Tips for Making Custom Shoe Inserts to Alleviate Ledderhose Disease Symptoms

Ledderhose disease might not have the same notoriety as plantar fasciitis, but those who suffer from it will attest to how it can greatly diminish their quality of life. Ledderhose disease sufferers will experience a series of bumpy nodules on the soles of the feet. Walking and standing, as a result, become highly uncomfortable to the point that you might seldom want to get up from sitting or lying down.

While your foot specialist can discuss the viable options for dealing with this disease, you'll want to do what you can to reduce your discomfort on your own. One such approach is to not only wear soft shoe inserts, but to also customize them the suit your foot nodules. Here's what you can do.

Buy Your Inserts

Speak to a foot specialist like Dupuytren's Disease Support Group about the type of inserts you should buy for your shoes. The exact style of inserts depends not only on your Ledderhose disease symptoms, but also your foot shape. For example, those with high arches need different shoe inserts than those with low arches. Your foot specialist can likely recommend a specialty retailer to make this purchase, or may even sell you these products directly.

Paint the Nodules

Your mission is to cut small indentations in your shoe inserts that line up with your foot nodules. This will allow the nodules to essentially sit inside these voids, while the inserts will provide overall cushioning to make it easier for you to stand and walk. In order to ensure that the indentations you make line up with the nodules, a simple approach is to remove your sock and cover each nodule in water-based paint. Before the paint dries, step firmly onto each insert, and then lift your foot—you'll have a series of paint marks on the inserts.

Cut The Inserts

Allow the paint on your shoe inserts to dry fully. With water-based paint, this won't take too long, so you can work on wiping your feet clean in the meantime. Then, using a sharp knife, cut around the paint parks and slice some of the foam out from under them. The goal is to create small divots in the inserts where each of the paint marks is. This will be a trial-and-error process, and it's better to take off a small amount of foam and then cut more away gradually.

Throughout the process, place the inserts in your shoes and stand on them. Where there's pressure, you can further cut away the foam until you experience comfort.


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