Discussion: Feet, blisters, ankles!

Well, time to start new discussion that may be helpful to anyone :) More specifically I would like to ask you for the ways of protecting your feet both from blisters and ankle injuries.

Until about 4 years ago I didn't do anything specific to protect my ankles. But after spraining both of my ankles (and as a consequence performing miserably for couple seasons), I started to wear soft ankle ACE braces (they look like socks with cutouts for hill and toes). They work quite well for me as I didn’t have any ankle problems since then. However, being soft they absorb moisture. Especially if you need to cross streams a number of times. I usually develop some small blisters from wearing these soft braces at the end of long weekend. I don’t wear braces when I am out of woods. I also noticed that at elite events many athletes tape ankles using special sport tape. What do you do to protect your ankles?

The issue of blisters is very picking for me personally. I tend to develop blisters quite frequently in spite of some protective measures I may take such as good socks, shoes of right size, and even some duct tape at the back and on the bottom of my feet. I noticed that I never develop blisters when woods are dry. However, when they are wet and there are numerous streams to cross I most likely have blisters on my big toes, bottom of the feet and sometimes back of the feet. Especially it was bad this past weekend during Flying Pig farsta. After first stream crossing my feet were on fire. And, of course, with blisters I couldn’t run as fast as I wanted :( I even had to cheer myself to finish last 100m uphill on the pavement next day and lost probably 5% of my speed as I couldn’t get good grip. What do you do to prevent blisters?

I have weak ankles from years of playing basketball. Originally, I tried using active-ankles, but I got blisters. I switched to the Jala Cross-Controls or the equivalent Olway X-ways and solved my problem. I wouldn't be able to do the sport without them.

Currently I'm trying the high-top Integrator, because I couldn't get my favorites. They seem to be working okay.

With respect to blisters, (hmm he is in M40, my age group) I suggest running way way out of your way to cross streams on a sturdy bridge. :)

You need some rogainers to chime in on this topic.

After using Active Ankle for over a year ( which worked perfectly) I finally tried to tape my ankles at WCOC A-Meet. Worked out great, if taped correctly, tape provides same support as any other good ankle brace.

As for blisters, try to experiment with certain pairs of sneakers that more or less suit for Orienteering, that may work.

I believe in having stronger ankles in the first place rather than protecting them during the race. I do a lot of lunges onto a dynadisc (floppy inflatable pad) and also balancing exercises. It seems to have cured me - I had three bad sprains in the previous three years (up to 2002) while taping, but now I don't wear anything during the race and (touch synthetic wood veneer desktop) haven't had any problems yet.

At international competitions I observed that most (all?) of the athletes tape their ankles. I do believe now that it is essential to protect ankles in orienteering at each competition race to stay healthy. Especially it is true for terrains with soft, wet, and stony grounds (which is probably all type of the woods :). In my case I twisted both of my ankles while stepping on small stones buried in the soft soil at high speed. Even with very strong ankles none could survive this kind of stress. I would advise juniors always to tape or wear protecting braces/ankle support. Unfortunately, for me taping prohibited due to the hair overgrowth :)

Blisters are good for you. Just don't let them get this bad.

What is that?!

On a different note, there is no need to let hair overgrowth get in the way of taping. A little routine (and discrete) shaving makes application and removal of the tape a breeze.

That is a picture of my heal after a few days of running with new shoes at Oringen in 2002. It was definitely one of the more painful experiences in my life. I guess 40th place isn't so bad when your heals look like that.

People have different ankles, and different needs. I typically fold my ankle under at least once in every race in a way that I'm pretty sure would stop most people dead in their tracks and have them on crutches for days. But due to a connective tissue disorder, I'm able to just keep on running with essentially no pain, and no swelling at all. Only twice have I had an ankle injury; the first, as an example, occurred when my foot got run over by a big rock that got dislodged. But I certainly know other people who never set foot in the woods without some sort of ankle brace (what works best varies from person to person).

I do have bllister problems sometimes, particularly in long races (rogaines and such). I've managed to reduce these problems with diligent application of ductape. My main blister area is on the edges of toes, where other toes step on them. For this, I remove any "knife-edge" callus with a small pair of scissors, and wrap the toe in ductape (this is done *before* the race). Blisters like the one in John's picture are a shoe fit problem. I have one pair of O-shoes that will do that to me, and there's a note inside them saying "These shoes will blister your heels!" so that I don't forget. (I know, I know, why don't I just throw them away?) If I wear them for a training run or something, a big strip of ductape starting under the foot and running up the back of the ankle will generally ward off blisters. A few times I've gotten blisters under the ball of the foot, and I don't know what to do about those.

