Footwear/ insoles for referred pain and compensatory body changes

MilkyTea

Hi everyone, hope everyone’s doing well, I’m slowly adjusting to lifestyle changes after a recent diagnosis of severe OA in the right hip. I need advice please regarding footwear and insoles to compensate for mechanical micro changes in posture and movement which may also ease referred pain. I do notice I wobble a lot when doing single leg physio exercises and I’m getting a lot of pain in shins, ankles/ feet on both legs. Any advice please? 🙏 Thanks

Gadgetgirl

Hi MilkyTea. Sorry to hear this. It's not the same but I was having really bad issues walking any distance due to a constant shoot pain in the ball of my foot. Turns out the RA has damaged the small toe joints. I saw a specialist and had insoles made and they asked what footwear I normally wear. I said it was smart office shoes that have very thin soles and trainers. I was advised to avoid wearing and to wear more of a DM style shoe that had a thicker more ridged sole. I had insoles made for me and wear Timberland desert boots and DMs and found a huge improvement. When I do wear a trainer I notice that after a mile or so my pain returns but not when I have the boots on. I suppose they are supporting my ankle as well as stopping the ball of the foot bending too much if that makes sense. Maybe you could see if your doctor could refer you to a specialist. Good luck 👍

gemz10

Hi MilkyTea,

I have had insoles from podiatry and found these help a lot. I also find trainers comfortable and thick soled boots that lace up for ankle support but with a zip to take on and off easily. I'm currently trying to do daily exercises from physio to help with hip and ankle/calf pain.

Hope you find some footwear that works for you ☺️

Emmasknackeredjoints

My trainers have a thick high sole and they support my ankle joint which I feel is great for me.

I did however get insoles from amazon which are short so stop before the toes and support my flat feet better.