting boot too . Luckily my feet are narrow-regular, so I've been rocking the nike mercurial range since 2006 lol.

[Hanaldo]

Also, I cut my toenails very short

Haha well yeh, that's usually the done thing?

Ah yeah, I have a mate with the same problem. He took the expensive road out of it and went on Nikeid and miAdidas to purchase custom boots. Not only do they let you design a boot, but you can pick a custom wide fitting boot too . Luckily my feet are narrow-regular, so I've been rocking the nike mercurial range since 2006 lol.

Yehhh this is what I would like to do, unfortunately I can't justify the cost

[mad082]

I have, but they weren't very helpful. He explained the causes but didn't provide me with any solutions.

did you actually ask for any solutions?

i'd possibly suggest going to a different podiatrist (possibly even a sports podiatrist) and having a chat to them, and possibly even asking about getting orthotics made.

in the mean time, i'll ask mum for any tips for you. she's the receptionist at a podiatrist. she can have a talk to the people at work

[Nee-san]

Hey all,

So this is a somewhat delicious topic, but I am getting sick of the constant pain of runners feet. As a bit of a quick background, I play amateur football (soccer) pretty competitively, and I do a fair bit of running as part of that. I hit the gym every day except Sat/Sunday, so I'm relatively fit albeit pre-season. I figured somebody on here surely must have similar problems so it would be worth asking.

Basically what I'm talking about is this:

The black toenails, the blood blisters and normal blisters, calluses, etc. That second picture shows pretty much all of the above on my one toe, while that first photo is generally what I have to deal with every week. I run myself into the ground at training and on game days and always go home looking like this. Calluses crack so bad that they bleed like that first photo, I often develop blisters on my blisters, calluses and toenails develop blood blisters underneath, sometimes I get toenails just coming off, etc. Pretty I know.

What I wanted to ask is, has anyone experienced similar problems? What have you done about it?

You need to do the following.

Wash and dry your feet regularly.

DO NOT REUSE SOCKS UNLESS CLEAN, ONLY EVER USE CLEAN SOCKS.

Clean your shoes, inside and out, don't wear your shoes and socks longer then you have to.

Make sure you have the right size shoes, I know everyone knows if they are an 8,9,10 or 11 But seriously go and get yourself measured up you might have a wider then average foot, I do and it f**king sucks unless you have the right shoes for it.

Apply lucas paw paw ointment, the one that comes in the little red tubs and tubes to any broken and damaged skin area, generally after you have had a shower as your getting into bed.

Spend decent money on decent running shoes.

I'm not positive on the football shoes but I KNOW that ASICS make a "E" type runner that is for wider feet.

If a few weeks of all the of the above does not fix your problem, go and see someone who specialises in athletes.

Cheers,

Mitch.

[Hanaldo]

did you actually ask for any solutions?

i'd possibly suggest going to a different podiatrist (possibly even a sports podiatrist) and having a chat to them, and possibly even asking about getting orthotics made.

in the mean time, i'll ask mum for any tips for you. she's the receptionist at a podiatrist. she can have a talk to the people at work

I did, but the solutions he gave me were generic solutions, they won't work for me because I'm trying to play football. Eg. he suggested getting some bigger boots. Bigger shoes are all well and good for your average runner, but I need to be able to feel the ball on my foot, kick a ball, etc. I have had orthotics for about 6 months now too.

You need to do the following.

Wash and dry your feet regularly.

DO NOT REUSE SOCKS UNLESS CLEAN, ONLY EVER USE CLEAN SOCKS.

Clean your shoes, inside and out, don't wear your shoes and socks longer then you have to.

Make sure you have the right size shoes, I know everyone knows if they are an 8,9,10 or 11 But seriously go and get yourself measured up you might have a wider then average foot, I do and it f**king sucks unless you have the right shoes for it.

Apply lucas paw paw ointment, the one that comes in the little red tubs and tubes to any broken and damaged skin area, generally after you have had a shower as your getting into bed.

Spend decent money on decent running shoes.

I'm not positive on the football shoes but I KNOW that ASICS make a "E" type runner that is for wider feet.

If a few weeks of all the of the above does not fix your problem, go and see someone who specialises in athletes.

Cheers,

Mitch.

I do all of the above, but this is the sort of advice the podiatrist gave me. It's fine if all I was trying to do is run, but it doesn't work for me in a football context. Nobody makes custom fitting football boots for a decent price, not anything I can afford. I have got proper running shoes that fit my feet well, it helps a bit but doesn't eliminate the problem. I'm going to try TM7's advice about the anti-blister socks etc, see how well that goes.