Sentenced to Structure

OMG it is pain in the ass to get old – or if not there, elsewhere! One joint or another: head, shoulders, knees, and toes takes on a whole new meaning. 

I have been ignoring a slightly shorter right than left leg my whole life. Since I had to buy new shoes in August, it seemed to be time to finally deal with it, considering my advanced age, and so I put a single Dr. Scholl’s in that new shoe and in two days I thought my pelvis was like to break in half. I had expected some, um, difficulties and had some yoga stretches at the ready, but it was Aleve at night for a couple of weeks till it settled down. 

In September I found that the backs of both knees were swelling at night and causing me increasingly sharp wake-ups and aches of a magnitude that got me out of bed, walking in circles until the intensity lessened. In the day I began to have muscle twinges down the backs of my calves, and I thought and thought about what could be causing it all, and I thought it must be the damn new shoes.  

Having limped through years of slowing falling arches before stabilizing in comfortable shoes some years ago, I had very carefully ordered that new pair – exactly the same as I had been wearing for an age. Really – reordered the same ones!  Who expected change? But change it did, and I realized that what I needed was a little lift in the heel. Never mind that the previous shoes did not, whatever!  I sorted through the massive stash of wedges, cushions, and arch support aids I had accumulated over those falling years and found some decent heel inserts that ended just north of my arches, changing the angle of my dangle. Blessed relief immediately - I had done the right thing! I cavorted and twirled on my painfree pins in celebration. 

Within a week I began to have shooting pains down the outsides of my calves and sometimes under my kneecap. What the hell? These got worse until I had to take pain meds to stay mostly asleep at night, with intermittent sharply drawn breath and tears till I was falling asleep at my desk in the day. The heel supports had just a bit of arch in them, and damned if that little-bittie was not shifting weight to the outside of my feet; hence the NEW pains. 

I bought smaller heel pads and again life is fabulous. 

But now it is November and the snows have begun; meaning in Minnesotan that it is time for my boots. Sigh. Here we go again. . .