Can we talk about shoes and feet?

[trapdoor2]

Size 13 4E? You must be the guy leaving all them squatch prints around wooded areas. If your foot was any wider you could skip across a medium sized creek or river. I guess barefoot skiing isn't really a problem for you.....

Accessory Navicular Syndrome is what really got me. This is an "extra bone" in your foot right where the tendon that holds up your arches goes. Mine really started becoming a problem around puberty and an Army surgeon removed them, re-attached the tendon, etc. Of course, that was with 1969 tech. After getting out of my casts, I wore black oxford orthopedic shoes for a year or two...they had hard fiberglass inserts. I broke one about two weeks after getting them. I jumped off of a neighbor's porch and heard it shatter. The podiatrist told my Dad I was lying and had to have hit it with a hammer...

My feet have expanded in the past 20 yrs. I was wearing off-the-shelf 12 D shoes for 30 yrs but they were creeping wider. In my 50s, I started buying New Balance 800 and 900 series running shoes (I can't run, they just feel good). One time, I went to a new NB store and they had an "expert" fitter in for the Grand Opening. He did a full workup, including having me stand on one of those sensor pads that reads out weight distribution, etc. I got sized up to a 13 4E (still in their 800 and 900 series) and have never felt more comfy.

My feet sweat a lot. I need lightweight, open uppers that allow airflow. Occasionally, I'll take an old pair and cut them up into sandals...but I wear Reefs a lot anyway.

 

[David Barnett]

The Illinois Enema Bandit?

Big Leg Emma

 

[trapdoor2]

Something else that needs to be mentioned is compression socks. If a "standard" blood pressure is 120 over 80 then 120 mmHg is the left ventricle as it beats, and 80 mmHg is arterial pressure between beats. By the time blood in the veins is on its way back from your big toe the pressure's down to 5-6 mmHg. That's a huge drop. So, your veins have one-way valves to allow the blood to stair step against gravity up your leg back to your lungs and heart. When your leg veins overfill the valves become incompetent and fluid leaks out to the surrounding tissue (edema). Knee high compression socks help reverse the leakage-the external pressures helps push the cusps of the valves together again improving function, circulation and decreasing edema.

They should be worn all day, every day. They also come in three amounts of compression: light, moderate and firm. Find the one you can tolerate because any compression is better than none. And this need for compression will continue for the rest of your life. But hey, they're only socks. No one likes those cargo shorts anyway, right?

I like the Sockwell brand on Amazon. Expect to spend $25-30 for a pair of decent socks. Cheaper ones won't last. And get at least two pair so you can wear one and wash the other.

I had an "event" (poison ivy) that caused one shin to swell up like a balloon. Steroids/antibiotics fixed that, but it left me with bruising that never went away. I went to the doc (years later) and one look at my purple shin sent me off for a vascular investigation. The Vascular specialist did a battery of tests, including a sonogram of my leg veins. She looked at me funny...and said she'd need to do the sonogram again as the results were screwy. Had me do everything but stand on my head.

Turns out she had prejudged me as a stereotypical, morbidly obese old man. My numbers were better than normal, and she didn't believe it the first time. My doc didn't believe her and told me I needed compression socks anyway. I don't get edema, haven't since that one event.

I liked the socks and wear them when I'm going to be on my feet for extended periods...but as I age, I need more protection than compression. When I'm working in the shop, I wear neoprene shin protection, like weight-lifters wear. Some compression...but it is the protection from bumps and scrapes that I really need.

Like many brands, Sockwell has nothing that fits me. My calves are huge and always have been (I couldn't wear normal over-the-calf sox even when I was 180lbs). I need 4XL and have to get custom sized ones.

 

[BroGreg]

Dr. Martens..all day comfort from the board room to the mosh pit.

 

[Fretting out]

Woe! Your feet sound like my hands!

I had some sort of palsy and when I was born I had a little purple left hand, was your foot all little and purple?

Now I have an alien hand on my left and it looks different than my right
I’m not trying to be rude just I understand kind of

 

[Toto'sDad]

I found Sketchers Arch Support and their Extra Cushioning are really comfy.

That's about all I wear now. There's a Skechers store about four miles from my house, they usually have a decent stock of 12 W. I found a pair of Skechers golf shoes there not long ago. My other golf shoes are sitting in the garage, and I'm wearing those exclusively now. Very comfortable.

 

[pippoman]

I've never spent more time in all my life thinking about and paying attention to my feet than I have in the last 8 months.

When I was in my teens and 20s I threw on whatever was cool and cheap and went about my life. Now I have foot pain, I overpronate, I have flattened arches, one of my feet is crooked because I spent too much time in the womb laying against one side, and one is bigger than the other... but not by much.

At work I am on my feet all day. I now no longer care nearly as much about what looks cool, I just want to be comfortable. Now that I'm a grown adult I don't care if comfort costs me good money either.

