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> Hints > Past Newsletter Editions > Articles > If the shoe fits...

If the shoe fits...

Earlier this year I got a shock that changed my whole perspective on life and shoes.

Every time I went for a walk, a searing pain would strike the middle toes of my right foot, as if the tendons within had been transformed into strings of heated metal.

I tried my best to pretend the problem didn't exist, but after about 4,000 steps into each and every walk the pain would invariably become impossible to ignore.

It's not that the pain was so great that it made me limp or stopped me from finishing my walk; it's more that the pain made me worry.

What kind of potentially permanent damage was I doing to my foot by continuing to walk on it when it hurt? And as the pain was coming on after fewer and fewer steps, would I eventually be unable to walk at all without pain? And most troublingly, if I couldn't do my regular walks every week, what exercise would I do to keep my weight in check? Walking is just so incredibly convenient.

I made an appointment to see a physiotherapist. After three sessions with him, a two-week rest from anything other than incidental walking, a visit to Harry the podiatrist and a new pair of shoes with orthotic inserts as recommended by Harry, I'm pleased to report that the problem was completely resolved.

The very first time I road-tested my new shoes and orthotic inserts I was astounded with the result; I clocked up 6,000 steps without a single twang of pain in my toes!

I've now been on more than twenty walks with my new shoes and inserts, sometimes packing as many as 9,000 steps into a single walk, and not once have I had to endure the worrying foot pain I had before.

I wondered whether it was my new shoes and inserts that made all the difference to the comfort of my foot, or whether it was perhaps the physiotherapy and two-week rest that had fixed my foot. So I tried going for a walk in my old shoes without the orthotics, and I also gave a lecture in the kind of strappy women's shoes that Harry the podiatrist abhors. Intriguingly, the burning pain in my toes came straight back, and the instant I switched into my new shoes with orthotics the pain disappeared. There's no doubt about it; there's magic in wearing the correct shoes for your feet.

Some months later, I noticed an even more astounding effect of my new shoes.

In recent years I'd started having niggling pains in my hips. It wasn't enough to stop me from doing anything I wanted to do (yet), but I noticed that the more active I was, the worse the niggling pain would become. Sometimes, when I crashed into bed at night and stretched out after a particularly busy day, I'd feel as if there was steam hissing out of my hip joints, so discernable was my relief from the pressure.

I thought that having niggling aches and pains in my hip joints was just an inevitable part of passing 40, but I was wrong. My hip pain was due to nothing other than wearing the wrong shoes. Indeed, now that I wear proper shoes the niggles are completely gone.

How to find the right shoes

You often hear that wearing proper shoes is extremely important, but I never fully believed it until I saw the clear-cut effects of wearing correct versus incorrect shoes on my own body. Despite the fact that I've never been one for high heels, all of my shoe purchases in the past have been dictated by fashion, not function. When I showed some of my more sensible lace-up shoes to Harry the podiatrist, he shook his head in dismay and said: 'They're the worst shoes I've seen in my whole life'.

Here are just some of the key features that Harry the podiatrist taught me to look for when buying shoes:

• Soles that help absorb shock. This becomes especially important as you mature because the inbuilt cushions of fat on the soles of your feet gradually get thinner.

• Good arch support. For this reason, flat ballerina- or Mary Jane- style shoes and thongs are definitely out or the question.

• Closed shoes with lace ups or double Velcro. This provides support for the bones, ligaments and tendons in your feet. You may wonder - as I did - why the tops of your feet would need this kind of support. But as you get older, your ligaments and tendons lose springiness and the bones in your feet (and your arches) can therefore sag, bringing on unnecessary pain. Lace-ups help to hold everything together and up, and they also enable you to adjust your shoes for the best possible fit.

• Ample room at the front for your toes to wriggle about.

• Wide enough to fit your feet.

• Plus other features that a podiatrist may recommend specifically for your feet.
  

I'm never going to go back to wearing poor shoes. From now on, all my shoes will be sensible shoes that get Harry's tick of approval. The only problem is: how to do this in a world where proper shoes on women are currently viewed as an oddity.

When I'm walking to day care in the city with my little girl (who is now 4 and a half and who also wears shoes with orthotic inserts as prescribed by Harry), we often play a game called 'yes and no'.

Whenever we see someone wearing un-sensible shoes, we look at each other disapprovingly and say a secret 'no'. Whenever we see someone wearing sensible shoes, the kind that Harry our podiatrist recommends, we look at each other brightly and say a secret 'yes'. To see some common examples of sensible versus un-sensible shoes, click here.

It was in playing this game with my daughter that I noticed a social injustice that prevails in our society. Many more men than women wear the kind of shoes that podiatrists recommend for preventing and alleviating permanent and debilitating damage to their feet. And of the women who get our 'yes' of approval about their shoes, most of them seem oddly dressed, at least in my view.

As the types of shoes that are approved by Harry the podiatrist come in so few styles and colors (that color usually being white, as in sports shoes), women who wear sensible shoes look like ... well, they look like they're wearing sensible shoes.

Case in point; the woman in a business suit who wears stark white runners on the way to and from work because it's too difficult to walk in the shoes in her backpack that match her attire.

My new shoes with orthotic inserts were grey-brown hiking shoes. I convinced myself that if I wore them with my grey-brown corduroy slacks, or with boldly patterned opaque stockings in the same color and a matching pencil skirt, they'd look OK at work. However, when a colleague came back to work after maternity leave, one of the first things she asked me incredulously was "So you're wearing mountain shoes at work now, Amanda?"

Sensible shoes on women seem to stick out like a sore thumb.

Hopefully, by the time my daughter reaches adulthood, women will be so fed up with this situation that there will be fashions that look fabulous with sensible shoes, whether negotiating deals in the boardroom, doing fine moves on the dance floor or hiking on a bush track.

In the meantime, I need to get creative and find something to wear this summer that looks good with brown orthotic lace-up shoes! I'm thinking I might follow Milly Molly Mandy's lead. She always wore short stout walking boots with her pink and white striped dress, come rain hail or shine, and she always looked cute. Click here to see her picture.

Over to you

Here's something you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

The next time you feel a twang of pain in your foot, knee, hip or back, take a moment to question whether the pain could be due to your shoes.

If your shoes don't have good shock-absorbing soles, if they don't leave enough room for your toes to wriggle freely, and if they don't cover your entire foot and do up sturdily with laces or double Velcro, it's highly likely that your shoes are contributing to your pain.

Mechanical pain doesn't often go away with the passage of time; it usually just gets worse. Visit a physiotherapist or podiatrist and get the pain (and your shoes) thoroughly checked out.

A podiatrist will be able to tell you exactly what you need to look for when buying shoes. And if you do need to buy new shoes, it's a good idea to get your feet professionally fitted in a specialized shoe shop such as Athletes Foot or Foot Locker.

I promise you that once you get a taste for wearing the right shoes for your feet, you won't know yourself. Being active - and therefore losing weight and keeping it off - will be so much easier.

And please, if you have any suggestions as to how to make lace up sports shoes or sturdy brown hiking shoes look professional and fashionable in summer, please can you click 'reply' and let me know?

If you'd like to take advantage of my spring offer on Reliable Scales, click here.

If you're ready to lose weight and you'd like to apply for face-to-face or telephone support from me, click here.

Take care, and happy stepping,

Amanda

Dr Amanda
Connect with your body
www.DrAmandaOnline.com