Question for men that wear dress shoes to work?
I am 7 and a half weeks post op and I have an appointment to go back to see the doc next Thursday. He told me to bring my other shoe with me so obviously I am pretty stoked about hopefully getting rid of the boot for good. I have been doing a lot of walking around already without the boot and can walk almost normal as long as I am in a shoe with a thick heel sole. I would like to hear from all of the guys like myself that have to wear dress shoes to work all day. How was the transition into your dress shoes which most have hardly any heel raise and almost no cushion? I am wanting to prepare myself to try and go back to work without the boot and want to know from guys that have already been thru this stage what they used or did that worked. Has anyone used any inserts that worked for them? Heel wedges? I work 10-12 hrs a day sometimes so just a little nervous about leaving the boot off for the first time I come to work. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I am supposed to wear dress shoes to work. However, For the next month or so I am just wearing tennis shoes. My doctor told me that it can be a bit more difficult with heel raises in the dress shoes as your foot can slip out of them. I figured that I was not going to take any chances with anything as this is recovery from a major surgery.
nickokie - I can’t wear comfortably about 1/4 of the old shoes that I have any more.. On some of them, “heel liners” help a lot: http://achillesblog.com/things-you-might-need/to-help-you-get-around/
Pretty much the only dress shoes that I now wear (2-3 times a week) has one of those heel liners, and they work great.
Nick: I am at 9 weeks, post op, and I can wear dress shoes sometimes. I have had as much issue with the dress socks, which tend to be tighter on my ankle than regular athletic socks, and my foot/ankle has a lot more swelling as a result of that. I tried wearing padded inserts in my shoes, and they help some, especially for padding under the heal. So, you might want to make sure you have socks that are not too tight to your leg, and of course, try shoes that are padded on the back of the heal if you can. I wear running shoes to work sometimes, with slacks, which is not the greatest fashion statement. Some black athletic shoes might be a better idea. Hope this helps.
I was able to wear dress shoes at about 7 or 8 weeks, with the same insoles I wore before my ATR. Biggest problem for me was the lack of lateral support (which is really heightened on an ankle that has been weakened by 8 weeks of inactivity) and swelling at the point where the top of the shoe heel meets the back of the ankle. I started with slip-on dress shoes (less formal) and then moved up to more formal shoes as the swelling permitted.
I appreciate all the comments. I think I may have to just wear my tennis shoes with my slacks for a few weeks. I work anywhere from 9-12 hr/day and I don’t think I could tough out dress shoes even with any kind of insert. Just like Pete said it is a major recovery from a major injury and I don’t want to slow my recovery down or chance re-injuring because dress shoes will look better than tennis shoes.
I wonder how many surgeons discuss this nuisance when helping their patients decide between op and non-op recovery!
Me, I’ve had both kinds, having torn both ATs (though the surgery was 9.5 yrs ago now), and I don’t recall having trouble wearing dress shoes after the surgical repair. (And certainly no probs this time.)
Mind you, I’ve often had to use heel-lift pads or “heel liners” to keep my leather dress shoes from hitting the back of my ankle up high, where it’s always been sensitive. So maybe I’d already modified my shoes enough that the top edge was below the incision, or well enough padded?
Howdy. After my ATR, and post surgery, I found that wearing shoes that did not aggrivate the swelling or provide “pinch” pressure on the enlarged tendon really helped recovery speed up.
I am at a workplace that would allow a tennis shoe in cases like this, but I have yet to discover a tennis shoe that does not pinch or compress my recovered leg in some way.
That in mind, I came up with the idea to wear dress “clogs” and because of that choice, my recovery got back on track, to the point of being able to play semi-competitive soccer again.
The clogs I wear get compliments from people who don’t even know they’re clogs. They’re on the expensive side at $150, but I will likely buy another pair to back up my 1.5-year-old pair. The brand is Naot, and the shoe is called Bjorn. The sizing is weird so my best suggestion is find a place that sells them near you and try them on, rather than ordering via internet.
Still looking for a good running shoe that doesn’t pinch the tendon.
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