Hi Jools987,

I think the initial issues here are that the foot intrinsics are not used to working under such loads. It's one thing to work peroneals etc but that's not really their job. You need to take things very slowly and progressively to give the muscles that originate and insert within the foot time to build up strength and endurance. One simple way is to wear masseur sandals around the clinic and house. The little raised pillars that you stand on when wearing those causes the foot intrinsics to contract to avoid the pain of to much pressure in any one part of the foot. After a few weeks this really can give the intrinsics a wake up.

Also the old trick of placing a slightly damp towel on the floor and using the toes to grab it and gather it under the foot (arch) is a good one to get the supportive muscles working.