Piedro boots

[13lucky]

Hi there, my dd has hypotonia and hypermobility and has to wear piedro boots to keep her ankles stable. However, for one reason or another she hasn't been wearing them over the summer but yesterday she wore her new pair for the first time for about an hour and now has blisters on one of her heels. I'm not sure what to do - should I take her back to the hospital? Or is it because the boots are hard and need wearing in? I hate this whole feet / shoe thing - it is so difficult. Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place.

I would take her back to the hospital for another fitting, it may just be that they are harder or her feet may have grown or changed shape over the summer?

My dd's dont wear them (yet) i am still waiting for a referral for dd1 (suspected hypotonia), i have just got them some kickers (boots) and they seem to be helping dd2s feet (which turn inwards).

Hope you manage to get it sorted. xx

My dd is 7 and has worn Piedro's for the last 3 years, and I have picked up some useful tips from the orthotist.

The Piedro boots have insoles in that can be removed (mainly so you can fit orthotic insoles/DAFO's in them), but it means that you can take them out and see where the leather has been marked by your dd's feet - they leave a good imprint so you can see if the boots are too small.

It may be that these insoles have moved slightly, so if the boots seem to fit OK then check that the insole is in the boot properly. Check that the raised lip part of the insole under the heel isn't scrunched up.

If all of this is OK, is there a chance that your dd had a rough patch on her socks, or something inside her socks that may have rubbed her feet? My dd has to wear very plain socks with no raised pattern because they blister her feet.

The boots are quite tough, but they should not cause blisters even if they haven't been worn for a while.

Thanks for your replies.

Deepbreath - very useful...I have removed the insoles as she's been wearing them in a different pair of shoes over the summer but I'm pretty sure that I put them back in correctly so don't think that was the problem.

I can't rule out the sock having rubbed so guess this is a possibility.

I know she does have one foot bigger than the other and the blister is on the smaller foot so I wondered whether that boot is slightly too big and may be rubbing up and down but don't know really. Not sure whether to put her back in them once the blister is healed...or take her back to the hospital?

I don't really rate Piedros after our experiences with them.

My DS has recently stopped wearing Piedro boots and his mobility has improved dramatically. He often got blisters wearing in new pairs and as his were built up, they were so heavy, he could hardly walk. The physio and orthotist didn't seem to question the use of Piedros.

I got a second opinion from a Podiatrist who basically admitted that there were conflicts of professional judgement between them and the orthotist and the physio.

Since taking the Podiatrists advice - put him in cheap trainers - his mobility has improved and he has no blisters!

Hmm, interesting donkeyderby. Many moons ago (when clarks were quite good!!), I used to work in Clarks as a Saturday girl as a children's shoe fitter so I do know a bit about whether a pair of shoes fit or not. I find the Piedro boots a farce because at the hospital we go to, they don't even measure my daughter's width...what's that all about???? and because they only come in whole sizes, they always seem too big when she gets them...possibly this is why one of them is causing blisters. However, obviously I don't know much about hypotonia and hypermobility and as we've been told these are what she must wear, I am nervous to go against this.

Anyone else got any views?

(thanks for all the replies - all very helpful.)

What an interesting subject. We had never really given the piedros any special thought but they certainly are very heavy, although they they keep the heel down to the floor. At the end of DGSs skinny little matchstick legs the look like pinocchios feet!

dd3 wears them for hypotonia and hypermobility. For her they work wonders, she has a lot more falls when not wearing them. She has very weak ankles which roll right in when she doesn't wear them and she can't walk that far either without her boots. We've never had a pair that rubbed so I would be tempted just to get the size checked, will your physio check them quickly for you? They definitely come in different widths so worth asking if you think they're needed.

I second what bigcar says, and my dd has had Piedro's for the same problems. Dd has recently been given oversplint boots from Fitzkidz instead of Piedro's, think because they aren't as expensive now dd is around an adult size 5-6 with DAFO's on.

Gilbert and Mellish website has some information about Piedro sizes/widths available.

Ds wears afos and pedros but ours are private rather than nhs but they do come in differnt widths and half sizes if needed to

Hi my DS2 has hypertonia and has been given piedro boots via the orthotist. He has never had blisters but his feet do look red from time to time. We did have a problem with his last pair as the orthotist left the insole underneath his foot cup (can't remember the proper term for it) and he was having huge problems walking and was clearly uncomfortable. The insole has always been taken out before so we took it out and he is much happier.

Never had his width measured though. Interesting to know that this should be happening...

My DS wears Piedros and the first pair he had gave him blisters the first time he wore them. I just waited for them to heal a bit then put him back in them with plasters over his feet on the areas that were rubbing. After a few days I got rid of the plasters and he's been fine ever since.

They helped him massively but I do think they've gone as far as they can go with helping him and he now seems to do better in lighter shoes. They were amazing for his stability to start with though.

I'd stick with them a while longer and see what happens...

Go back insist on measuring ds feet were just to narrow for piedros on their own his foot was sliding around inside the boot which meant not doing it's job and was cutting his feet to bits

my ds2 has got new piedros,and he had to take them off they was rubbing his feet ,but may put them bk n soon

Thanks very much guys - I spoke to the hospital on the phone and they asked me to bring the boots back as apparently they can soften them up as they reckon it's because she's been wearing softer shoes over the summer. I will try that and see what happens although I am a little dubious about it. I think that like roundthebend4 says, her feet are very narrow and may be sliding in the boots - what was the solution to that roundthebend - she already has insoles in them.

Hi FioFio - I'm not sure whether these are the same or not - they do look similar to the stability boots you have linked to...but are slightly different (but maybe she just has a different design that is not listed on the website). I dropped the boots off to the hospital today and they are going to ring me when they are ready so we'll see how we get on. Am also worrying about her wearing them with her school uniform as she's just started in reception - do they look ok on girls with pinafore dresses - I just feel bad for her with all the others in nice 'girly' shoes and her with the boots...yes, I need to get over myself I know! Thank you all for the relies.