I AM NEVER LISTENING TO YOU PEOPLE AGAIN!
“Get Danskos!”
“Danskos are the best!”
“I LOOOVe Danskos!” you said.
So I bought a pair.
They’re cute.
They’re super comfy.
And they have this slick footbed with no contours in them. Which means that my little tiny hooves had nothing to grip all day yesterday as I ran around campus.
My feet felt great at the end of the day. My back felt great.
However, I awoke this morning with insane spasms in my feet and calves and I still can’t get my feet or legs to work. I am missing a board meeting in Boston as we speak. I managed to hobble downstairs betweeen paralyzing bouts of cramping (it doesn’t hurt so much, it’s just that the muscles are twisting around themselves and causing tons of involuntary movement as they try to find alignment. It’s actually sort of entertaining in a hideous kind of way). I am sitting at my desk right now with my feet propped up uselessly on a wooden beam in the desk and watching the tremors as they come. When they do I just breathe and let the muscles work it out. I want to be very careful that I don’t do any damage pulling or forcing anything.
My calf muscles are twitching like mad.
So THANKS for all of you who recommended Danskos! I wondered when I tried them on what my foot would be conforming to, and now I know: nothing but smooth leather! Do they wear in, or what? Please say they do because aside from the fact that I am completely crippled this morning, I love the shoe. They were expensive and they’re very comfortable and I’ll wear them in more slowly if it will be worth it.
this innocent-looking little shoe is dangerous and wanted in six states
Get insoles
Yes, they do wear in to conform to your foot. but if you’re slipping around that much, they may be too big?
Those are my favorite Danskos, for the record–even in that color. 🙂
I find that if I am going to be doing a lot of walking, my Danskos are the not the best choice. I prefer them for long periods of standing or strolling. When I get in a hurry, my feet, legs, body hurts.
Every person’s feet are different, and so the shoes that some people swear by, others swear AT. And feet change over the lifetime, so that the shoes that were terrific in your early 30s may not work for you in your early 40s (or beyond).
Take care of yourself, but don’t condemn the Danskos (of which I have no experience). They’re just not right for you.
I don’t know from Danskos, but my Aravon sandals, which formed to my feet took some careful, slow breaking in. If I wore them too long at first, I had nasty, nasty foot pain.
Like many other shoes that are different that what you regularly wear, Danskos need to be broken “in” both with your body and for your foot. I always tell people to wear them for an hour or two at a time at first and then only gradually work your way up to a full day. I’m so sorry that you’re all out of whack–but before cursing the Danskos, give your body a chance to slowly adjust to them. They are great, but do take adjustments!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think my Dansko clogs gave me plantar fasciitis last year. I have one pair that I slip around in (over time they stretched to be too large) and I think it is the culprit. Some designs have a pretty flat and smooth footbed. Not much arch support.
Sorry you are in pain…
I have a similar pair (same style, different color) and discovered that inserts made all the difference for me…the inserts keep my feet/legs from working so hard to “hang on” to the shoe, which I love for its support. Sorry you’re in pain, hopefully you’ll hang in there with the Dansko! -cme
Yuck. I wear mine 15 hours at a time (they’re the only ones I wear on call) and I love them but I did have to get used to them. Nothing like you are describing.
Odd. I wear mine (clogs or riding boots) all day long. Never needed a break in period, never had anything but VERY happy feet. I can’t STAND any kind of contouring or texture on the foot bed, it drives my feet crazy.
I’m not sure I would blame the shoes, but maybe a crazy low potassium level? They might just not work for you, but seems very odd. All the folks I know who have them (huge among horse people) adore theirs and wear them for VERY hard walking and labor with no issues.
Are you sure you aren’t having a stroke? A tiny, little, below the knee stroke? [Yea, I’m sure. At least I THINK I’m sure! How would I know? – PB]
Poor darling PeaceBang!
Get thee to a hot soaking bath, dear lady, and be sure and eat some bananas today. It might be a good time to treat yourself to a date with a massage therapist, too. Perhaps a bit ‘spensive, but well worth it, with the pain you describe.
Feel better soonest!
It could be that since you did so much walking in them, the muscles and tendons of your lower legs weren’t used to being supported in such a way from the Danskos. I have terrible feet and legs (birth defect has left them rotated more than usual, as a result I am pigeon-toed and had no arches until I got that fixed) and Danskos are great for me. I’ve never heard of problems like this coming from any other Dansko wearer.
