What shoes do you walk better in?

[Jennagain]

This may seem strange, but I think I walk better in heels than in flat shoes. My gait does fluctuate with good and bad days and I think the type of shoes may play a part. I was wearing heals earlier on in the weekend and walking was ok. Later on I wore runners to go shopping and my walking was horrible. Foot just doesn't move as smoothly and it "slaps" down on the ground. I don't seem to have this problem the same way in heels. Anyone relate and know why this may happen?

[KatW]

Jennagain, I have a similar problem. With flats, my legs have too much motion and my knees hurt. I can wear shoes that keep my foot very stable. I can wear running shoes but not flip flops. Right now, I'm working on doing exercises to strengthen my legs and hips. It seems to be helping.

[fishead]

Jennagain,
You must be used to wearing heels. I applaud you. The highest I ever wore for work was 3inches.

I wear NEWBALANCE tennis shoes as MUCH AS POSSIBLE. These shoes fit ME very well, and make me comfortable in my walking. We are all so different so of course the preferences will be very subjective.

[Marco]

Although I have never worn heels, I've been foot slapping for over 12 years. If you have worn high heels, especially those over 2", for years, your calf muscles and tendons may have shortened. During this process, the muscle fibers and tendons become thicker and stiffen. In as little as 2 years, of routine high-heel use, a woman's calf muscle fibers became 13% shorter. Shorter muscle fibers make walking less efficient, especially in flat shoes that extend that require the muscle to stretch further than normal. Next to high-heels, flip-flops are the 2nd leading footwear to cause walking problems for women (I read this at my podiatrist's office). These two alter a woman's gait and eventually result in similar muscle changes.

They do make Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFOs), and other devices (like WalkAide & Bioness) that can help with foot drop and other problems. If this is becomes necessary, a doctor may send you to a physical therapist or podiatrist for evaluation and treatment. If this sounds like you, the first step is to talk to your primary care physician or physical therapist (if you have one) for an evaluation.

If you are not a regular high-heel user than I just wasted a few minutes of your life! Mea culpa! As I said, I've never worn heels, high or not!

Additional information on women & high heels can be found here: http://www.apma.org/Media/PRdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=13076 "The study, which surveyed 1,000 US adults ages 18 and older, revealed that nearly half of all women (49 percent) wear high heels, even though the majority of heel wearers (71 percent) complain these shoes hurt their feet."

[marti]

I haven't worn anything higher than Flat in years.

[KitOP]

I've never been able to wear heels. Being somewhat of a "clutz" my entire life it just didn't make sense to me.

I mostly wear athletic type shoes or no higher than a one inch wedge or solid type heel. I have a hard time finding shoes that fit me well, and have found that Easy Spirit are my go to shoes.

Anything else would spell disaster for me.

I remember seeing someone else on here, was quite awhile ago, that wore heels. I just thought "You go girl!"

Just be careful ok??

[dann]

no heels here!

Wear SAS shoes, wide toe, roomy enough for my AFO?

[KateA2]

I have hard-to-fit feet so I never wore heels even pre MS (size 7 wide feet with high arch and a tall instep...ack!)

I like These brands for comfort, stability, and not-too-frumpy looking: Aravon, Walking Cradles, Dansko, Wolky, and Birkenstocks for summertime.

[laurasari]

For me sneakers are the easiest to walk in. I was never able to walk well in heels

[KatieAgain]

I wore heels all the time. If I wore them now...I would be flat on my face. Same with flip flops.

Sneakers and sandals with back straps are my only options. If a shoe slides...down I go.

I live in Florida...sneakers and sandals are right in style.

[SNOOPY]

I've never been able to wear heels. Being somewhat of a "clutz" my entire life it just didn't make sense to me.

I wore heels in my teen years and really should not have even then (had MS symptoms back in childhood).

I haven't worn heels since my early twenties , I'm 53

I am much safer in athletic shoes. Brand of choice is Saucony. Saucony also carries a line of shoes that have leather uppers so I am able to wear them when it gets cold or wet out.

Regardless, I need a very light weight shoe. I will stand in a store and determine which shoe I want to try simply by handling them to see how heavy they are

My feet bother me all the time. I have altered sensation in both feet. Due to this I need to have a few different shoes, switching off shoes seems to, briefly, help.

I love looking at heels but sadly I will never be able to wear them There was a time I had a very large selection of heels in my closet

[MS TOO]

For me personally, being a man with a size 14 foot, I've never tried to wear high heals, ha ha, if I did I know I would fall off of them and break something! I had to throw that in.

I'm with Fishead, New Balance running shoes all the way, from the outlet store so not too expensive. They are light, which is important with my weak left side and very comfortable. There are occasionally times that I need to wear steel toe boots to walk on a job site and they wear me out after a few minutes because they are so heavy.

[Pipes123]

A physical therapist told me the slapping was from foot drop. My doctor prescribed an afo brace for it. I don't always wear it, but I can walk a lot farther when I do.

For years my favorite shoes were Merill flats. They were so comfortable while looking professional.

[Dale76]

Another male member here so never tried the heels.

I wear Clark Unstructured shoes, they are pricy but well worth it and they last well also. They are super light and very supportive. They have a special shock absorbing sole that is second to non and they are fully vented. I only have about 25% feeling in my feet but if I wear any other shoes it drops to nil.

[Diamond57]

Love my Nikes but I'm also comfortable in a boot or heel NO higher than an 1 1/2. Sometimes I feel more steady walking. It depends on the day with my leg.