Problem Painful Heel
I had really bad heel pain. Could not walk. Worse in the morning. Worse on the right heel than the left.
Answers
I had to give up running up and down stairs and take the lifts at stations and plot my journeys to avoid long interchanges at stations. Is that the problem or the answer? It was only temporary relief.
Medical Plantar Fasciitis?
I searched on line to find out what was wrong. I was worried it might be diabetes and I could end up losing my foot or leg. I was relieved when it seemed that my problem was plantar fasciitis. I had a label but neither cause, prevention nor cure.
I looked online.
NEW SHOES?
A lady on a station in Singapore suggested I needed new shoes. I looked at my sandals which I wore every day. Lovely Josef Seibel sandals. Two-colour sandals which co-ordinated with my clothes and did not look too sporty as if I were hill-walking on rugged terrain, but suitable, elegant enough for indoor group meetings.
Worn Heels
Underneath they were wearing on the heel on one side. In the old days you wore leather shoes and when they wore down you took them to the menders and chose heels and had them re-heeled.
Unfortunately, today's synthetic moulded shoes cannot be fixed. When will somebody make sandals and both inexpensive and inexpensive shoes which can be repaired? I suggest shoes which can be taken apart easily to that one part can be changed, or two pairs can be combined to make one new pair.
Shoe Discounts
Another solution would be a buy two get one free offer, so that your favourite colour and design will continue to be in your cupboard so you can ditch the oldest and still have one pair which looks smart and supports your feet. Hotter sometimes does seasonal offers on buy two or three pairs of shoes and get a reduction.
Second-hand Footwear
I tend to buy second-hand sandals and shoes because you can never be sure whether shoes bought by mail will fit so I don't want to spend a lot of money. Even paying return postage and wrapping up items and taking them to the post office is a nuisance and wastes time.
I have been looking very carefully at the soles of second-hand shoes. If you only want to wear them for an evening talk when you are sitting down except for the ten-minute interval, the tops matter more than the underside.
However, I often need shoes or sandals you can wear all day, with lots of walking to the station, at station interchanges, 500 metres or ten minutes walk from the station to your destination. You might be walking around an exhibition or art gallery or conference or show. Then you need shoes or sandals with support to stop getting pain.
Observing Others' Shoes And Stepping
You don't want to be walking lopsided in down-at-heel shoes. I look at people ahead of me on the escalator.
Flat Shoes and Flip-flops
On the marble floors in shopping malls, I hear people behind, alongside. I look at their bare feet in flip-flops, making a noise. I see old people shuffling along in flip-flops. (In Australia and New Zealand called thongs.) You can hear the noise of their shoes dragging along the ground.
I come out of a shower and wear completely flat towelling slippers or synthetic toe-post shoes.
If I wear flip-flops around the house, it's good for letting feet breathe. However, I notice that I don't lift my feet. When I change into sandals and set off down the street, and up and down steps, on uneven pavements, I keep tripping. Why? Because the front of one of my sandals has hit something and I am not stepping high enough over slight obstructions from uneven paving stones.
Heel Supports
I looked in a pharmacy or drug store in Singapore in the food section and found heel supports or liners to put inside shoes. They cost a lot of money, about the equivalent of £20. They would not suit sandals. They would slip out.
Amazon Products
However, today, weeks later, I found what looks like the solution. I had started searching for snadals. Then I clicked on kitchen clogs, protective shoes for chefs and ktichen workers. Underneath popped up protective shoes, liners, support, suport for the arch of your foot, items for people on their feet all day and more.
I wanted not support for arches, but padded socks. They fit around the ankle so they should not slip off when wearing sandals.
You can buy heel cups for closed shoes, and what look like socks with open toes, or socks with the fronts cut off. Both Amazon and Ebay had them.
Reviews Of Heel Cups and Liners
I looked on Amazon for the reviews. What could go wrong? If your feet are large or your ankles are wide the sock style liners in one size fits all might be too tight. Other reviewers said the items disintegrated in use - the gels rubbed off under pressure from shoes and straps, or went sticky.
Other reviewers, writing both when they had just received the item and after wearing, said the results were ok or wonderful.
Prices
Prices ranged from about £1 from China with free postage, or up to ten pounds or twenty or even thirty.
Should you go for the dearer ones on the grounds that you get what you pay for? Or go for the cheaper ones on the grounds that
a) If they don't work not a great financial loss
b) If you are cured in a day or two, they don't have to last forever.
NHS
One advertiser says their socks or inserts are approved by the NHS (National Health Service in the UK). Does that mean I can get them free?
Happy
Anyway, I am so happy to have found the sock-type solution, which can be worn inside a sandal. An alternative would be to order and wear the flat shoe liner or 'cup' support which might slip out, but secure them inside a pair of your own socks.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.
