Climbing shoes broke my feet

At the repeated insistence of a friend, I first tried climbing in 2007.  That night at the gym, I fell in love and I've been climbing ever since.  A year or two in I was ready for shoes that had edging capabilities.  I did a lot of research and asked experienced climbers for advice.  At the time I was focused on sport climbing and I chose the popular La Sportiva Muira.  Choosing the size was a lot more difficult than picking out the shoe since there is no where to try on climbing shoes locally (or even within a 150 mile radius) so I made an educated guess.  Most women sized down 1.5 euro sizes, so I did the same. When they arrived, I was immediately worried about how hard they were to get on and how tight they were once on.  I showed the fit to some of the experienced climbers in the gym and they assured me that mine fit exactly how climbing shoes were supposed to fit, that it's normal for the shoes to hurt at first, and that they would break in.

Sure enough, the shoes did "break in" and they became my best friends. I loved that I could customize the tightness of the entire shoe and with quick laces I could get them on and off quickly. Eventually, they wore down to the point that it was time for a resole. I couldn't live without my beloved Muiras so I bought a second identical pair.  I thought it strange that a brand new pair of identical shoes felt great on my feet right out of the box, while the original pair initially felt like Chinese foot binding. I chalked it up to manufacturing variability and continued loving my Muiras, resoling each pair several times.  

I started bouldering more and I found that the more I bouldered, the stronger I felt on rope.  I love the comraderie of bouldering, the focus on movement and achieving goals, and the effect on my body. I started looking for a slightly more aggressive shoe. On my next visit to the New (one of the few places in the Southeast with a large climbing shoe stock), I tried on the Solutions first because it's such a popular shoe with local boulderers. I really wanted to love them, but they did not feel good on my feet. I tried on shoe after shoe but nothing felt right.  Finally the rep suggested Katanas. They were more aggressive than the Muiras and they fit like a glove!  I went with the tightness I was accustomed to and bought the same size (38) as my Muira laces.  

Sometime in the next year, I began having pain in the joint of my big toe.  I've gotten plenty of comments about my "bunions" over the years, but I always refused to call them that.  "I just have boney feet!  It's genetic!"  When the pain became so unbearable that it was difficult to walk however, it became obvious that I do have something more serious going on at the joint. I went to a foot specialist who x-rayed my foot.  He pointed out how the metatarsal (foot) bone has shifted outward and my toe has shifted inward.   He told me that the joint could continue to get worse until the joint has to be fused together and that I will need surgery to prevent that from happening.   I was shocked. I was too scared to stick a needle in my foot for a cortisone injection so I left with nothing other than a resolve to try to heal my foot on my own and at some point get some additional opinions.

I began researching bunions, hallux valgus, hallux rigidus, and climbing shoes.  From my own experience I know that repeated flexing at the toe joint significantly exacerbates the problem. This leads me to believe that carbon fiber shoe inserts could be useful in keeping the joint stabilized and therefore inflammation minimized. My first step, however, was to do something about my climbing shoes. On the next trip to the New, every climbing shoe I tried felt terrible on my toe joint. In the end, my beloved Katana in the next FULL size up felt the best without feeling floppy.  I hoped that I could keep climbing after biting the bullet and buying ANOTHER expensive pair of climbing shoes after only one year.

Once my bunion pain stopped flaring I began climbing in my "big" Katanas.  I was relieved to find that the pain was significantly diminished and the larger size shoes didn't hold me back AT ALL.  

Next I focused on my everyday footwear.  For my entire life, I've mostly avoided anything pointy, anything high heeled, and anything that digs into the toe joint. Since this toe pain though, my shoes have been even more limited; I wear only Keens, Chacos, and Danskos. The Chacos were an expensive mistake because they strangled my big toe but frequent loosening helped. When I finally got a pair of Danskos I came to understand why my mom now wears them 24-7.  Danskos are the only shoe I've tried that has enough rigidity to limit the toe joint flex (and therefore toe joint pain).  I happened to run across an orthotic shoe store and learned that I have very high arches. I walked out with some expensive custom inserts that support my arches but also take up more space in my shoe.

I also needed something to support my feet in my house, especially since most of our floors are wood.  The support of Oofos was amazing, but because my big toe is so close to my second toe the toe thong hurts (a problem I have with any flip-flop with a non-fabric thong).  

Oofos Original

A few weeks later I finally got to try on the clogs at another local store and they were heavenly!  I only wear them inside my house so that they stay clean and no one can point and laugh at the frumpiness (my fashionable mom would surely be one of them).

Oofos Clog

Although I've kept the joint pain at bay with these measures, it still flares and reminds me that the problem has not gone away. Recently I jumped in the trampoline with my boys barefooted and afterwards I suffered the consequences. I could hardly bear to walk for a few days.  

Looking back to the beginning of my climbing obsession, I think that first pair of super - tight Muiras (perhaps helped by my genetically "bony" feet) may have caused my bones to shift over time. That would explain why the second pair didn't have to be broken in. 

We need more voices saying you don't need painfully tight shoes to be a good climber! Buying shoes so tight and hoping that they will break in could break your foot instead of breaking in your shoe.


(For anyone looking for this data, I wear an 8 1/2 in hiking shoes, 8 in other street shoes, and I originally bought size 38 in my first 3 pairs of climbing shoes.  I am currently climbing in size 39 Katanas).