Life Fright

Your footwear may be to blame. It all started with a trip to New York for me where I was exposed to the very pedestrian lifestyle of getting from place to place with my own two feet versus my heavy, accustomed reliance on car transportation. I was walking for longer stretches more than I ever have. About an hour in, my feet started to ache particularly in the arches and there was a noticeable sharp, throbbing pain with every step I took. It definitely took away from my joy and excitement of visiting New York for the first time. By the time I got back to my hotel, my feet were weeping tears of joy at finally getting to rest. I always bring shower slippers with me every time I travel out of habit and when my feet slipped out of my sneakers into the slippers, it was sweet, sweet relief!

By the time I settled in for the night, it got me thinking that what I took as a normal experience, couldn’t possibly be normal. Why did my slippers feel so much better on my feet compared to my sneakers? After all, my sneakers are literally supposed to be made for walking so what was up with the difference? After some quick research, I learned that I have plantar fascitiis caused by more pronounced foot arches. The sneakers I was wearing had no arch support (!) while my slippers had contours and that blessed arch support. It was simultaneously an aha and a face-palm moment. When I got back from that trip, I immediately went out and bought several pairs of insoles equipped to handle my foot condition.

And skip forward to now, there’s no foot pain appearing after I walk for a short stretch of time! Something that was so normal to others, I can now join the ranks of what should have always been. This was a good reminder to me that problems I have always took as normal should be reevaluated to determine whether there are attainable solutions to solve them. There’s no need to suffer so needlessly and assume that is how everyone is dealing with the same scenario. Luckily it took that trip and noticing how the people around me were not in pain to cue me into how something was wrong with me. Don’t get me wrong, this is one of those situations where I am more aware of my own shortcomings. It’s definitely not a permanent solution since every now and then I feel the familiar pain in that region after walking very long distances on rough terrain. But it is nowhere near the level of pain I would face without the supportive remedies available.

If you’re dealing with this issue, look into insoles and footwear that have built-in arch support! And if my experience triggers you to think of another problem in your life taken for granted that could have a better solution, all the better!