Why?
OK, Maybe a link to Why is not enough, so I'll be a bit more verbose (as though that was ever an issue?) on the topic.
I have spent years trying to find solutions to my own post-club feet issues, and to find other clubbies out there who I can support, and receive support from. I spent 20+ years in the field of applied biomechanics, working to help all kinds of folks with trying to find some small, and whenever possible, large and complete solutions to their various foot and gait-related pains and problems. I got pretty good at it, with custom shoes, shoe modifications, and orthoses, but my own post-club foot issues seemed to elude any substantial improvements. I was also subjected to a really bad surgical intervention at the age of 37 that left me worse off than before.
Finally, after trying to find solutions out there on the Web, and finding few places to get support and feedback from others like myself (I found many options for parents of children with club feet, but few for us adult clubbies) I decided to get off my duff and build this blog.
I do this for myself, but more importantly, for all you other clubbies who have too long felt without hope, unaware of potential resources, and just plain feeling alone with this issue we started life with, and will carry for the rest of our lives. I believe that alone, we have few options. But together, as a louder voice, we can begin to wake up the medical establishment to the reality of post-club foot syndrome.
So come on in. It time we clubbies started swinging a larger club ourselves.
The Disclaimer Stuff
OK, I've been advised to do this, so here it is.
No, I am NOT a doctor. I am not prescribing anything to anybody. I am sharing the knowledge I have gained over my career in the field of applied biomechanics, and over a lifetime of wearing two (count 'em) badly designed post-club feet (which makes me, and others who share this syndrome, more experts than the self-proclaimed ones with the nice-sounding degrees out there when it comes to our pain and how it continues to affect our lives.) I have designed and made custom footwear and foot orthoses for thousands of people, and in most of those cases helped the clinician "decide" on the proper prescription, and dispense and evaluate the outcomes. So, take what you find here as information only, and do with it what you will.
I do provide links to other sites that provide orthoses and footwear, but I do not endorse those companies, do not derive any monetary gain from those companies, and bear no responsibility for any product or interaction derived from those companies. I strongly suggest you do what I have always done - your homework. Check them out, ask for references, ask all the hard questions. Be your own strongest advocate. Buyer beware, and all that.
I do from time to time refer to medical literature, and even provide some quotes, within the limits permitted by the appropriate copyright laws. These are provided for your further education only. Be as wary of their "truths" as any good scientist would. Even the best scientist is occasionally prone to be a victim of their own biases.
Finally, if you ask me a question about your own feet, my answers are merely my opinion, based on the aforementioned experience. They are NOT prescriptive or diagnostic. I will always endeavor to help guests locate the appropriate, qualified resource for more in-depth detective work, but here as before, without any liability for outcomes. Check them out, talk to others, get other opinions. The truth of the matter for us post-clubbies is that there are really few, if any, real experts on our condition. We are essentially an afterthought once we are released from our pediatric orthopedists and podiatrists. Some of us are a success, and the rest of us are assumed to be so, because those clinicians never really see us again.
They did tell us, and our parents, that our feet were now "corrected," didn't they?
Funny thing, though. I never recall seeing their disclaimers.
