I am one who is experiencing joint issues:
- Osteoarthritis (normal wear & tear on the body, with added complication of previous injuries added to the mix)
- RA - Rheumatoid Arthritis - in my case, familial. Both my mother and grandmother had it, as well as several other family members. Not diagnosed until recently, when a blood test alerted my doctor to the problem. I am seeing a rheumatologist, and on the first level of RA drugs (hydrochloroquine, HCQ, which is ironic, as I started taking it shortly before COVID hit).
Today, I visited the podiatrist about pain in the ball of my foot. I've got displaced sesamoid bones, which means that the two bones involved are no longer both flush along the floor of my foot. One of them is bearing all the weight of that side of the body. Coupled with my toe inflexibility, that means that I often lurch more heavily on the left side, making my already previously injured knee even more tender.
There aren't a lot of treatments - one of them is a cortisone shot, which I received today. VERY painful in a part of the body without a lot of cushioning tissue. I should know in about 1/2 day whether it helps.
Other than that, surgery.
As an interim step, and strictly to ease the impact of my movement on those bones, Dr. Crabtree suggested a shoe with better cushioning. I told him I'd already ordered an Oofos shoe. I'd picked this shoe - pretty and, hopefully, more comfortable.
He agreed that those shoes were a good choice, and went on to recommend this brand. The linked page shows the model I just bought.
Now, I'd previously owned several pairs of MBT shoes. They are NOT cheap. Plan on spending around $200-$400 per pair.
But, even at that price, they are SO worth it. I've never worn a shoe that made my feet feel better. It made the all-day walking, necessary when you teach, possible.
