Better living through orthotics

Can't believe I had been trying to walk distance without orthotics!  Wish I had looked into them much sooner; and it just shows what a stubborn cuss I can be.  Walking with and without them is a night and day difference, and at this point I wouldn't imagine going anywhere without them.  Miraculously, they totally smooth my walking gate, and it feels fantastic to be able to walk smoothly versus hitching along. 

The orthotics team made several sets for me, and I keep one set in shoes I leave at work (to save weight and volume in my backpack when biking/commuting) and another set remains at home.  It is easy to swap them in and out of whatever foot gear I am going with.  The orthotics aren't necessary or helpful while biking, and that's the only time I go without them.  The contrast between clumsily walking in non-adjusted bike shoes to & from the bike, compared with gracefully gliding along once on the bike, is poignant.

The jury is still out on the clam-shell brace.  It feels constricting, and it gets warm and, well clammy, inside, and that is something I'll just have to get used to.  Also, where my foot exits the brace there is an unavoidable lip / transition from the brace to my shoe that crosses the bottom section of my foot that is still recovering nerve sensation, and it is causing annoying discomfort after just a little bit of use.  Maybe I can lessen the sensation by adding a cushioning extension / transition.  In any case, I don't think it's going to do the job in it's current configuration.

Finally, the brace works fine when walking on mostly flat terrain or when stepping up onto things like curbs, benches, rocks, stairs, etc., but because the brace restricts so much ankle motion, it is difficult to walk up simple, smooth, inclined grades, and the steeper the grade the more awkward it becomes.  It'd be no problem climbing a boulder field, or kicking steps up a snow slope, but walking up a steep trail may be a bit difficult.  Hmmm.  I'll do more testing.