Sunday, March 25, 2007
Trying Another Pair of Shoes
If you have problems with your feet then you will understand. Over the last 10 years, I've bought about 8 different pairs of "special" shoes. I've got orthopedic sandals, Pedors, Converse high top tennis shoes, Keds, orthopedic old lady shoes, and so forth. I've spent anywhere from $10 to $100. All of them look so pretty sitting on the shelf in my closet because I can't wear one darn pair! I call it my shoe collection.
I've been wearing Darco after surgery shoes for about 9 years. They are the only thing my feet will tolerate. The problem is I keep wearing them out. When I was sitting around the house, they were fine. They'd last 6 months. Since I try to be a little more active, I'm killing them. I'm no marathon runner. I take my dog on two 5-10 minute walks each day. I walk around the house to keep the blood flowing. Even still, I wear out the heels and I have a nasty habit of cracking the sole in half. It has become imperative that I find something that is comfortable but longer lasting.
I came across Walkwell shoes on the internet. I bought a pair. Maybe they would do the trick. I really dread having to break in new shoes, so I let them hang in the bag for 3 weeks. Last Wednesday I took them out of the bag, adjusted the straps, and had them ready to go for the next morning.
If you have the same problems, then you can visualize the process. I can't just strap the suckers on and start walking. I have to build up my time so they don't hurt my feet. The first day I went an hour. I felt like I could go longer, but didn't push it. The next day I went two hours. Then I went four hours. In between, I readjusted the straps hundreds of times. Today I got up to six hours before I developed a cramp in the arch of my left foot. That's not bad.
The Walkwells are similar to the material used in Pedors but shaped more like a Darco "blue" shoe with an open toe. It differs in that it's adjustable. It has three straps going across the top and one across the heel. They are light weight, but have a thicker sole than the Darco shoes I was wearing. The black is a bit of a nuisance. I have a yellow lab dog and hair gets everywhere. They are already finding my new shoes.The only thing I don't like is I have to pull up at least one strap to get my foot in. That's a pain since it takes me an hour or so to get them feeling comfortable.
Tomorrow I'll try for six hours again. There will be a point when switching shoes back and forth will hurt more than just leaving on the new ones. I hope that by the end of the week I'll be able to leave them on all day.
I've been wearing Darco after surgery shoes for about 9 years. They are the only thing my feet will tolerate. The problem is I keep wearing them out. When I was sitting around the house, they were fine. They'd last 6 months. Since I try to be a little more active, I'm killing them. I'm no marathon runner. I take my dog on two 5-10 minute walks each day. I walk around the house to keep the blood flowing. Even still, I wear out the heels and I have a nasty habit of cracking the sole in half. It has become imperative that I find something that is comfortable but longer lasting.
I came across Walkwell shoes on the internet. I bought a pair. Maybe they would do the trick. I really dread having to break in new shoes, so I let them hang in the bag for 3 weeks. Last Wednesday I took them out of the bag, adjusted the straps, and had them ready to go for the next morning.
If you have the same problems, then you can visualize the process. I can't just strap the suckers on and start walking. I have to build up my time so they don't hurt my feet. The first day I went an hour. I felt like I could go longer, but didn't push it. The next day I went two hours. Then I went four hours. In between, I readjusted the straps hundreds of times. Today I got up to six hours before I developed a cramp in the arch of my left foot. That's not bad.
The Walkwells are similar to the material used in Pedors but shaped more like a Darco "blue" shoe with an open toe. It differs in that it's adjustable. It has three straps going across the top and one across the heel. They are light weight, but have a thicker sole than the Darco shoes I was wearing. The black is a bit of a nuisance. I have a yellow lab dog and hair gets everywhere. They are already finding my new shoes.The only thing I don't like is I have to pull up at least one strap to get my foot in. That's a pain since it takes me an hour or so to get them feeling comfortable.
Tomorrow I'll try for six hours again. There will be a point when switching shoes back and forth will hurt more than just leaving on the new ones. I hope that by the end of the week I'll be able to leave them on all day.
