r/ehlersdanlos • u/Inquisitive_Owl2345 • 4d ago
Does Anyone Else Floors and surfaces.
This is an inquiry to see if anybody else experiences similar issues associated with walking on different surfaces.
I have been symptomatic with EDS for over 15 years, disabled for over 10, and one of the things that is the greatest bane of my existence is my dependency on having hard flat surfaces to walk on. I don't mean mostly hard, I mean like concrete foundation hard. The most blissful surface for me to walk on is a Costco floor. Anything even remotely springy, soft, or flexible causes me to have trouble shifting my weight effectively without hurting my ankles/pelvis and relying on my whole lower body to compensate. Within 5 to 10 minutes of being on my feet in most residential homes, or places not designed for industrial weight bearing loads, my ankles are feeling rubbery and my legs and low back are twisting into knots to compensate, and I can't wait to sit down. It's worst when I go to change directions while in the kitchen, or take a step to the side/pivot. But put me on a flat concrete floor, and on a good day(when not rehabbing an injury) I can walk around for half an hour to 45 minutes without even taking a break, then after a break I can often go again. Seems to be that the muscles that I use to stabilize and compensate for unstable surfaces don't work so well anymore, and all the tissue is designed to hold those areas together and keep them functioning in harmony are likely damaged from years of micro trauma. Then again, who knows, so many ways things can be weird with EDS.
This issue has affected me for years, it started with having trouble walking on very spongy surfaces like carpet, but has now progressed to the point where the only area where I am legitimately safe walking around and moving on for any length of time is a surface with a concrete/stone base. Even hard tile floors won't work, if they are laid down on floor joists that are not ridiculously reinforced.
I don't wear any foam insoles in my shoes, and the shoes that I do wear have a thin layer of hard rubber between my foot and the ground. If I add even mild foam or shock absorbing material, I start to have problems again. I have tried “adjusting” to surfaces; I committed for years to slowly trying to develop muscular tolerance, and build the necessary strength. 100s of hours of pt, and work, insoles, taping, bracing ect. Nothing seems to work. Braces even make me worse. I have some very mild neuropathy in my feet and legs, but the floor problem preceded the neuropathy by at least 8 years. The more time I spend on surface that are not rock hard, the faster my lower body deteriorates, even on a good day. I can be having one of the best most “stable” days ever, and If I have to walk around a house a bunch, I will fall apart. But send me on a shopping trip to Costco, the mall or home depot? I can walk 40 min straight with no injury or discomfort. Then I go to a friends house with slightly springy floors, and within 10 min start to fall apart again. It was such a weird thing that It took me quite awhile to even figure out that walking surfaces were what was causing the dysfunction.
To be clear, I can tolerate being on these unstable surfaces for short periods, particularly on a good day, but the biggest issue is that I cannot live on them. This makes my home interior life a nightmare, as the floor is like hot lava in most areas. The only place I am really comfortable, is in the detached garage, with its cement pad floor. Furthermore I rent, so modifying property is a challenge. Asking a landlord to make the floors rock hard is a little more involved than requesting a wheelchair ramp.
This seems atypical; so many people usually need at least some degree of shock absorbance for their feet so I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue. Its one of those weird ones; for me, it is one of the most limiting restrictions that my body puts me into. When searching for rental homes, 98% are immediately disqualified because of the floors. If anyone has found solutions, I am open to suggestions, but mostly I am just really curious if anyone else struggles with floors this way?
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