Haglund’s Deformity and Boots

[chester]

I have had issues in the past with self-diagnosed achilles tendonitis. I recently have realized that I in fact have the deformity in the title and this is the root of my problem.

http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/haglunds-deformity.htm

When I joined the Army all the issue boots I tried on were either so big my feet flopped around inside of them or if they fit the rest of my fit properly they were horribly painful on my heels. At CIF at reception I was finally told to pick a pair and that the heel cup would break in. I did and after two days the heels of my boots were blood soaked and I had blisters three levels deep and that was just from standing in lines at reception.

My life saver was my dad who mailed me a pair of winter boots he had sitting around from a previous deployment. The extra padding made them wearable and I went the rest of training with only minor blisters, although I did have an achilles issue for a week or two.

After I got out of training I bought some bates boots in my normal length but extra wide. I have narrow feet. I added heel pads and the combination of elevating my heel and wearing boots way too wide kept me from having heel problems. Of course the rest of the boot is too big, so I had to lace below the ankle extra tight and tie it off there to try and keep my foot in place, and again at the ankle.

This pretty much works, but I have found on ruck marches I just can't lace it tight enough to keep my foot in place and I get blisters on my toes and a few other locations after a while.

I am currently planning on going to sfas as soon as allowed by my deployment schedule and am trying to square away my boot situation. I have a pair of garmont T8's that I removed the heel cup from. I am starting to break them in and so far can go about 4 miles at a 12:30 pace, which includes jogging down hills without getting any hotspots. It looks like this might be my best option and I am going to try some longer distances with them ASAP.

I was just curious if anyone here has any experience with this issue, or any ideas for a solution that would allow me to keep a heel cup. Google and searching this site turned up pretty much nothing useful on this heel shape when it comes to military boots.

[Eagle5US]

Do not go to SFAS. You will be a liability.

In SF your FEET are your primary mode of transportation. Into, and OUT OF bad places. If you can't get your feet into boots on a regular basis without custom / semi-custom cobblery - you are going to be a liability to yourself and those around you.

In the short term - see your primary care manager and get a referral to Podiatry. They may be able to make some custom orthotics and provide you EXPERT medical advice after looking at your feet.

Good luck - take care of your feet. They are the only two you've got.

Eagle

[The Reaper]

Do not go to SFAS. You will be a liability.

In SF your FEET are your primary mode of transportation. Into, and OUT OF bad places. If you can't get your feet into boots on a regular basis without custom / semi-custom cobblery - you are going to be a liability to yourself and those around you.

In the short term - see your primary care manager and get a referral to Podiatry. They may be able to make some custom orthotics and provide you EXPERT medical advice after looking at your feet.

Good luck - take care of your feet. They are the only two you've got.

Eagle

Ditto.

And please do some reading and searching before starting any additional threads.

TR

[chester]

Roger and thank you.

[stfesta]

Haglund's Deformity is seen in patients with mostly a rigid back shoe. In women, it is called a pump bump.

When I went to SFAS, I pulled the hard cardboard out of the toe and heel of my jungle boots. I have done it to all my boots ever since.

You don't need to go see a podiatrist, you only need to take the pressure off of your heels.

That being said, if your feet are effed up before day one, you might have some problems.

Our plan to get out of a hot country if it got hotter was to walk across 3 mountain ranges. That is a lot of up and down and a lot of wear and tear on the feet.

If you can build up to the standard (and maintain it for your entire SF career), then go for it. If you can't, you may put yourself in danger. Which is no big deal, I believe in big boy rules. The issue is when your inability to perform puts someone else's life in danger.

sf