My foosties, OUCH and stuff.

[Corny]

sorry for an OT question (I don't have much knowledge at all about orthopaedics) - those five finger things, you mean those "foot gloves", right? I am fascinated by those since I have seen them in teh intarwwebz - but I never saw them in a store and always wondered: don't you sweat like hell in them?

 

[Horse90]

Frankly, I'd advise you see a foot doctor. Most other body parts I wouldn't worry about, but injure your foot and you're looking at months, even years, before the damage might be repaired.
Most likely answer os a fungal infection, or just bruising to the bridge of your foot. The shoe might just be binding or pressing in the wrong spot. There's a lot that can go wrong in that part of the body...

 

[KaraBulut]

What you're describing sounds a lot like plantar fasciitis and the early stages of a heel spur.

Here's a link that provides a bit more description:
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/generalinfo2/a/heelspur.htm

If this sounds like it might be the problem, make an appointment with a podiatrist. The article provides information about things you can do to reduce the inflammation but you may need to consider an orthotic support- which are available over-the-counter or in specially made-to-fit options.

 

[bankside]

sorry for an OT question (I don't have much knowledge at all about orthopaedics) - those five finger things, you mean those "foot gloves", right? I am fascinated by those since I have seen them in teh intarwwebz - but I never saw them in a store and always wondered: don't you sweat like hell in them?

Sorry to go further off topic, but I just realized even with my non-existent knowledge of german, what it would be called in german and it got even funnier.... Fuß-Handschuh?

 

[Yooper]

Try here for more info. There's a store in Omaha.

http://www.goodfeet.com/ask-home.html

Never been but my neighbor has and swears they solved his problem.

 

[Yngbldhwk]

You probably do have plantar fasciitis and, depending (in part) on the ligamentous structure of your feet, you may need shoes with more arch support, and not less. Not seeing your feet, it's impossible to say, but in general if you have a very high arch you need a shoe with a lot of cushioning and some flexibility. A very low arch usually does best with a more rigid shoe with better arch support.

There's nothing inherently wrong with going barefoot, but remember that our feet were designed to function optimally on natural surfaces -- grass, earth, soil, or sand. Nonyielding surfaces such as concrete or asphalt are an entirely different story. That fact that you're experiencing discomfort is a signal that it might be time to back off a bit from the running/walking barefoot.

 

[Dave1958]

I developed plantar fascitis last summer. The shoes I was running in wasnt thick enough in the heel and I was running on asphalt. See a foot dr. or orthopedist. mine is better 8 months later, but if I change shoes to a harder sole it comes back. My cardio is limited to cycling currently. Ive beed told it takes a year to recover( can be longer, if ever). My advise to all is take cake of your feet and wear shoes that are appropriate to the surface

 

[seven_sins]

I have had plantar fasciitis in both heels and they hurt like hell when I got out of bed in the morning. They also hurt when I got up after sitting for a while. It was impossible to put any weight at all on my heels. So I don't think you have plantar fasciitis. I tried Spenco orthotics, which are some fancy types of arch supports that are supposed to mold to the bottom of your foot, and they made my feet hurt worse. The pressure in the area under my arches drove me nuts. I cannot wear any type of arch supports. I believe you have the same problem. If you do have plantar fasciitis, be prepared for it to take 9 months to heal.

 

[Corny]

Sorry to go further off topic, but I just realized even with my non-existent knowledge of german, what it would be called in german and it got even funnier.... Fuß-Handschuh?

Hehe yes good question. Since a glove is a handschuh and those are used for the foot, you could construct Fußhandschuh as a proper German word for those things. But that would be a confusing word since Handschuh (glove) literally means "shoe for the hand" so you would be calling it "shoe for the hand for the foot"
They simply avoided the problem and only sell them as "vibram fivefingers" here, and don't mention glove(handschuh) at all in the product description

 

[versatastic]

Like the doc said, you might want to get new shoes like Chucks, Vans, or Sanuks. If you have thicker and/or flat feet, Sanuks would be best. If you have the money, you might want to try Vivo Barefoot shoes: http://www.terraplana.com/mens-vivo-barefoot-c-153_157.html?viewall=true&sort=4a.

I also love walking and playing around barefoot (I pretty much only wore shoes for school sports and church growing up) and I used to have a lot of problems with running/athletic shoes and foot aches. I even tried just about every different pair of gel/cushioned inserts, but my feet would still ache after just a short while and until I took them off. Then I started wearing slip-on Chucks because I couldn't wear flip flops in lab and realized my feet didn't really hurt at all even though the soles are pretty thin. While they're not fully barefoot, they'e a lot better than wearing athletic shoes, which I haven't worn in about 6 years now.