Answer

By LFTO Answers Team

We asked podiatrist Andrew Stanley of the Rebound Clinic for advice:

“Have you had your boots checked for fit - they may be too tight in the toe box causing lateral pressure and leading to cramping. George Fisher in Keswick are excellent boot fitters and can do this for you.
 
“Alternatively, if it is cramp the small muscles in the forefoot may be over working and “cramping up” -  try drinking isotonic drinks when walking such as Lucozade sport.
 
“If you have a high arch, your toes may also be retracted, which in turn make the metatarsal heads become prominent under the ball of the foot. This increased stress accumulates over the walk leading to painful symptoms. Often orthotics - even custom made ones - do not include a metatarsal support (plantar metatarsal bar) or if they do it can often be too far back and not high enough. This is usually because the othortics are made away from the clinic at a laboratory and the accurate location of such a support is almost impossible without the patient being present when fitting the support to the orthotics.
 
“Correct support of the metatarsals will help straighten the toes and reduce the prominence of the metatarsal heads on the ball of the foot. This usually alleviates the stress through the forefoot allowing you to walk for longer while reducing the symptoms. You either need to sort this out with the podiatrist that supplied the orthotics - there shouldn’t be any charge for a review of an unsuccessful treatment -  or seek a second opinion.”