Walking Boot

My "Franken-boot"

By late September of 2017, my podiatrist, Dr. Shah, decided the next thing for me to try before surgery would be a walking boot. Over the past year or so, I'd tried the following with no success: cortisone shots, custom orthotic inserts, physical therapy, and night splints. PF can be extremely painful, as you know, so to have gone this long without any relief was really starting to wear me down not only physically but mentally. A big part of the reason that I'd left my job as an activities assistant at a nursing home was that it was worsening my PF pain; I was on my feet almost 8 hours a day, walking around and pushing residents in wheelchairs. I was now almost 6 months into a sit-down office job that put no stress on my feet and was still having pain, so Dr. Shah was almost certain surgery would be next if I didn't have success with the walking boot.

Getting a walking boot was far easier than getting custom orthotic inserts. Your doctor will give you the size you need depending on your shoe size (I believe walking boot sizes run S, M, L, and XL), and will make sure everything fits properly and comfortably before you leave the office. The boot I have has two pieces of fabric that go across the top part of my foot, just below my toes, secured by Velcro. There are another two pieces of fabric that secure (again, with Velcro) at the bottom of my leg, just above my ankle.

Bottom Velcro strap

Top Velcro strap 

The next piece that goes on is a detachable plastic shell which looks like this:

Top part of the shell

Bottom part of the shell

Once that is in place, two straps secure the shell to the boot, like this:

Lower strap

Upper strap

There are these little "airbag" things (using my own terminology here) on the inside of the boot, just above the ankle. These can be inflated or deflated via a little pump if the boot fits too loosely. They maintain air well; I'm pretty sure I've only had to inflate them once or twice in the past 6 months.

Air pump

Originally, Dr. Shah wanted me to wear the walking boot for only a few weeks to see if it would lessen my PF pain. It helped a little bit, but I was still at a level of pain that she decided I would need surgery. (I will discuss the type of procedure I had and what was involved in a future post.) After my surgery on November 15, 2017, I wore the boot through my recovery and was told I would no longer need it after November 29. I would still need to wear sneakers with good support (my doctor recommended New Balance) and custom orthotic inserts, but that was fine by me. As you can imagine - or already know, if you've worn it - I was more than ready to get rid of my walking boot, which I call "the Franken-boot."

One good thing about the boot is that I could wear it on my left or right foot, depending on which one was hurting me more. As you know by now, my right foot has always had a significantly higher level of pain then my left, so I never had a reason to wear the boot on my left foot. (I'm not sure if this is possible for all walking boots, so this would be something to discuss with your doctor if you're looking to buy just one.) My doctor told me not to drive with the boot, since it was my driving foot, but I did anyway. It's probably not the best idea, I know, but it never caused me any problems. It just felt like driving with a big snow boot on, once I got used to it. I'm not saying that driving with a walking boot is okay or even safe to do, so please follow whatever your doctor tells you! 

I did not wear my custom orthotic insert in my walking boot. (I still wore it inside my New Balance sneaker on my left foot, as I normally would.) However, the podiatrist I saw after Dr. Shah, which would be my fourth, recommended wearing a cork heel lift inside my boot. (I will discuss cork heel lifts and how they help PF pain in a future post.) 

As I mentioned earlier, wearing a walking boot feels a little like wearing a big snow boot. It's not uncomfortable or painful, just a bit awkward. You might limp a bit in the beginning, having this clunky thing on your foot; but like anything else, you get used to it with time. I hardly notice a difference from my left or right foot when I wear it anymore.

Unfortunately, my surgery was not as successful as I had hoped, so my doctor recently recommended that I start wearing it again, this time with the cork heel lift. I don't wear it daily, and haven't the past two days because it was rainy outside. One downside to the boot, at least the kind that I have, is that it's easy for water to get in. You definitely don't want to wear it in the snow, and if you are able to go without it, you might want to forego wearing the boot when it rains - or at least tie a plastic bag over it when you're walking outside. It looks ridiculous but will keep your foot dry.

Overall, the walking boot has been helpful to me. I still feel pain in my heel with almost every step, but it's much less noticeable with it on. When you have severe PF, wearing a walking boot can be a big help. You might notice a difference in pain as I did, so it's worth discussing with your doctor. 

In my next few posts, I will discuss my surgery - the procedure itself, the recovery process, and my results. 

As always, I can be reached on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/plantarwhat/ or via email (wsmalls12194@gmail.com) to answer any questions.

Thanks for reading,

Becky