Reviews > Books > General > Fixing Your Feet > Owner Review by Lynne Durham

Owner review: Fixing your Feet by John Vonhof

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BOOK INFORMATION

OWNER INFORMATION

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REVIEWER EXPERIENCE

I have hiked and car camped all of my life, mostly in the relative flatlands of the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan, but also in areas east of the Continental Divide, such as South Dakota, New England, Kentucky, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, and more. I put in extensive mileage dayhiking and trail running with a pack, as I train for ultramarathons and adventure racing events. I have competed in both sprint- and expedition-length adventure races and gone as far as the 50-mile distance in ultramarathoning. I have dayhiked from rim to rim in the Grand Canyon and will do so again in October.

I also enjoy snowshoeing, and I am a paddling and climbing novice.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He’s not a podiatrist or a physician of any type, but John Vonhof may have treated more foot problems than many physicians ever see. An avid ultrarunner, adventure racer and hiker, John has taken a keen interest in the foot problems in athletes. Over the course of 25 years of athletic interest, John’s learned a lot, and he has a lot of athletic friends who know a lot. In Fixing Your Feet, John and his friends share their wealth of knowledge.

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THE SUBJECT MATTER

The book deals with most every foot issue a backpacker could ever encounter, from blisters and black toenails to parasthesia and neuropathy. All subject matter is presented in easy-to-understand, layman’s terms and John’s makes the subject matter interesting by sprinkling anecdotal stories throughout and quoting many, many foot-dependent athletes, including some of BackpackGearTest.org’s very own members. John volunteers at many events, taking care of feet problems so that athletes can continue their events.

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THE ORGANIZATION

The book is broken down into several sections:

• Foot basics, including the very first section which explains which foot specialists a reader may want to consult
• Footwear basics, which teaches you everything you ever wanted to know about shoes, insoles and orthotics
• Prevention, with 11 different sections on preventing foot trouble, including 159 ways to prevent blisters
• Treatments, offering ways of coping with foot issues and offering suggested items to keep in your foot care kit
• Resources, which includes several appendices, a glossary, notes and two indices

This organization allows the reader to peruse the book straight through or move from topic to topic as needed.

In the ultrarunning world, people often say “We are each an experiment of one.” Keeping that in mind, John’s solutions are often about offering a variety of approaches rather than saying that one definitive approach is the only way to go. For example, several taping techniques for blister prevention are shown, and 9 lacing options for solving shoe issues are illustrated.

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS BOOK?

This book could be very useful for anyone who spends a lot of time on his or her feet. It’s especially useful for people who prefer to take care of minor foot issues on their own, people who have consulted a physician and not been satisfied with the results and people who want to prevent problems before they happen.

I’ve had the book since Christmas, but I’ve followed many of John’s suggestions even longer as I’ve read his advice on mailing lists. During that time, I’ve consulted his advice on a variety of issues, with successful results:

• blister prevention. Although I do not usually get blisters, I do when walking in deep, sandy areas like dunes. I have used taping techniques from this book to prevent blistering when walking in dunes. The book gives many other strategies for blister prevention as well.
• dealing with blackened toenails. I have drilled a hole in a blackened toenail to relieve pressure and allow me to continue on in an event as recommended. The book offers several points of view for dealing with blackened toenails.
• plantar fasciitis. I have used the book's recommendations for exercises and icing to help relieve the pain of plantar fasciitis. The book discusses several options for dealing with plantar fasciitis.
  

THIS IS COOL

• Gives you strategies that could keep your hike going when a injury threatens to make you get off the trail
• Easy to read, easy to thumb through
• Has allowed me to successfully deal with foot issues

THIS COULD BE IMPROVED

• I really like this book -- I don't have any complaints about it.

NOTE

There are some totally gross photos of macerated feet. They’re in black and white, so they’re not overwhelming – but if these don’t convince you to take good care of your feet, I’m not sure what will!

SUMMARY

Fixing Your Feet is a valuable addition to any athlete’s library and can be especially useful to backpackers.

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Reviews > Books > General > Fixing Your Feet > Owner Review by Lynne Durham