I have been dealing with a foot/heel issue and can not wear any "real" heels right now. I can wear wedge heels for a little while before I start hobbling again. I have been living in my various colors of Skechers but they are limited in style and not dressy enough for high-end shops. I have also been told that they do not have enough arch support.

Since so many MS'ers are walking around malls and standing around gas stations taking tons of photos, does anyone have any shoe suggestions? My aunt mentioned a store called The Walking Company. They are a bit pricey but at this point, I am willing to drop some bucks if it will give me some relief. I need to be mobile but stylish. Help!



P.S. I am sure bgriffin and techman01 will be all over this topic!

Been there, have that problem. Heel spurs.
[www.aetrex.com]
They have some pretty heels and also sell orthotic inserts. Pricey though.
On the cheaper end of the spectrum, there is always Easy Spirit- Find an outlet mall store if you can. Also sign up for their emails, You get coupons for 20% to 30% off at the store or outlet. SAS is OK , but mostly walking shoes, like nurses wear.

Cole Hann and Standing Comfort are some other places you could try. Pricey again though. Your aunt is right about the Walking Company having good shoes too.

You may need to have arch supports made. A cheaper first solution could be a Dr Scholes foot scanner at various drugstores and discounters. You take your shoes off and stand on it and it tells you which pre made supports to buy. They are around $50 a pair. The podiatrist made pair cost me $265.00.

Thanks, Cindy55. You posted some great information.

Yep, Aetrex is what I have. In fact, I'm wearing them as a type. I have heel spurs and plantar fasciitis (not sure how to spell them). I order Aetrex online through an orthotics shop and save 15% + free shipping.

They are very comfortable. Here is a link to the pair that I own. I have them in black and have gotten many compliments.

[www.amazon.com]

I have plantar faciitis and I like the gel insoles by Dr. Scholls. I also have "Strutz" which is a band you wear over your arch at night.

SAS does make lace up walking shoes, but they have some slip on styles that can pass for comfortable dressy, if there is such a thing. I have several styles and wore them with dress up clothes when I was doing taxes. I don't do high end shopping and I typically wear New Balance athletic shoes when I do stations.

I also have inserts that the podiatrist made me. $300 and they aren't comfortable. My mom swears by New Balance but I don't care for them. She also likes Clarks, but most of the pairs I've seen look like "old lady shoes" LOL.

I have performed a couple of Clark's mystery shops and I was not impressed with the look of their shoes either. And since I did not have the foot/heel issues until about a month ago, I never considered even buying a pair.

Don't wear heels anymore. Your feet will thank you.
Friend of mine can't wear heels because her longtime
boyfriend is same height as her and if she wears them she
would appear taller then him and they(he?) don't
like that.

I do not wear heels on a regular basis. In my field, I usually can't. But there are occasions that do require a dressier shoe. And I got this injury while wearing flat shoes.

As for the statement about a tall woman not being able to wear heels because she would be taller than her boyfriend...that is just ridiculous and shows insecurity on his part. It is similar to jealousy; jealous people are insecure people. {BTW, I am not one of those tall women.}

I too have the heel pain and used to have the plantar fasciitis. I buy from Amazon and ebay a lot of gel inserts, foam inserts, and the Dr. Scholl's shoes with gel inserts. No matter what I do that pain is awful....and no heels for me anymore..

I have not seen a doctor yet but for those of you with this plantar fasciitis and heel pain, does it ever go away? Or is this going to be a chronic pain kind of deal? The doctor wants to run x-rays; I have had enough radiation for one calendar year.

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
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> I have not seen a doctor yet but for those of you
> with this plantar fasciitis and heel pain, does it
> ever go away? Or is this going to be a chronic
> pain kind of deal? The doctor wants to run
> x-rays; I have had enough radiation for one
> calendar year.


MY PF lasted one year and comes back to haunt me whenever it feels like it. I got the $400 orthotics but they no longer feel comfortable. I knew a guy who had PF for 10 years!

Compare this to back pain. It's always there.... lurking....

Try: a wooden rolling pin, Ibuprofen and New Balance athletic shoes.

Get a good pair of New Balance athletic shoes - ones that are fitted to your feet. I know they can look silly with an outfit, but a lot of women wear them anyway.

Take the Ibuprofen for the pain relief - If you cannot tolerate it, try Naproxen. I've taken the Ibuprofen every 4 hours for days for pain relief. Make certain you avoid alcoholic bevarges when taking it.

Put the rolling pin on the floor and roll your foot over it. It seems to flex the muscles and tendons in a way that no other tool does. It worked for me.

Oh yes, if you use the pin for baking, wash it or never use it again for baking.

Lastly, find a good man to massage your feet!

Calcium is good for heel spurs. The fasciitis supposedly comes from bad shoes.

Quick fix: Wear your comfortable shoes and an ankle support that you can buy at the pharmacy. Limp. It doesn't matter if you have a high-end shop if there is a reason for the shoes. The ankle support is just for show. You don't have to limp much. After all, you want to blend in.