Don't be afraid to shave your ankles. I don't need to, because I have inexplicably bald ankles. The hair stops right at the sock line. Some people have said that the socks must be responsible, but I don't see how. My leg hair doesn't do photosynthesis or anything.

I saw some socks on a guy recently that had toes, ie they were made like a glove vesus a mitten (normal socks are foot mittens).

I happen to have a pair of those, Japanese socks, wouldn't recomment running in those though may not fit into O-shoe, may end up having John's blisters that way.

John, very impressive! I am proud to have even worth during this year Flying Pig farsta :) No photos can be posted as they are too scary! I drained probably couple gallons of blood from them :) Seriously speaking I had only 1 pair of O shoes that didn't cause blisters but all others do. Even duct tape doesn't help as it usually gets off the feet at the last half of the course after some stream crossing! I also noticed that with my feet I can only tolerate ASICS brand of running shoes.

What else you can do to prevent blisters?

For whatever my experience may be worth, I used to have fairly severe blister problems in wide-fitting Jalas Jukola's which were all A&E had in my size - I could just about finish the blue course at a local meet without anything worse than hot spots developing but longer races were a problem. I experimented with different sock combinations - filling the space with the largest, thickest sock I could find helped as did double layer socks intended to prevent blisters but better fitting shoes were a much better solution. I quite liked the Walsh PB Racer but the upper and sole both have durability problems. I'm now on my third pair of shoes Silva describes as being built on a narrow last and will happily stick with them until and unless Silva goes out of business. Though I haven't run anything like a properly controlled experiment since I varied both shoes and socks at once. I'm currently wearing knee-high compression socks (who am I to think Paula Radcliffe is wrong?) then the double layer socks and then neoprene socks by Sealskinz that reach more or less to mid calf. The vapour barrier liner in those won't survive intact very long but the neoprene itself is quite water resistant - I can generally do a couple of quick footplants with each foot during stream crossings in a course without noticing any wetness reaching my skin.

BTW, I tried the Goretex Socks they sell for hiking- the waterproofness was much more fragile and water resistance, once I damaged seams and destroyed the waterproofness, was negligible.

By the way, it may be interesting for you to know what I do with blisters after!

Do not remove the displaced skin! Wash the blister, dry it, if any liquid - drain by pocking couple holes with pin (sterilize it with flame or alcohol) and using sterile pad squeeze liquid from it. Put displaced skin back in place, apply triple antibiotic, and cover with proper size band aid. At least once per day re-apply triple antibiotic and band aid. It is important to keep the wound moistened. By having old skin in place you make the skin regenerating much easier and faster! It takes approximately twice as long for me to gain the ability to train again if no skin is left. Usually I can start easy running in about 3-4 days. It completely heels in about 1.5-2 weeks. I use my good worn out shoes for training. No new shoes! No out of trail runs! No real interval workouts! All this should be postponed. Always cover blisters with band aid and protective tape until new skin in place. Carefuly remove old skin when it dries. Good luck in your adventures!

Now that blisters have been covered, what is a good ankle taping method for Orienteering? And what is a good type of tape that won't stretch or come loose when wet?

Blisters, turned ankles, Sergey this article says that you should avoid wearing slingbacks in the woods!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-04-20-...

I used to get horrid blisters on the sides of my big toes in long races and especially rogaines. I now wear these things called "toe caps". They are small sleeves that fit over an individual toe (like the finger of a glove) but they have an inside layer of some sort of gel. I've never had problems with those toes since.

On ankles- I think willhawk makes the most important point for problem ankles. The first and best option is to work on strengthening and maintaining what you were born with.

Supports have their place, for healing, and maybe as a precaution in big races, but I think everyone should do what they can to avoid these crutches. Once you are dependent on crutches, your ankles will only get weaker and more susceptible to injury. In addition to specific exercises, I think the best approach in rehab is commom sense/ obvious- run "crutchless" on the short, low intensity workouts, where you have the most control over the degree of twisting, and work patiently, but progressively, longer, rougher, and faster.

I know some people have ankles that are beyond hope, but for those who don't, especially young folks, I strongly recommend avoiding the crutches, unless you are out of options.

I probably have (had) better than average ankles. (not freaky good like JJ) I experienced frequent twists, a couple sprains w/ swelling, but almost never a debilitating injury. Only once, at ~age 35, did I get into an ankle support, which did its job, but I still managed to wean myself off of it.

