Hi all,
I am going to be taking part in a Charty walk soon.
I need waterproof, comfortable walking shoes, I have Lympheodema in both legs but more recently swelling in the one foot that rubs after walking several miles.
Would be grateful for any suggestions on where to look for a good pair of walking shoes, for woodlands and roads
Many Thanks.
I find Peter Storm walking shoes are better than Boots because they don't rub on your ankles. Also if you have more money Merrill walking shoes are brilliant as they are lightweight. I have children's Merrill walking shoes as I have little feet!!!
Gréât that you’re going to be doing this. I walk quite a lot, and have found staff in the branch of Cotswold Outdoors really helpful in finding me walking shoes to fit. I have lymphoedema in one leg and there’s quite a difference between size of my feet, plus propensity for the affected foo/ankle to swell as the day goes on. I’m currently wearing a Merrell walking shoe (nice firm support around the ankles). Before that I had an Asics one but they discontinued that model.
I haven’t bothered about waterproof, on the whole I don’t find they get too wet mords the rain is torrential. I’ve done several long distance walks. I find the key is to know what my daily top limit is - for me that’s around 10 miles, it used to be more like 14.
Good luck in your search, and enjoy the walk!
rce744 days ago
Actually, Cotswold Outdoors was suggested to me so that might be a good idea, Currently practicing so want to break the shoes/ boots in.
Thank you for reply 😁
Hi, Yes, I have also found it quite difficult to find walking shoes made for a wide fit due to swollen feet. I look forward to seeing some of the answers that you get.
In the meantime, I would recommend that you use a Compeed stick on your feet. You can get this from a chemist and it's in a turquoise, plastic tube a bit like lipstick. You simply rub it over your feet where you think the pressure points or rubbing points will be. I have found this to be 100% effective in preventing blisters or soreness from rubbing.
More info here: compeed.co.uk/product/anti-...
Oh brilliant, that sounds great! Thank you for your suggestion 😁
Best aevuce I’ve been given….as the rubbing is a worry isn’t it,.,.thanks
Sue
I have meindl extra wide waterproof walking shoes. I use my orthotics inside them and they were instantly comfortable from day one. Wear anything you buy indoors for a few days, if they don’t fit send them back x
You know before buying anything ask what their returns policy is. A few years ago I bought a pair of low wedge shoes made by a company specialising in shoes for those feet issues. They weren't all that expensive at £49 pounds and when they appeared to fit me like a glove in the shop, I simpy had to have them.
I wore them the following day for two hours to wear them in and they seemed ok at the start of the day. However in the second hour my feet started to have some discomfort as my feet were swelling. I did the same the next day and the next day and the same thing happened again.
On the fouth day I thought lets see how much longer I can wear them as I was certain it was just a case of wearing them in. I went to a job interview in them and felt on top of the world as they also looked very smart. I told myself no pain no gain. But how wrong was I on this matter. After 4 hours my feet were in absolute agony. I didn't of course dare take them off until I got home, because had I taken them off, I would not have got my feet back into them.
I got through the job interview well and was offered the job, but little did the employer know that my feet were in hell.
As soon as I got home I took them off and felt what a relief. I then told myself it was time to acknowledge that these very smart low wedge shoes weren't right for my feet. So I rang the shop and the lady told me to bring them back in with me and they would re-examine my feet and measure them again.
She went on to tell me they could not change them or refund the cost of the shoes, but she could find out from the manufacturer if there was anything else they could offer for me. So as she was telling me what advice the manufacturer was giving her to pass on to me she repackaged my shoes and returned them to me.
The manufacturers advice was to wash my feet before putting on my shoes and ensure they were bone dry and well rested before wearing the shoes, he went on to say that if the shoes felt a bit to close in the fitting to rub on a bit of talc to my feet before putting on the shoes again. Apparently the manufacturer had said that as the shoes were perfect for my feet as my feet had been measured that maybe I should buy a second pair of shoes that were more boot like to wear with compression socks. The shop in this instance would order them in and I could have a discount off that pair as my first were proving to be a problem to me. So instead of the boots costing £89's I could get them for £79's. Needless to say, I did not go ahead, as I thought that I would have more problems with them than the shoes and in this instance they didn't have my size in to try and see if they were going to be suitable for me.
This brings me to suggest the following to anyone looking for shoes or boots.
Do not buy online as you can not sit down and try them on the way you would in a Go to the shop at different times of day and try on any shoes or boots you feel might be suitable for you.
Do have your feet measured at different times of day too.
Only buy if you feel 100% that the shoes or boots are right for you. Do not listen to any one pushing sales on you, by saying oh those look nice on you etc. They could just be looking for a sale.
Before you buy ask what their returns policy is.
Don't be rushed into buying anything.
I am suggesting all of this, because the shoes I took back to the shop had no signs that they had had any real use, despite the fact that I had worn them for short spells over 4 days.
I still have these shoes, that look fabulous and are agony to wear. How they can say that they are suitable for people with swollen feet issues beats me up, as I simply can't get a way with them.
🤔 I think you make a good point by suggesting to try on the shoes and by measuring feet at different times throughout the day, good points Thank you 😁
Hello Perce74
I have had success with the brand Merrell for hiking shoes. I have LE in both legs and feet. I also have Aasics shoes which are very good, but for going the distance it’s the Merrell’s for sure. I wear my orthotics with them and it works well
The stickler is indeed to try the shoes for as long as possible. I invested in too many pairs of expensive shoes that feel fine in the shop, or even for an hour or so but at the end of the day my feet are in so much pain! I’m not sure there’s a good solution to this since the pain often starts only after a significant time / distance wearing the shoes.
And never ever buy shoes that « just need to be broken in ». With lymphoedema that’s a recipe for disaster. They should feel great from the start. Any tiny pinching or disconfort is guaranteed to become raging pain in a short time.
Hope you find some great shoes!
Snap. I could probably open a shoe shop with shoes that felt momentarily comfortable and then not comfortable at all. And some of these claimed to be from specialists making shoes for sufferers of lymphoedema and generally swollen feet. The most comfortable thing to me is Crocs or Sliders and these are not made for people with medical pprtoblems.
Indeed! A shop full. It’s a sad waste.
Unfortunately so. I guess everyone here will have shoe horror stories as our feet issues are not easy to resolve. I live in dread of the winter as crocs and sliders are no good then. So whether I like it or not, then I have to wear proper shoes or boots.
Years ago my GP told me to wear trainers when my feet first started to give me issues, but they were useless as the only ones with any depth to let my feet in, were a good size or two bigger than my actual feet.
Most of the time when I need to wear shoes I wear flatties with a shallow front as these are the only ones my feet will get in to. This summer in school I had to adhere to school dress policy, no sandels or open toed shoes. For Health and safety reasons. Drat, my feet sweated and ached every day wearing my flatties.
I also hate all socks, normal socks for those with diabetes and hems that rub along sensitive toes and the worst ones of all being compression socks, which I had to stop wearing. My eczema was getting worse with those and on top of this I gained extra sore folds in my skin, that I didn't have before on my lower calfs and then ended up with permanent pins and needles, often leading to complete numbness and danger walking, when my shoes and compression socks came off. This was also after the shortest possible time of wearing them as the pain just intensified the longer they were on. Crazy.
I hope you manage the walk and raise loads. xx
Walking away from the pain.
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