Score One for Zumba

Well? The verdict is in. And ballroom dance shoes are out.

I went to visit my podiatrist last night to find out the answer to my recent foot problems. I knew the answers before I heard them. In fact, I spoon fed them to my foot-specialist.

My feet have been smiling ever since I got my orthotics. From the moment I first wore them, it was love at first sight. It was as if my feet had been waiting their entire life for the shoe inserts of their dreams.

There was no weaning in process necessary. I was conscious of the fact that there could be side effects as my feet got used to them. But there wasn't an inkling of anything but perfection. Right from the moment 'go'.

I used and abused my feet this past summer. I worked in a grocery store where I was moving and on my feet for the entirety of my shift. I chose not to take breaks. There were days when I was on my feet for eight to ten hours. Did my feet complain? Only when I took off my shoes and tried to walk barefoot in the house at the end of my workday. My feet missed their 'support system' - my orthotics.

I started delivering flyers in the fall. I walk approximately 1.5 hours, three days a week. I walk in all conditions. Various terrains. Cement all the way. Do my feet complain? Not until lately ...

I resumed ballroom dancing in January. One lesson in, my feet were not happy campers. Not even when I put them to rest and went to bed. The next day was not a lot better.

Second lesson? Swivels and a Tango class were pure torture. I endured the classes only because there was a severe shortage of women that night. My feet have not yet recovered ...

Did I give up? No way. I went to two more dance classes. I developed corns that made delivering flyers painful. Two hours of dancing in one week became something that (not only the remaining 22 hours of that day ... but) the six days that followed could not repair.

• My 'perscription' after last night's appointment? Wear my orthotics as much as possible. Not only outdoors, but inside. All day. Every day.
• Dance shoes with a heal that absolutely does not exceed 1.5"; preferably 1"

He shaved off my newly acquired corns & callouses, bandaged up my tender toe and sent me on my way. 

The good news? Two hours per week in ballroom dance shoes did not undo the benefits that my orthotics have reaped. He was more than a little pleased with the progress of my bunions and the 'angles' he was aiming to fix with my orthotics. But it is not enough to compensate for the excessive demands that my ballroom dance shoes place upon my tender, tender toes.

So now what? I have eight more dance classes bought and paid for. The only way to fully reap the benefits of those lessons is to find shoes that I can dance in. But do I go to the expense of trying to find the perfect dance shoe for me ... only to discover that I cannot afford the high cost of dancing?

Score "one" for Zumba. I have running shoes that work. I have tried and true evidence that my feet can withstand hours of wear and tear and endurance ... as long as they are safe in the confines of a running shoe that can accomodate my orthotics.

Four hours of dance lessons anyone??