Blisters- I won't be as dogmatic here, but I don't recall ever having the level of problems described above, although I've never done a race in wet conditions, longer than a marathon. Maybe I have genetically good feet. Evidently, I prefer my shoes tighter than others. My favorite running shoe salesman says much tighter. Nevertheless, I sized and tied my O-shoes even tighter than normal, for max stability and min slippage. I think there is a common sense principle in this suggestion.

I did lose some toenails in serious training, but that is not as bad as it sounds, and I'd much prefer that to any blister.

I have the opposite problem as JJ, my ankles are too stiff. I don't think I've ever sprained them during orienteering.

my main fear is stepping between two rocks or other sideways ankle/foot trauma...so I often wear tight-fitting neoprene socks, even when it's warm/dry (like during the billygoat yesterday). the extra layer of armor seems to help; at least I notice more problems when I'm wearing normal socks. (credit to james scarborough for suggesting warm-weather use)

they may also help with blisters in wet conditions, because they fit tightly (so most rubbing is between the shoe and sock), and the inside surface is quite smooth. obviously they're the perfect thing while running for long periods in half-frozen nordic marshes, because of the added warmth when wet.

also, I should add that I have not observed as many international runners taping their ankles as sergey suggests; I would guess that more than half don't use tape or braces.

some teams do carry small rolls with them during training, so they can stop and tape afterwards in the event of a sprain (and then walk back). this speeds their recovery, because they avoid making it worse by running on it with the increased risk of spraining the already-weakened ankle further in the same session.

A good book on reducing blisters is "Fixing Your Feet" by John Vonhof. It has a chapter called 151 Ways to Prevent Blisters. There is also information on ankle sprains.

I've been wearing Active Ankles, which give great support. However, I don't really like the braces on each side that go into the shoe. The confort is fine. However, it opens gaps between the shoe and my foot that allows for sticks and stones to get in; I often have to stop and try to pull stuff out. Has anyone tried the lace-up style braces? I think "Swede-O" braces are a popular brand of these.

I dont use any "active-ankles" 1. because im young and i still havent caused much injury to them. grant it, its only a matter of time b4 i finally sprang my ankle. 2. i have strong ankles and also i wear 2 pairs of socks while i orienteer i found out at the Flying pig there is a big diffrence in running in one pair of socks as assposed to 2 pairs of socks.

The blisters I get aren't from my foot moving inside the shoe, it's from one toe stepping on another. This is bound to happen when sidehilling, and after enough time it causes blisters. But it only happens in very long races. The Billygoat isn't long enough, the Highlander is, and full Rogaines definitely are. And I also lose toenails after long races (though they don't fall off for at least a month).

I think there are three extremes in ankles: glass, iron, and rubber. Glass ankles snap as soon as you start running. I've known people like this, and they have to wear braces all the time. Rubber ankles just flop around, and there's probably some disadvantage to this, but they rarely sprain. And iron ankles are very strong, but maybe when they do go, they go big time. And most people's ankles like somewhere in that triangle. That's my preposterous theory for today.

Tom, sounds like you need spats to wear over your Active Ankles. Although gaiters might do the trick too. I have a pair of really light-duty gaiters (from Treklite) that I just wear to keep grass seeds out of my socks when I'm in grass-seed heavy terrain. I thin they'd do the trick.

How you tie your shoes can make a difference with blisters. A few years ago I saw a brochure with a couple of different ways to tie. I'd had problems with heel blisters. The ball of my foot is very wide, but my heel is thinner. So when I get shoes that are wide enough, they tend to slip a little in the heel. I learned a way to tie my shoes so that they are not too tight in the front, but they cinch up around the top and hold the heel steady. My heel blisters went away.

After five years of very serious blister problems and lots of dollars spent on possible remedies, I've finally found something that works for me: 2" wide Johnson & Johnson Elastikon tape, along with fabric Band-aids. Elastikon isn't available at the chain drug stores but I did find it at a local pharmacy that carries a wider range of products for sports medicine and physical therapy.

Before each race, what I've done is put a large 2" wide fabric Band-aid on each heel and then cover it with an Elastikon tape wrap, beginning on one side of the foot, wrapping behind the heel, over the instep, under the foot, and back behind the heel for double protection. I've also wrapped smaller fabric Band-aids around each big toe. I've tried this system for three A meets so far, and have had no blisters at all.

The beauty of using fabric Band-aids and Elastikon is that these products stick well when wet but they don't pull off the skin when you remove them. The products are relatively expensive but if they can prevents pain and missed days of orienteering, they're well worth it.