Knee pain? Just walk it off.
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Walking may help - but ONLY if one has the right shoes. One can really cripple one's self in the wrong shoes, especially if putting some distance on the shoes. And not all of us have the same geometry, especially for women.
in the wrong shoes
Trying to find women's shoes that work for me is one of the most frustrating things....
I need a wide toes box, most shoes taper too much.
I need either a good heel rise (but not heels! something like 15mm drop), or else a deep heel cup to accommodate a lift. Most shoes, like walking shoes, running shoes or other exercise shoes, don't have enough heel drop and the heel cup is too narrow. And stack height. I don't need extra cushion underfoot, I don't need a high stack height.
I also need a reasonably stiff sole, not one where you can easily bend the shoe in half.
These shoes do not exist.
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Back to @axtremus 's OP... I have osteoarthritis in both knees. I do (shallow) squats, a whole set of legs exercises lying down, ride the exercise bike almost every day. Take the stairs up every chance I get.
I have the ongoing problem with my foot/heel/achilles, so I can't walk long distances, I can't run or jump. And, like the findings about knee surgery, I suspect that the surgery that's being recommended for me is something to avoid at all costs. (that's a topic for another post)
But all the things I'm doing for my knees really help.
Not moving is the kiss of death.
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My best friend in college said something on this general topic that has stayed with me.
He said-
"Life was not meant for stasis".
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Re: shoes
Yeah, every foot is differ, etc. I have standardized on Skechers myself, really good cushioning and shock absorption, good arch support, very comfortable (to me at least, especially for lots of walking and lots of standing), and easy to find “wide width” sizes.
Re: @shirokuro on “Trying to find women's shoes that work for me is one of the most frustrating things.... I need a wide toes box, most shoes taper too much”
Maybe try men’s walking/running shoes? For professional settings I understand you need the shoes to look like women’s shoes. But for walking/exercising, probably no one would notice if one wears the shoes of the “wrong” gender.
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@shirokuro I admire your positive attitude!
I need to be more positive, and whatever I do, I need to develop better discipline and consistency.
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Re: shoes
Yeah, every foot is differ, etc. I have standardized on Skechers myself, really good cushioning and shock absorption, good arch support, very comfortable (to me at least, especially for lots of walking and lots of standing), and easy to find “wide width” sizes.
Re: @shirokuro on “Trying to find women's shoes that work for me is one of the most frustrating things.... I need a wide toes box, most shoes taper too much”
Maybe try men’s walking/running shoes? For professional settings I understand you need the shoes to look like women’s shoes. But for walking/exercising, probably no one would notice if one wears the shoes of the “wrong” gender.
@Axtremus Sadly, usually men's shoes don't fit me right.
The other thing that happens is I find some shoes that work for me, and they stop making them, or they change something about them so they don't work any more.
That happens a lot actually. Like when the company changes its formula for lotion or shampoo, and suddenly the product that I used to love now smells annoying....
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Sorry, late to get back to this - and Daniel's question. By way of a story, I bought a pair of Bally shoes on the recommendations of an acquaintance many, many years ago. In almost no time, I was having knee pain and thought I was about to become a cripple. Everyone's feet and gate and angles are different. it is best to get evaluated for the type of shoe that will work for you. They do that at running stores - and some stores that do hiking. AND, it sometimes takes some experimentation. For older folks, there's other issues - which is that at some point it's common for people to start to shuffle walk - and this makes a person more prone to tripping and falling. Some people develop a type of neuropathy that results in less sensation in the bottom of the foot - which also can lead to problems. It may be wise to see a podiatrist or someone who specializes - for ultimate assistance. Right now, I'm using Merrill Moab hiking shoes for much of my walking. They're heavy as hell - and probably don't give me any feedback as to what I'm walking on. On the other hand, I'm still running - and the calves, ankles and feet are doing Ok - knees are a starting to be a little more risky. I'm doing increased work to help them.
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SK, have you considered seeing a podiatrist? I finally did and he solved a lot of problems in one visit.
In my case all it took was the right pair of $65 insoles and a shoe stretcher gadget from Amazon.
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Article on a few new approaches to treating knee arthritis by some manner of "regrowing" (parts of) the knee:
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SK, have you considered seeing a podiatrist? I finally did and he solved a lot of problems in one visit.
In my case all it took was the right pair of $65 insoles and a shoe stretcher gadget from Amazon.
SK, have you considered seeing a podiatrist? I finally did and he solved a lot of problems in one visit.
I didn't mention much because I didn't want to take over @axtremus 's thread (and the problem that shapes my shoe-needs isn't knees)...
But long story short, I have ongoing problems with my knees and feet and I'm a regular at two podiatrist's offices and an orthopedist's office. And I'm a regular at PT as well.
Some of the problems, I've been able to get under control, like plantar fasciitis, which I no longer have, yay! And I had fracture in my heel bone in 2025 which has healed. But the other problems I have are intractable.
I have a bone deformity in my right heel, close to where the achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. That has caused chronic achilles tendinopathy (and bursitis all over the area there, but the bursitis is semi under control at the moment). My last MRI showed that there's a 5 mm interstitial tear in my achilles as well, but it's vertical and interstitial, so I'm still ambulatory. The docs say the tear is most likely because I have an enthesophyte in that spot (achilles insertion point), an enthesophyte is a kind of bone spur (that pokes up vertically at the back of the heel, not underfoot) and that bone spur is like a thorn that rubs against the achilles, preventing it from healing and possibly worsening the existing damage.
All three docs have told me that I'm not going to heal without surgery, although one of them sees me walking and says at minimum, I can wait on the surgery as long as I have the mobility that I have right now. The other podiatrist (who's also a foot surgeon) is more pessimistic and sort of pushing me to do the surgery.
But this is open surgery, with a prolonged period of non-weight bearing afterward, possibly 3 months, with full recovery said to take a year.
And I am not convinced that the outcome of this surgery is guaranteed enough to make it worth the risks, and the collateral damage that the prolonged recovery entails.
So yeah, to answer your question, I do see a podiatrist
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To bring it back to the OP, and the pros and cons of surgery... I feel like this is quite similar to the knee issues. There are tendons involved, and bone, and the traditional surgery, which is open surgery, has so many possibilities for complications, while the newer, minimally invasive surgical option is controversial and has fewer skilled/experienced practitioners...
I don't know if there are longitudinal studies (like 10 years post-op) of this surgery (I have looked before and will do so again) but I wouldn't be surprised if the findings turn out to be similar to the knee surgery findings.
Tendons heal very slowly. But the standard medical guidance is surgery if conservative measures don't show results after 6 months. If tendons heal so slowly, why wouldn't it take longer than 6 months?
Right now, I can walk. If I have the surgery, I won't be able to walk for probably 6 months. So why hurry?
So my current approach is to change the angle of my heel (with footwear and heel lifts) to move the bone and enthesophyte away from the achilles tendon, while also doing specific kinds of PT, and see if I can get better without the surgery. (so as you can guess, this is why footwear is so important to me!)
My last MRI was in May, so I'm going to ask for another MRI in next spring.
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At present, these are the closest to perfect-for-me shoes that I've found (I add a heel lift) but they need a slightly larger toe box).
Made by Dansko
I have three pair, and right now, the black seems to be sold out, hopefully that doesn't mean they're going to stop making them...
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