My spine problems are neck, so not sure the shoe matters so much for that, but I do have foot and knee problems as well. I wear Propet, Merrell, New Balance all with my custom orthotic inserts created by my podiatrist. Propet and Merrell both make shoes nice enough that I can wear them with suits to work, and I wear my Crocs or New Balance on the weekends. I find that most shoes are not orthotic compatible, the back of the heel is not high enough and my foot slides out once I have my insert in, but my insert is very thick at teh back and on the sides (falling arches, over pronation, loose ligaments in ankle).

It can, so it's worth checking if you find that your shoes are affecting your pain levels. There was another poster who just recently mentioned that her c-spine pain levels dropped when she was wearing heels.

Neck and Back
 

I feel shoes most certainly affect neck - the whole spine functions as a unit, a system.

I own MBT, Keen, Dansko, Finn Comfort (love these too), Crocs, Ecco, Joseph Siebel. I love them all, but am partial to MBT. You don't need orthotics with these. My spine tells me when I'm not wearing them. I get them for under 200 from ebay. They build up your core muscles. My feet never get tired when I wear them. People will look at you funny though - I wonder why...

The MBT's are awesome. :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

They are fugly though. :laugh:

Terry Newton

The MBT boots I have just bought are great I walked so much I have a blister on my heel but they are doing something, my heel pain went after an hours walking and was replaced by left buttock pain only .... this may be the source as it matches the MRI findings Maz

Do MBT's feel weird? Thanks.. - ans

Imagine walking in sand and that is what the MBT's feel like. They take away all of the pounding that takes place on the lower spine from normal walking. They force you in to an upright position with walking and, really help with overall posture. I wear mine continuously now. They recommend an hour per day until you get used to them. I love how they remove the impact from my spine as I am a high impact walker. That is from the military when they made us stomp our heels for marching. I never got past that.

Terry Newton

Toe Huggers & Five Fingers
 

orthodics have helped me
 

I noticed this topic hasn't been tapped in awhile, but I did want to add something that has helped me.

Two years ago, I started a retail job. I have a degenerated L5 and wasn't sure if I could even work. Besides my back hurting, my feet were killing me. They were so sore, that it hurt when my sweet hubby tried to rub them for me. I did some research online and noticed a nurse mentioned these supports called SOLE.

I went to their website and read. I figured what can it hurt to try it and ordered me a pair to try in my shoes. (I initially bought ECCO's that were $100 and thought it was funny that I was taking the inside's out to put a better support in).

I took this little test to see which support was best for my foot:
http://www.yoursole.com/products/foo...tbed-selector/

The Dean Karnazes Signature Edition is what I went with.
https://www.yoursole.com/us/footbeds...ture/karnazes/

Well, since that time I have ordered a pair to put in all of my shoes.
I cannot tell you how much these helped my feet and my back.
I can't have a shoe without it now! I just can't recommend these enough.

My husband now won't go without them.
We live in Florida...land of flip flops which I've never been able to wear.

After seeing how great the supports were, I tried their sandals.
My hubby and I now have SEVERAL pairs.

The thing that is most impressive is how long these supports last for.
I liked how firm mine were and never heated them as they discuss on the site.
They last for a very long time. I'm going on 3 years now at the retail store.
6 hours of walking and standing. I honestly don't think I could make it without
this product.

Since it worked so well for me, I wanted to share this product with the forum.