By Gwen on Thursday, March 01, 2001 - 11:50 am:

This summer I bought a new pair of shoes. They are the slip on type with thick, heavy soles that are currently popular. They felt superbly comfortable when I tried them on, soft leather, spongy soles. "Aaah", I thought, "shoes to live in." But how wrong I was. After a short time wearing them I found that as I lifted my foot I would get a searing pain in that ankle, which subsided when the foot was on the ground. The night following their first wearing my ankles were so very painful, not my feet which had been pampered with soft surfaces ot my Achilles tendon which frequently plays up but the actual internal ankle joints.
Out of curiosity I weighed one of the slip ons. A normal shoe weighed between 250 and 400gm. These brutes weighed in at nearly 1kg each. Obviously what was happening was that as I lifted my foot the weight of the shoe was pulling down and separating the ankle joints.
Enough is enough I decided and my daughter is now the owner of an expensive, slightly pre-owned slip ons.

By Sheena on Thursday, March 01, 2001 - 03:37 pm:

Gwen, I agree - heavy shoes gave me problems a few years ago. I am now very aware of the weight of fashion shoes, particularly those worn by my son. He has just got orthotics to help with feet and knee pains, but has not yet worn them in fully. I wish I could persuade him to avoid these heavy shoes in future.

My physio told me that HMS sufferers usually get on well with flexible, springy shoes, but that doesn't work for me. I like rigid soles, even slight platforms - but not heavy ones!

By Barb on Thursday, July 12, 2001 - 03:53 pm:

I have had my share of shoe problems. On the recommendation of other people with EDS, I bought my first pair of Birckenstocks this summer. I am amazed at the difference they have made in my foot comfort. I would recommend them to anyone with foot troubles.

http://www.birkenstock.com/indexfla.htm

By Eppie on Monday, July 16, 2001 - 05:57 pm:

The joints in my feet are among the worst in my body and I have found Dansko clogs and sandals to be an absolute blessing. I won't wear anything but my Dansko's or my extra stability Adidas athletic shoes.