@shells14 I think you are right about the boot. My husband had a stress fracture in his foot and wore a boot for a couple months. Then he developed a problem in the other ankle, a partial Achilles tendon tear. That fibrosed, so he didn't need surgery , but he wore a boot because of the Achilles tear for awhile. I think the cause isn't the boot specifically, but an imbalance in the height of where your feet are on the ground. It is like wearing one shoe with a high heel and the other a low heel. That throws off the balance in the pelvis and affects the tension through the leg. That may cause extra tension on tendons and cause wear and tear. I think the prevention is to wear a hiking boot or shoe on the other foot so the heel heights match so it doesn't cause the issues with uneven tension.