Merrell Shoes... another twist

[Mac Quart]

Wow, I am very jealous of your opportunities to hike!  These insoles took about
2 weeks to be made when I got them, but I am sure that they can be done
quicker, not to mention that my chiropractor had to send molds away to
Kentucky.  I am pasting here a letter I sent to another person on the list
about this that gives a pretty general overview of the whole thing.  What I
love about them is that even when I get a new pair of shoe, I have the same
insoles and so the new shoes don't hurt and the shoes conform to my feet
instead of my feet conforming to the shoe.  The insoles themselves are a hard
plastic arch covered with a very nice foam rubber type cushion.

I began having a problem on the Camino.  The outside of my left leg
was going numb.  I went to a chiropractor who was offering a free consultation
and mentioned it to him.  Without knowing any of my medical history, he
suggested that I may have flat feet.  He said that most people have flat feet
of are losing their arches because we walk on flat hard surfaces in shoes with
little to no support.  If you think of the structure of the body you can see
how the flattening of the feet will have a domino affect.  Your feet go flat
which causes more stress on the inside of the knees due to the bones not being
supported straight up and down.  On up to the hips and the backbone and neck
and even jaw.  He pointed out that all this would cause things like torn
cartilage in the knee, hips popping in and out, appendicitis, gastro-intestinal
problems, back problems, kneck problems, twitches in the muscle under the eye,
and even TMJ problems- the numbness in my leg would be a result of the muscles
over working to support the now stressed bones.  I did have twitching in the
muscles around my eye as well as a torn meniscus in my knee and clicking in my
hip and had my appendix taken out about two years prior.  This all made logical
sense to me (I began schooling as a bio-physics and anatomy major) and so I
asked two other doctors and they seemed to agree and I got the insoles.  They
were expensive (about $300 with exams and such), but I have found them to be
well worth it.  It is important to get the insoles by someone who will mold
them to your natural arch (lean forward on your toes and you will see your
natural arch form again) as opposed to many doctors who will just mold your
arch that has formed out of many years of misalignment.  I know that I sound
like an infomercial, but I feel so good after all of this that I tell everyone
I know about it.  Even my dentist has begun telling some of his patients who
have TMJ problems. Questions are most welcome and I can even ask my
chiropractor if he can recommend anyone in your area to get you more info or a
consultation.  Good luck!

Mac

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Knowing is not enough; we must apply.  Willing is not enough; we must do.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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