Something else comfortable for your feet and giving you that extra bit of lift if you need it
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The NEW modified trainer. This shoe was part of my ongoing attempts to achieve something which would give me
Following the problems I had back in May 1999 which resulted in the
loss of the leg length I'd gained, as I went for union in the
corticotomy, I now had a few centimetres difference between the left
and right leg. |
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The removal of the sole from the wooden based proved a
long winded job but eventually I tore the thing free. It was not long
enough to cover the entire underside of the trainer in one length due
to the obvious size difference between my great clodhopping feet (UK
size 10) and an average woman's foot.
So I decided to seperate the removed lower into two
portions [as can be seen from the pictures] and attach them
separately to the sole and heel of the trainer.
This actually had an unforeseen advantage of allowing
more flexibility around the instep region than would have been
possible had I transferred the whole sole and heel assembly as was.
Using a sharp craft knife I cut the assembly into two
and affixed these to the trainer using a spray impact adhesive. I
expect that any impact adhesive would work equally as well, but the
spray type allowed easier distribution on the sole & heel and the
recipient trainer.
I afixed the sole section first. After spraying both
the rubber add-on and the trainer sole I waited until the glue had
reached the requisite 'tackiness'. I then assembled sole to sole and
clamped it until a good bond had been formed. This I did by crushing
the whole trainer under the leg of a chair that I was sitting on !
I then repeated the performance with the heel assembly.
When I was totally satisfied with the strength of the
fixing, using the craft knife and a small junior hacksaw, I trimmed
the excess material where necessary, attempting to make the new
additions follow the original lines of the shoe.
Yes, I appreciate that a black sole would have looked
better on a black trainer but I never said that I was one for foresight!
Then I took the thing for a test walk.
IT FELT WONDERFUL!
Personally I'd have to say it was a total success. I
immediately felt far more secure than I had, even when compared to
wearing two similar shoes but of different sole/heel thicknesses.
I believe that it has been of great assistance to me
at the gym also. I now feel more secure when I'm using the treadmill
or even, more recently when using the stair stepper machine.
Hopefully as this has allowed me to increase the
amount of pressure I can place on the forming bone, I will see an
even greater increase in the callus formation on my next series of x-rays.
PLEASE NOTE:
AS ALWAYS, CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR PRIOR
TO ATTEMPTING ANY SUCH MODIFICATIONS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBT AS TO YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE
SUCH A SHOE, DON'T DO IT!
IF YOUR DOCTOR SAYS DON'T DO IT, THEN DON'T! HE'S
THE PERSON TO ULTIMATELY LISTEN TO!
I WOULD ALSO ONLY RECOMMEND SUCH AN ATTEMPT AS IN A
SIMILAR CASE TO MINE WHERE THE DESCREPANCY IN LENGTH IS A MATTER OF
20 TO 30 MILLIMETRES. ANY MORE THAN THAT AND I FEEL THAT STABILITY OF
HOME ASSEMBLY AND READILY AVAILABLE MATERIALS COULD POSE A SERIOUS PROBLEM.
IN SHORT
IF IN DOUBT - DON'T!
![Another view of the built-up soled trainer [Note exercise springs]](images/bldup2.jpg)