I had really bad heel pain. Could not walk. Worse in the morning. Worse on the right heel than the left.
Answers
I had to give up running up and down stairs and take the lifts at stations and plot my journeys to avoid long interchanges at stations. Is that the problem or the answer? It was only temporary relief.
Medical Plantar Fasciitis?
I searched on line to find out what was wrong. I was worried it might be diabetes and I could end up losing my foot or leg. I was relieved when it seemed that my problem was plantar fasciitis. I had a label but neither cause, prevention nor cure.
I looked online.
NEW SHOES?
A lady on a station in Singapore suggested I needed new shoes. I looked at my sandals which I wore every day. Lovely Josef Seibel sandals. Two-colour sandals which co-ordinated with my clothes and did not look too sporty as if I were hill-walking on rugged terrain, but suitable, elegant enough for indoor group meetings.
Worn Heels
Underneath they were wearing on the heel on one side. In the old days you wore leather shoes and when they wore down you took them to the menders and chose heels and had them re-heeled.
Unfortunately, today's synthetic moulded shoes cannot be fixed. When will somebody make sandals and both inexpensive and inexpensive shoes which can be repaired? I suggest shoes which can be taken apart easily to that one part can be changed, or two pairs can be combined to make one new pair.
Shoe Discounts
Another solution would be a buy two get one free offer, so that your favourite colour and design will continue to be in your cupboard so you can ditch the oldest and still have one pair which looks smart and supports your feet. Hotter sometimes does seasonal offers on buy two or three pairs of shoes and get a reduction.
Second-hand Footwear
I tend to buy second-hand sandals and shoes because you can never be sure whether shoes bought by mail will fit so I don't want to spend a lot of money. Even paying return postage and wrapping up items and taking them to the post office is a nuisance and wastes time.
I have been looking very carefully at the soles of second-hand shoes. If you only want to wear them for an evening talk when you are sitting down except for the ten-minute interval, the tops matter more than the underside.
However, I often need shoes or sandals you can wear all day, with lots of walking to the station, at station interchanges, 500 metres or ten minutes walk from the station to your destination. You might be walking around an exhibition or art gallery or conference or show. Then you need shoes or sandals with support to stop getting pain.
Observing Others' Shoes And Stepping
You don't want to be walking lopsided in down-at-heel shoes. I look at people ahead of me on the escalator.
Flat Shoes and Flip-flops
On the marble floors in shopping malls, I hear people behind, alongside. I look at their bare feet in flip-flops, making a noise. I see old people shuffling along in flip-flops. (In Australia and New Zealand called thongs.) You can hear the noise of their shoes dragging along the ground.
I come out of a shower and wear completely flat towelling slippers or synthetic toe-post shoes.
If I wear flip-flops around the house, it's good for letting feet breathe. However, I notice that I don't lift my feet. When I change into sandals and set off down the street, and up and down steps, on uneven pavements, I keep tripping. Why? Because the front of one of my sandals has hit something and I am not stepping high enough over slight obstructions from uneven paving stones.
Heel Supports
I looked in a pharmacy or drug store in Singapore in the food section and found heel supports or liners to put inside shoes. They cost a lot of money, about the equivalent of £20. They would not suit sandals. They would slip out.
Amazon Products
However, today, weeks later, I found what looks like the solution. I had started searching for snadals. Then I clicked on kitchen clogs, protective shoes for chefs and ktichen workers. Underneath popped up protective shoes, liners, support, suport for the arch of your foot, items for people on their feet all day and more.
I wanted not support for arches, but padded socks. They fit around the ankle so they should not slip off when wearing sandals.
You can buy heel cups for closed shoes, and what look like socks with open toes, or socks with the fronts cut off. Both Amazon and Ebay had them.
Reviews Of Heel Cups and Liners
I looked on Amazon for the reviews. What could go wrong? If your feet are large or your ankles are wide the sock style liners in one size fits all might be too tight. Other reviewers said the items disintegrated in use - the gels rubbed off under pressure from shoes and straps, or went sticky.
Other reviewers, writing both when they had just received the item and after wearing, said the results were ok or wonderful.
Prices
Prices ranged from about £1 from China with free postage, or up to ten pounds or twenty or even thirty.
Should you go for the dearer ones on the grounds that you get what you pay for? Or go for the cheaper ones on the grounds that
a) If they don't work not a great financial loss
b) If you are cured in a day or two, they don't have to last forever.
NHS
One advertiser says their socks or inserts are approved by the NHS (National Health Service in the UK). Does that mean I can get them free?
Happy
Anyway, I am so happy to have found the sock-type solution, which can be worn inside a sandal. An alternative would be to order and wear the flat shoe liner or 'cup' support which might slip out, but secure them inside a pair of your own socks.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.
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