The first thing a lot of people ask me always been, “Why do you walk on your toes?” They might try to hide it in questions about whether I do ballet or something, but I always kind of know what they’re getting at. “You don’t walk like a normal person. Why is that?”
I used to lie about it, say I didn’t know why, joke about ballet or wanting to be taller, stuff like that. But I’m old enough now that I’m not going to be subject to middle-school bullying if I explain it.
I was a preemie, and it seems as though being born five weeks early didn’t give the muscles in my legs enough time to develop correctly. So, since those muscles are too short, it takes me a lot of effort to walk heel-toe like a normal person. My muscles are much more comfortable with making me walk on my toes.
When I was younger I had a few different courses of action to take. I tried physical therapy a few times. Going to a clinic after school once or twice a week to have my legs stretched, then having to do exercises twice a day for 15 minutes at a time felt like some sort of shameful secret that I had to keep hidden, lest the bullies find out and give me even more hell because I was trying to fix the problem they were bullying me about. Then I tried shoe inserts designed to lift up my heel so that I’d at least be able to put the heel of my shoe on the ground while still getting some of that lift.
Needless to say, none of these treatments caught on with me, and I’m still walking on my toes at 24. I’m no longer ashamed of it, and I don’t lie about the reason why anymore. And if I make a conscious effort, I can and I will walk heel-toe.
But I am a little bit worried about the way this will affect me in the future. Will I end up severely damaging my legs because of the way I walk? Will I end up needing surgery or a wheelchair? I have no idea what the future holds, but whatever’s coming, I’ll approach it walking head on, most likely on my toes.
Unruly Bodies 
You are a brave lady. God will help you.
I can definitely relate with this. It is terrible how every time something is different than the “norm” on your body, then people have to ask about it or point it out. When I was in high school, people constantly asked me why I walked the way I did. I would continue to explain to them it was because of my arch. They thought I purposely walked with my butt out, I mean they said it wasn’t obnoxious, but it was enough for them to notice it. They wouldn’t believe me until they felt the arch in my back and would then say “Ohhhhh, I get it now.” I’m so sorry that you have to explain yourself or make yourself believe why your body does things a certain way, no one deserves that. Thank you for sharing your story though, completely relatable, you’re not alone!
Thank you for sharing this! This makes you unique, who cares what people think. We all have our quirks! As for the future, I don’t know what to tell ya…I can’t even think of what I’ll be doing a week from now. Tackle it head on when you have to but for now, keep being you.
As a life update on this post: Hi, this is the person who was known as “shellybloggingitup” when I posted on here.
2016 was the year all this came to a head. I had been working as a grocery bagger for a few months, and between 48-hour work weeks and bad shoes, I ended up having to miss enough work to be forced to quit, because I woke up right before Memorial Day feeling only pins and needles in my feet. Urgent care said I had nerve damage, and they told me to stay off my feet for a few days.
After that, my family and I spent the rest of 2016 bouncing me around between different doctors. I discovered that the problem muscle was the Achilles tendon, and that the only option at this point in my life to get it to the right length for walking normally, was surgery.
On January 17, 2017, I had surgery on both of my legs to release the tightness in my Achilles tendons that led to the whole toe-walking thing. I spent six weeks in walking-boot casts, did eight weeks of physical therapy, and am now walking heel-toe all the time!
I’m still recovering. It’s going to take a while for my feet to adjust to actually using my heels, and thus, I still experience pain in my feet and legs… But I’ve gotten the problem corrected and the solution seems to be sticking!!