I would wear mine all day, every day. To school, around the house, at the barn when I wasn’t in my boots.
So sorry that you’re in pain right now. Wishing you the best, and echoing what someone on Facebook said about rolling a water bottle on the floor with your feet. It works!
It could be hydration- I get terrible cramps when I’m not hydrated, and it was warm yesterday.
Also- that style of dansko (which are also the ones I wore for the last 32 hours of my on-call- yowch!) needs to have the strap adjusted. It shouldn’t feel tight, but should offer gentle resistance to your foot so your toes aren’t doing all the work of keeping the shoe on.
In fact, I think you should send those shoes out for an evaluation by a dankso aficinado. If my feet weren’t giant flippers, I would offer to help you out by taking them for such a tour right now. They are cute!
Sorry to hear your feet (and you!) are so miserable.
YOU ARE ALL VERY SWEET!
I’m feeling fine now. My calf muscles feel tender and weirded out but my feet are fine. I’m sure I was dehydrated — I didn’t think about that possibility. And low on potassium, too, since I started taking blood pressure medication recently. Blergh.
I feel the same way about Scandinavian clogs & Ugg boots that you feel about Danskos. Also the aqua aerobics instructor at the gym suggested potassium for leg cramps. I have not tried this but am passing it along anyway.
How awful! It inspired a great post title that made me LOL, though, so your suffering was not in vain.
I never needed to break in my Danskos and I find them very comfy, but probably it’s a good idea to take any new shoe in small doses. No two pair are quite the same shape and if you wear the same shoes day in, day out (not that PB would ever do such a thing) and then you switch, your foot muscles might rebel. Enjoy a long, epsom-salt bath.
I cannot wear clogs or any kind of shoe that requires me to clench my foot to keep them on. If I do, I get the same effect you are experiencing. The shoe store owner says this is due to my ultra high arch. Strapped sandals and boots are my only comfortable dress shoes.
Danskos don’t so much break in, it is more that your body has to get used to them. Since much of the time people wear shoes that don’t offer proper support or put their feet/ bodies in poor alignment switching to a shoe with proper support can take getting used to; your body actually as to realign. With shoes of this nature it is best to start wearing them slowly and working your way up so that you can get used to them. Hope that was helpful!
I used to have a pair of the “clog-bottom” ones and I still have a couple pairs of ones that look more like regular shoes. The regular shoes are much more comfortable and don’t slip like the clog style.
I just have to offer a tip for foot and leg cramps. The philtrum is that little area between your nose and upper lip. Grab it and pinch or rub it. Apparently it is a known acupuncture point, and rubbing it will actually help.
Also, DITTO on the potassium. If you find that eating potassium-rich food won’t take care of it, your doctor will prescribe potassium. I take doses daily, mainly because I want my muscles (like my heart) to keep chugging along. Low potassium is a common problem with diuretics for high blood pressure.
I prefer the non-clog danskos — ones that are a bit more flexible. I love these, have several different kinds, and they have never done any wrong to my feet, even on first wearing. But I hope you can make those work, because they are cute as well as expensive!
here is what i’ve learned about danskos: they are FAB standing shoes (yay for preaching and presenting), but they stinkith for walking.
As someone with chronic, lifelong plantar fasciitis, my rule is, “Don’t ever wear shoes that require breaking in or getting used to.” They either fit comfortably and work right off the bat, or they are wrong for me. Period.
If you can violate this rule and not suffer, you are LUCKY. I was LUCKY in junior high school, but have never been LUCKY since.
I’ve tried many “comfort” brands of shoes: Dansko, Clark, Merrell, Naot, etc. Each of these has a devoted, passionate following who will speak of angels and unicorns when they describe the foot bliss they have experienced. But every foot is different, so don’t believe it until you try it.
The Lord, may, indeed, hate Danskos. But Jesus might love ’em.
I’ve been a preacher for 20 years, most of the last ten in Danskos. I’m afraid I own at least seven pairs, and I’ve worn out more. They are the only decent looking shoe that fits me and that I can wear for hours, Birks failing the “decent-looking” criterion. I just bought a pair of Jambus (I think that’s what they’re called) black heels with super-thin green accents, which are bee-yoo-ti-ful, but I’m afraid they’re not wide enough in my size so I made the mistake of getting them too big. They’re here: http://www.zappos.com/jambu-sweden-black, and quite comfortable, if they fit better. Otherwise, it’s back to Danskos for me.
Thanks for your fun blog and outspoken opinions!