I bought three pairs of shoes today. Over the last three days I've tried about 13 pairs of shoes. It's been eye-opening what a completely personal and sometimes counter intuitive experience finding the right pair of shoes can be.

New Balance works best for me - work shoes or running shoes. I haven’t tried their other styles, but good shoes are a must because if your feet hurt, you’ll feel like you’re hurting all over.

My wife had been wearing cheap tennis shoes and stylish dress shoes for the longest and her feet had been hurting for years. She switched to Dansko per a suggestion from a podiatrist and that solved her foot pain. She even wears their house shoes; it’s that important to her.

 

[pippoman]

Something else that needs to be mentioned is compression socks. If a "standard" blood pressure is 120 over 80 then 120 mmHg is the left ventricle as it beats, and 80 mmHg is arterial pressure between beats. By the time blood in the veins is on its way back from your big toe the pressure's down to 5-6 mmHg. That's a huge drop. So, your veins have one-way valves to allow the blood to stair step against gravity up your leg back to your lungs and heart. When your leg veins overfill the valves become incompetent and fluid leaks out to the surrounding tissue (edema). Knee high compression socks help reverse the leakage-the external pressures helps push the cusps of the valves together again improving function, circulation and decreasing edema.

They should be worn all day, every day. They also come in three amounts of compression: light, moderate and firm. Find the one you can tolerate because any compression is better than none. And this need for compression will continue for the rest of your life. But hey, they're only socks. No one likes those cargo shorts anyway, right?

I like the Sockwell brand on Amazon. Expect to spend $25-30 for a pair of decent socks. Cheaper ones won't last. And get at least two pair so you can wear one and wash the other.

Thanks! I’ll try that.

 

[telemnemonics]

I saw these shoes in a local store. My wife said that I couldn't buy them.

View attachment 994075

Blue suede shoes!!!

 

[FuzzWatt]

Woe! Your feet sound like my hands!

I had some sort of palsy and when I was born I had a little purple left hand, was your foot all little and purple?

Now I have an alien hand on my left and it looks different than my right
I’m not trying to be rude just I understand kind of

If you meant me, I'm not sure. My Mom has never mentioned that.

Are your hands now both the same size? By purple, do you mean like Billy Corgan's hand?

 

[telemnemonics]

EU made Asolo for me, sadly this summer shoe is discontinued and replaced by often Chinese made models that deliver pain.
Asolo still makes boots in the EU that work for me. Around $300.
These “sneakers” listed around $180.

 

[Fretting out]

If you meant me, I'm not sure. My Mom has never mentioned that.

Are your hands now both the same size? By purple, do you mean like Billy Corgan's hand?

View attachment 994260

View attachment 994261

Yeah I was wondering if your foot was like my hand, like if we were opposite appendage brothers

Nothing as unique as Billy’s, It was only purple when I was born, my digits on the left are just kind of bizarre, like I have two ring fingers and my first finger is really thick at the base (hehe)

I think most peoples ring fingers are longer than their index, pictures don’t do the weirdness justice…

 

[Timbresmith1]

Bigfoot here (size 15) Nike Shox have been great for me.
On my feet constantly, zero trouble.

 

[VonBonfire]

Woe! Your feet sound like my hands!

I had some sort of palsy and when I was born I had a little purple left hand, was your foot all little and purple?

Now I have an alien hand on my left and it looks different than my right
I’m not trying to be rude just I understand kind of

I believe that condition is referred to as "mojo hand" among guitarists.

Bigfoot here (size 15) Nike Shox have been great for me.
On my feet constantly, zero trouble.

Everything is bigger in Texas. Guess your feet decided not to try and buck the system down here in the lone star state.

 

[ab2012]

Since loosing my leg I don’t worry about comfort…lol. But,a man should Never wear flip flops!

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Since loosing my leg I don’t worry about comfort…lol. But,a man should Never wear flip flops!

New thread topic: A Man Should Never _____

TDPRI John will want to weigh in.

 

[Skub]

I hate shopping for new shoes. It's like getting married,the shoes look and feel great at the time,but prolonged periods can cause grief.

 

[Fretting out]

.

 

[Fretting out]

Since loosing my leg I don’t worry about comfort…lol. But,a man should Never wear flip flops!

Is that what led to the loss? Was it a flip flop lawnmower/weed whacker incident?

I understand not liking the flip flops then

 

[Manual Slim]

I just started running again after six years because hey why not? Turns out that the hyperextended toes that stopped me back then aren't really in great shape and in the meantime more pain/damage/whatever has developed in other parts of the foot. But I want to run in a race in a couple of months so like a dumbass I'll just keep going.

I did give in and visit a running store tried on a slew of cushiony shoes after a little interview and foot/gait assessment. The ones I bought feel great and while I'm out running I don't notice the foot issues but jeez o man the recovery ain't what it used to be.