Please note that I have no relationship with the products or services I describe here. I developed this site partly to encourage me to put more effort into fixing my own back, but also to inspire others to go take control of their own back care.

Hopefully you may find some of the ideas here useful, and maybe can discuss them with your doctor.

If you find mylowerbackpain.com useful, please add a link to it from your website or blog.

Thanks, Steve.

MBTs wear out fast

by Martin Lloyd
(London UK)

My first pair of MBTs lasted just over 12 months my second pair have just failed after 8 months.

I walk to work in my MBTs 5 days a week, the distance is about 4 miles or approx 10,000 steps (I think). I change into normal shoes at work and get the bus home.... I do not consider this as excessive use.

The MBT sales people say their shoes will last many years and many millions of steps. This is not the case for me. The sole on my MBTs split and opened up and once this happens, they cannot be repaired.

UK antishoe tell me, I need to watch the wear on the bottom of the shoe and get the sole replaced before it splits...... this means for me, I would need a new sole every 6 months to be safe and at £38, this will be expensive.

So, its £130 for the shoes, then if you are going to walk 10,000 steps 5 days a week, be prepared for a ongoing cost of £38 for new soles, every 6 months (or just over 1 million steps). Or a pair of new shoes every 12 months if the sole fails.

I enjoy wearing the shoes, but at this price, I may go back to my 10 year old pair of Nike runners, which still have lots of life left in them and cost less than 1/2 the price of MBTs...

Are MBTs worth the money? I am now not so sure.