I took the advice of an therapist who studied my leg and back pain, and decided I needed to do some exercises and to get different shoes. I bought imported Finn shoes, handed the clerk my credit card, and pretended it was a prescription order. Years later I have a closet of Finn shoes with inserts and I wear orthopedics in my SAS shoes for gardening and work at home. I stretched my feet with bands nightly and got rid of the pain. I broke the right toe when a frozen chicken fell out of the freezer on my bare foot, and the left toe has signs of nerve damage, either from the knee replacement or the back surgery.
Despite all this, I love my Finn shoes and the leather is so excellent they will never wear out. Sometimes I dream of a new pair of shoes but at the cost, I stick with my old ones. Yes, I like the SAS sandels for summer but still need the orthotics for walking. No more high heels. I wash the SAS shoes and the inserts of the Finn shoes with Murphy's oil soap and set them out to dry. Finn makes a diabetic shoe lined with leather, but they are very hot by the time you wear socks in them. I bought a pair because they were on sale but only can wear them in the winter. Soft soles have never worked for me. Leather soles have always helped with support and healing when I have a sprain or broken foot. Yes, I am a clumsy person, but I am still walking, slowly and carefully. My husband ran over my foot with a disc and that took six months to heal, with leather soles, no tennis shoes. I no longer own tennis shoes. Dorisena