I broke my ankle and leg in October and had to have hardware put in. My ankle has one screw and two tightrope devices.
I’m at the point where I’m back to my normal routine aside from the one day a week I do physical therapy. I’m coming to realize that literally none of the shoes I own are not comfortable anymore. They all make my ankle feel worse and do not expand enough when my foot swells up.
My dad broke his foot and had to have a screw put in, and he just wore Birkenstock sandals for a long time afterwards. Though, I know this isn’t the right time of year (in the northern hemisphere) for those
Also, this probably isn’t a relevant suggestion because it’s for a different kind of ailment, but my mom has fallen arches and really likes On shoes
Feet and leg injuries are horrible, I hope you find a solution and i wish you a speedy recovery
They are, in fact, fucking amazing shoes.
Suspect they’ll work for a percentage of victims of this exact injuryy, and I maintain a pair of ripoffs because when I hurt myself, they mostly make it ok enough that I have a workaround.
Was intro to Birks at maybe 10yo, as soon as my feet figured out “different, but more than ok,” I was/remain a fan.
Might not be the place for soap to start out of the gate, but def useful long term.
Hoka. They are popular with nurses and people on their feet all day. My partner had a torn tendon causing a collapsed arche and that was the brand the Ortho recommended. After a major ankle surgery to repair the damage, Hoka is still the go-to brand for anything more than superficial walking. I ended up grabbing myself a pair and I understand why they are so popular. They have fully replaced my New Balance.
In addition to Hoka I really like my Altra shoes. They have a wide toebox so if your foot swelling is most of a problem around there then that should help. The paradigms I have also have metal support beams in the shoe to prevent your foot from rolling around which may help.
My mom loves Altra shoes. Her feet are weird and her one ankle is all fucked up from two bothed reconstruction surgeries. She said they’re the only shoes that don’t hurt. She doesn’t have hardware like I do and had very different surgery than me, however. I’ll see if I can try her pair on sometime and see how they fit. We’re the same size, conveniently lol
Ask the physical therapist. I had an MTP joint replacement and I love Adidas Ultraboosts, but this winter I’ve been wearing Columbia hiking boots on snowy days. I love my crocs though. Winter lined crocs and summer croc bands. I have to make sure that sport mode is engaged though.
I used to wear Adidas turf golf shoes daily because they were so g-dang comfy and used Velcro instead of laces. They were discontinued and I can’t find them anymore. My last pair were destroyed last year by my dog. I legit cried over them lol.
Tbh, though, I have no idea what kind of shoes would even suit my bad foot now. I used to love wearing just thin slippers inside and those just feel wrong on my ankle. Idk how to describe the feeling other than wrong. I’m also having trouble remembering how to move in certain ways as well. I can finally go up stairs normally, but the movements to go down the stairs is confusing.
I’m hoping getting shoes that feel right will help me learn how to move around like a normal adult again lol.
It will all go back to normal. You won’t even notice anymore. It takes time. Go to the shoe store and try some stuff out
My friends and I are going to make a big trip to an outdoor mall that has like 3 or 4 shoe stores in a few weeks to hang out together while I quest for shoes. I’m very excited. I know I’ll probably end up dropping a lot more money than I want on shoes right now, but I gotta get better.
Not sure exactly what your problem is but I had to switch to shoes that had flat heels after a knee injury. The elevated heel twisted my knee in a way that caused pain if I wore them for an extended period. Since then I buy only “zero-drop” shoes.
If I may, please allow me to point out that while I know exactly what you meant; ref someone’s “problem” is a good way to go straight adversarial.
You clearly/unequivocally meant “I’m not thoroughly vested in your deepest values,but I hear you saying x.”
That said, TY for offering advice from a place of achievement.
I don’t really understand what you mean by this. Are you saying that because sometimes people use the phrase in a combative way it could be misunderstood?
I thought it was clear enough from context that I meant “I don’t know the nature of your injury and this may or may not apply to you” but let me know if that was not as clear to you.
I work as an athletic trainer an get the question a lot. The absolute most important thing is that you are taking your rehab seriously. It won’t make a difference in the world what shoe you wear if you blow off rehab and your arch and ankle aren’t strong enough to support your weight.
In the short term you want to find a shoe that offers arch support and isn’t too cushy. It should be comfortable but not have too much give. I saw someone else recommend On and that’s a very not good idea. They’re way too squishy because they want people to try them on in store and fall in love with them. But the softer the shoe, the harder your ankle stability muscles will need to work to keep your foot centered. To demo that, try standing on one leg on flat ground and then compare it to standing on a pillow or a piece of foam. Your tibialis anterior, peroneals, etc. will need to work wayyy harder on the foam. And you’ll feel it after 30 seconds start to burn in your arch and lower leg.
My recommended brands are often Brooks, Saucony, New Balance, and Asics. In that order mostly, but it depends on your specific injury and foot shape. The key things to look at when buying a new shoe are:
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comfortable but still firm sole. Soft foamy soles will wear out and collapse quicker. Forcing your stability muscles to work super hard.
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Pick them up and see how difficult it is to twist them. It should help transfer energy from the back of the shoe to the front. If they bend and twist easily, they’re too flexible.
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Walk in them. You should feel your foot make contact on the outer portion of the sole at the back of the shoe, and roll to the inside portion of your foot and off your big toe when pushing off.
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Form fitting but not squeezing your foot. Your feet are very dynamic and need to be able to articulate to properly transfer weight and hold your balance. If it feels like the shoe is compressing your foot, then you need to ask for a wide size in that shoe or look elsewhere.
