OT: Orthotics & footwear...suggestions?

[Guest guest]

Following the suggestion of the nurse working triage, when I went to

the Indy VA medical center ER about my ankle, last month, I've been

using an ankle brace with rigid (plastic) lateral supports. Last

night, four hours into my shift, I noticed a problem with my

Wellington-style saftey boots, in that the rear heel cushion in the

boots has been worn in two by my brace, right where the opening for my

heel is in the brace.

Rather than risk getting a blister rubbed into my heel, with 8 hours

left of my shift, I started looking for ways to eliminate the

potential. First I tried wrapping wrapping my ankle, around the brace,

with the 3 " plastic wrap that we use to wrap the end of aluminum

bundles, but no matter how I wrapped it, it always rode up my heel and

around my ankle. Then I tried a flap from a cardboard box, that was

just the right size for my heel, but I was using the plastic wrap to

try securing it, with results the same as the plastic wrap alone...not

to mention slight difficulty putting my foot back into my boot.

Finally, I decided to undo the straps of my brace, and put the piece

of cardboard inside my brace, and under my heel. This worked for all

but about the last hour of my shift, but I figured it might not last

the rest of the night, being cardboard. Luckily the rub on my heel was

still somewhat lessened, after the cardboard became several pieces

inside my boot.

So, can anybody offer any suggestions for what I can add to my brace,

in order to ensure that I don't end up with a heel injury/possibly

lost time? The boots are only two weeks old, and the company will only

pay for one pair of safety shoes/boots (having both toe and metatarsal

protection) per year, so I kind of need to get as much use out of

these as I can. I could always go back to my Bates safety boots

(polycarbonate toe protection) with metatarsal guards that strap onto

the boot laces, but with my work in die maintenance, I've found that

the trip potential is quite elevated, from things wanting to get hung

in the add-on metatarsal guards.

Hopefully whatever y'all suggest is something that I can go to

Wal-Mart or CVS for, and I'll address this problem when I go to the

Indy VA medical center, March 9th, for my Orthopedics Clinic

appointment. I wasn't sure if this query is off-topic, or not, so I

posted it as such. I'm not sure how many of y'all in this group uses

orthotics, and my Wal-Mart bought one is still an orthotic, so I

figure the voice of end-user experience would be a good place to start.

Matt in Indiana