Shoes

I made a remarkable and embarrassing discovery which may lead to my hip getting better for once and for all, but not before I spent nearly $400.00 on chiropractic care.

I'm a fanatic for good shoes.  I have wide feet and they are a size ten.  I have bunions, which, while hereditary, were also likely caused by my wearing four-inch heels when I was in my 20's.  Nowadays I mostly wear flats; sensible shoes from makers like Clark's and Ecco, with arch supports.  Very boring.  So why would I be wearing five year old walking shoes from a manufacturer of running shoes that no serious runner would ever touch (Nike)?  They are leather walking shoes I bought at an outlet store in Pennsylvania for $30.  Most of my shoes cost five times that, so why was I wearing them?  My rationale was that I only wore them for brief periods in Spring and Fall when it's not sandals weather.  (My sandals are made by Mephisto). 

So there I was, receiving my umpteenth chiropractic treatment from Wade the other day when he happened to notice the tell-tale swoosh on the side of my shoes.   He was pretty dramatic in assessment of them ("They're shit!" he said.) 

Our neighbours are gutting their house and they have a dumpster bin parked in front which they said we could use so in went the shoes as soon as I got home.  I have dozens of pairs of old running shoes which, because the padding inside is worn down are no longer suitable for running but the arch support and impact resistance is still good, so I dug out an old pair of Sauconys to wear and off we went on a shopping trip to Home Depot (we're renovating too.)  While walking around Home Depot I began to notice something astonishing: my hip was feeling better.  I was aware of a re-alignment of my joints taking place together with a loosening of the muscles in my hip and bum.  Was it just the shoes? 

I've been taking large doses of Ibuprofen these last few days and on the weekend I threw a coin into a wishing pond (the money in the pond will go to the relief of the Japanese tsunami victims).  I wished for my hip to get better.  Maybe it's the treatment from Wade, or the spin classes.  Maybe it's the anti-inflammatory properties of Ibuprofen, maybe it was the wishing pond.  But what if it was just the shoes?