I had this walk. It was normal for me, not learned or practiced, but just noticeable in a good way. One military buddy told me he could recognize me in full chemical warfare gear by the way I walked.
Once in an airport wearing a skirt and backless mule slides, I walked the almost empty concourse with heads turning as I passed, one foot placed in front of another, back straight, chin parallel to the ground like a model on a catwalk. My pride enjoyed that.
Twenty years of military service, lifting 80-pound barbell weights above my head at medical exams, and I never knew I had a crooked spine. Honey, I’m saying I was probably born with it. If my mama knew, she wasn’t going to spoil my look with some ugly back brace, that’s for sure.
A chiropractor took an X-ray about 20 years ago and the sideways comma/question mark my spine curved into on the film answered many questions and came to excuse more to come. Hold on, I’ll get there.
About five or more years ago, my dogs jumped against the back of my knees as I was going down steps to let them outside and the three-step fall left me with casts on both legs and a walk that most resembles a duck wobble trying to avoid a walker.
A torn ACL on a knee trying to heal and, later on, a torn shoulder rotator cuff from normal caregiver duties over the years left me feeling more friendly with my recliner than the benefits of a good walking routine. Ice cream reinforces that vote.
My counselor, who loves me warts and all, doesn’t listen to my non-exercise excuses like crooked spines and torn or broken body parts. Nope, she doesn’t suffer fools, she offers plans and ever so gently tells me about a shoe store that has a machine that you step on which takes pictures of your feet. Then you walk across a mat and it does more analysis of your feet and tells you what kind of shoe your body needs to feel better.
You see what she did there, she got my attention with science and machines, facts and analysis, and she removed excuses by saying my body would feel less pain. She is a very, very good counselor.
I found the store in Oxford. I found the machine and analysis fascinating. I loved the way the young man loved his job. Just like a grandson working hard, he showed every detail. He showed me the details of where my weight hit the floor and how narrow my feet were, especially my narrow heels. He showed me how to lace my shoes to accommodate those narrow heels (yes there is a special way to lace your shoes for narrow ankles; I’m shocked, too). The anklet socks he offered had special attention to arch support and I was able to try on different strengths of arch supports. I ended up with the strongest support due to my high arch, because I’m special. My mama said so.
I wore them all over the grocery store. All over from one side to the other as Chester called me reminding me of more items.
I never gave the shoes a thought, came home, took a nap, got up, then put on my really nice slippers with the insoles and fleece lining, and by the time I walked into the kitchen my back and my knees were talking. I’m usually pretty smart, but it took a few days before I realized the new shoes were what made the difference. I needed to wear them at home on my concrete floors.
With all the lacing and tying and fussing, I’m admitting I took my nap with my shoes on so my feet would hit the floor without being in pain. That’s the truth. When I wear the proper shoes, no back pain.
I try to remember to walk correctly again, not waddle out of habit. My knees are not an issue.
I’m not going to turn heads at the airport concourse again, but I'm not above wearing my workout shoes to church with dress slacks or a dress because that’s just me. I could blame it on my age but, honestly, I’ve always been that way. Folks who know me, know that’s the truth.
I’m considering buying a second pair and having the grandsonish salesman lace them up with these special elastic laces so they become the ones I slip into when I jump out of bed instead of my exercising shoes. Then I’m gonna get my walking poles and my big black lab and hit the gravel road I live on any day now.
You just wait and see.
That’s the truth this time.
