Lymphedema Therapist Reviews Volume-Based Footwear for Swollen Feet

Dr. Alexandra "Alex" Hill, PT, DPT, OnCS, WCS, CLT-LANA, is a dual Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Women's Health and Oncologic Physical Therapy and a LANA-Certified Lymphedema Therapist based in Jacksonville, Florida. Through her clinic, OncoPelvic PT, she specializes in pelvic health, oncology rehab, and lymphedema for all genders and is widely recognized for her education work, research publications, and national/international presentations.

In this video, Dr. Hill offers a clinical demonstration of how Pandere shoes can support people living with lymphedema, edema, and other conditions that cause swollen or hard-to-fit feet. She explains how the shoes adapt to changes in foot volume, and why she recommends them for people with swelling and other asymmetry issues. At Pandere, we call this approach volume-based footwear — a category created to address foot volume rather than just foot length and width.

Dr. Hill Demonstrates Pandere's Adjustable Features for Lymphedema

Video Transcript: 

Hi everybody. It's Dr Alex Hill, your physical therapist for everything pelvic health, oncology and lymphedema. So today we're going to talk about shoes. Because if you have wide feet, or if you have swelling in your feet from lymphedema, or you're pregnant, or if you have venous insufficiency, it can be hard to find shoes that actually fit you, that are wide enough. And, let's be honest, stylish enough.

So I'm super excited to show you this company, Pandere Shoes. So I just discovered them, and I absolutely love their brand. Their company was actually founded by a woman who has lymphedema, so she knows what it's like to have wide feet, to have bigger feet, and have a hard time finding good shoes. And so, see a need, and you fill it. So I absolutely love that.

So let's jump into the shoes. This first pair here is the Saturday shoe. And all of their shoes have non slip bottoms, which I love. You've got a nice tread here. And then the other thing that I really like is there's no shoe laces, so it's just a toggle that you can pull to make it tighter or make it looser.

So if you need it to be wider, you can make it as wide as you need. You can modify the toe box up here. You can modify the mid foot up here. And then they also have a toggle at the back. How cool is that? So you can also make the heel more narrow or make it wider.

So it's really easy to adjust the shoes with however you need to. I believe the shoe sizes are whole sizes right now, but they do have fitters that you can actually chat with and talk to to make sure you get the right fit. So the shoe itself is made of leather and neoprene, and it's pretty sturdy. It's pretty stable.

And the other cool thing is, if you need to, you can also take out the insole. So again, if you do have wide feet, if you have swollen feet, these are a really good option.

I also like their Barista shoe. This one is in a black and it's a little bit sleeker and again, same kind of functions, where you have the toggle, you can change the width of the toe box, change the width of the mid foot as well as the heel. So check them out. They are totally awesome. I love their mission. Love their brand. Love their shoes. End transcript.

Clinician Insights on Lymphedema & Footwear

Alexandra Hill, DPT, of OncoPelvicPT, discusses lymphedema treatment and the everyday challenges her patients face — including difficulty finding shoes that fit — and closes by expressing appreciation that Pandere exists as a solution.

Alexandra Hill is not paid by Pandere; these statements reflect her clinical experience and perspective.