Knee - pain greatly relieved - kyBoot video - Interview

In 2007, Robert Dönni had an accident; since then he has had severe knee pain. A couple of months ago he chanced upon the kyBoot, a Swiss shoe with an air-cushion sole, which has drastically reduced his pain. We visited Mr Dönni at his home in the Rhine Valley and talked to him about his experiences with the kyBoot and its air-cushion sole. Robert Dönni, what do you get from this shoe? These shoes take a tremendous load off my knees and back when I'm walking. My postural defect when I walk also affects my back, and with these shoes I can correct my posture. Since the middle of December I have really had far less trouble with my knee than before. In the night I can sleep much, much better as I am in far less pain. In that regard I can only recommend these shoes. How did you discover the kyBoot? I first became aware of kyBoots at the OLMA. I was strolling through the hall and stopped to watch a film that was playing, then a nice lady started talking to me about the shoes. At first I didn't think they would be of any interest. Then she gave me a pair to try on straight away and told me to go round the OLMA in them. I walked around for about an hour, then I went back to the stand and I had to say the shoes are sensational. After another 45 minutes I bought a pair. So what's so special about this shoe? The special feature of these shoes is how soft they are. They are really springy and give me more freedom of movement. You were thinking about getting an artificial knee joint because of your knee pain. Why did you decide against it? An artificial knee joint might be an option some time, but I'm simply too young for one now, and I thought that before I get one I should do something about it and find some way of cutting back the pain myself. Did you think the solution would be so simple? That you could reduce the pain drastically with the kyBoot? I didn't think so at all. At first I was really very sceptical, and when I bought the shoes I said straight away that if they were no good I would throw them out without hesitation. Now, though, I'm already considering buying another pair or two. How do you explain the effect of the special air-cushion sole? It's as if the air cushioning means everything is cushioned even more and it's much softer when you walk on the street, or wherever you are. It's simply like you're really floating along the street. When do you actually wear the kyBoot? At the moment I wear them on the way to work, after work and in my spare time. I can't wear them at work, unfortunately, as I have to wear steel caps there. How does it feel to you when you change out of a conventional shoe into a kyBoot? After 20 or 30 steps the feeling returns of floating along the street. It's a totally different feeling. I always feel it in my knees when I've walked round all day in my work shoes with their hard sole, then put these shoes on again. You go down the stairs at work and after a few stepsthat feeling goes away and you're light on your feet again. You've been visiting a physiotherapist since your accident. What does he or she think about the kyBoot? My physiotherapist was very sceptical at first. Last Monday I showed him them again and he said we would follow up on it, keep an eye on them and if they did me good, all the better. How would you describe walking in the kyBoot to someone who doesn't know the shoe yet? Walking is like standing on a thick rubber mat, for example. You're constantly moving about a little, and the big advantage is that because the soles are air-cushioned, your leg muscles have to do ever such a lot of work, too. If you wear the shoes at – if you wear the shoes for quite a long time at the start, your muscles ache a bit. That happened to me at the start. On the first day I wore them all day long and went on a relatively long walk, and in the evening my muscles really ached, as your muscles have to work differently. But you didn't take the shoes off then and leave them in the corner? No, on the contrary, as otherwise I felt fine: I had no pain in my knee. The next day I wore them again and it was much more comfortable for me. I told myself that that's just how it is. And I looked it up on the Internet and read there that your muscles might ache at the start if you wear them a long time, as they have to work much harder. Has anything else changed as a result of this shoe? I stand up straight again; before I used to overcompensate for the malposture a bit. And thanks to these shoes my whole body is much more erect again, which also clears up my complaints a lot more. Would you personally recommend this shoe? I gave my sister these shoes last week to try out. She said they were really sensational. She was also much more light-footed in the shoes and I don't think it will be long before she buys something like that herself.