Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog

I have come to the sad conclusion that my new blue shoes are what have been causing my right knee to be limpingly sore for the last few weeks. (Edit: Ha! I just realized they’re blue suede shoes. Moving on …)

Years ago I had plantar fasciitis in my foot. It was awful. After I had been sitting for a while, I’d need to take several steps before I could put weight on it without pain. Once it was warmed up, it was fine. If I had to get up in the middle of the night after my foot had been disused for hours, it wasn’t unusual for me to actually whimper on the way to the bathroom. In that regard, at least, my knee has been different. Resting it at night improves it. But during the day when I’m up and about, it’s a near constant aching and soreness. Bending it to step up or down stairs is the worst.

I had kind of been assuming that my right knee’s trouble was a side effect of aging and bowling. Why? Because my left knee and hip have been more frequently complaining during the twenty-four post-bowling hours. But here’s the rub. That discomfort reliably clears up by the end of the following day. And it’s only slight discomfort, not out-and-out pain of my right knee. And the other rub is that my sore knee is not my sliding knee. It ended up not quite adding up.

I pondered the problem further. I realized that the soreness had developed after I got the new shoes a few weeks ago. It’s true that when I was trying them on in the store, I knew they were a size or two too large, but I liked them so much that I bought them anyway. They seemed comfortable enough and I had been wearing them and walking in them with gusto.

But I couldn’t ignore the coincidence of the timing. So last weekend I resolved to not wear the shoes for a week to test whether they were the culprit. The inescapable answer is that they are. I was hopeful during the first few days because my knee didn’t not seem at all improved. I thought my beloved new shoes were off the hook. But in the last couple of days I can’t deny that my knee has hardly caused notice at all.

I’ll look into inserts or fancier orthotics so that I can wear my new shoes again, but for now I’ll have to stay with my tried-and-true oldies but goodies.