My husband gets a shot about once a year maybe a little more often that seems to take care of his PF.

I have seen The Walking Company on the shop boards before but they aren't high paying. Every little bit helps though.

My mom has feet trouble and swears by Ecco shoes. Again they are pricey but they are good for your feet.

About two years ago, after trying an assortment of inserts and expensive shoes, my husband finally went to a doctor and got a shot of cortisone in the side of his foot for his PF. (He was experiencing extreme pain in the middle of his foot and in his heel.) Although the sound of getting a shot in the side of your foot makes anyone cringe, he would do it all over again because he has been totally pain-free since then.

Shop2Live, instead of messing around with all of the over-the-counter remedies, it might be cheaper to see a doctor to determine what's up and to find out what "the best fix" is.

Good luck!

(heart)

PS
[mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org]

You could take a look at Comfort One.

You can try the Fly Flot and Spring Step brands, for comfortable, cushioned arch supported footwear for business casual or casual wear. They're made in Italy. I love them. The sandals especially. You can often find discounts on Ebay and Amazon. Spring Step recently acquired Fly Flot and has changed the brand name to Flexus, so you can try searching that too. The reviews should mostly be available for Fly Flot styles. A lot of the Spring Step shoes have heels that are a bit too high (over 2").

The Walking Company carries some good brands and when they have a sale you can often get good bargains. Ecco, Merrell, Danko are some brands of comfort shoes they carry. For the most part, you will do best with European made footwear over American (ahem, Chinese!) made footwear, and you will pay more, but it's worth it. Nothing ruins your mood and day as much as sore feet, knees, back, etc. from standing too much. I find a 1-2 inch wedge-type shoe is more comfortable than a lower heeled flat "comfort" shoe/sandal, but there's enough cushioning under your toes that they don't push your body forward or put weight on the balls of your feet like regular heels do. There's more cushioning than with a flatter shoe. You should learn what your European size equivalent is because many of the brands are sold under their European sizes.

Aereteks look good - they're a little low for me but the prices on Amazon on some pairs are very reasonable. Some of you gave them such good reviews, I'll have to try them!

I always get the newest nike's each year. Sometimes directly
at their flagship store in NYC, Niketown. Can never underestimate
the value of getting good shoes in this business


For heels I saw one soles on shark tank couple years ago.
You get the bottoms and then can change the tops from casual
to dressy etc as needed. Heard their one of the most comfortable
out there.

I don't think heel spurs or p.f. ever go away. I'll be great for a few months and then if I happen to walk a lot over the weekend, bam, I wake up very sore.

Another suggestion is to freeze a bottle of water, and roll your foot over it, back and forth. It feels pretty good. The pain has been so severe that I bought crutches and was hobbling on those for a few days

Wow! I almost did not create this thread because I thought there would be no interest in my poor little left foot. As far as taking ibuprofen, one of my doctor's basically told me that I was OD'ing on it and too much can be harmful to you. As far as the injections, I have maxed out on the number of outpatient procedures from my back/neck injury. You are allowed to only have three within a year, I believe. And the Vicodine doesn't really help either; it just takes the edge of a slight bit.

I will go shoe shopping sometime this week/weekend. If I can't get moving, how am I supposed to lose the weight? Believe it or not, I have been in a sprint triathlon and several long distance cycling events. This sux!

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
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> I will go shoe shopping sometime this
> week/weekend. If I can't get moving, how am I
> supposed to lose the weight? Believe it or not, I
> have been in a sprint triathlon and several long
> distance cycling events. This sux!

My massage therapist says I have good feet.
If you know how to clone them, I will let
you borrow them for a few days so you
can retire yours.

Awww, techman01, that was so sweet of you. What shoe size do you wear?

Shop2LiveinFL Wrote:
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> week/weekend. If I can't get moving, how am I
> supposed to lose the weight? Believe it or not, I

Exercise is great for your overall health, but it's not an efficient way to lose weight. Losing the fat is mostly about creating a caloric deficit with your diet. I highly recommend weighing all your food and logging every calorie, and adjusting until you're eating at a daily 500-calorie deficit (1# per week weight loss). I use MyFitnessPal to track.

Thanks Mantis but food is not the issue for me. Recovering from a back/neck injury, heavy-duty meds with negative side affects and bouts of inactivity are the culprits. I was just overcoming the back and neck issue (over six months) when the left foot decided to act up. If it is not one thing, it is another. But I guess that's life.

I have major foot problems also and plantar problems as well.. New Balance works well for me also, their shoes are a little wider so my foot does not cramp as much. The other sandals that I found that work well are called Bare Traps and are more of the cute side if you do not want to wear tennis shoes. I take a bottle of water and freeze it to use as the rolling pin for my foot. This gives me some cold for inflammation and also the rolling motion that helps the plantar problems. One exercise I do is the alphabet with my foot. Very easy and you can do it while watching TV. Just do capital letter with your foot - all the way thru the alphabet. This stretches the fascia that gets tight. I have not been able to wear heels in 10 years but honestly I do not miss them.