It's hard to know until you live with something if it will be good enough, isn't it?

Have you looked at something like Marmoleum CinchLOC? It can be installed without glue so you'd spare your pretty floors. It's a little cushioned but impossible to say if it's enough.

How about some nice big plush type area rugs, put here and there.

On the rugs idea, you can do custom bound carpets for each room and hall and go almost wall-to-wall with it, with the old floor peeking out the sides. Have it bound with scoops revealing the wood floor for doors to open. (I'm assuming the doors aren't trimmable?)

Great ideas going on here! Thank you.

I did Alexander Technique and other biomechanics decades ago. Maybe it is worth revisiting in addition to all of the PT. Good suggestion.

Sadly, I don't think rugs and marmoleum will be enough cushion. I already have a really a plush area rug with thick padding underneath and it has not been enough. My parents have plush, wool, wall to wall in their apartment (also concrete slab) and my back kills me there too. It's great to have been able to at least experiment with that at their place!

@Iri - I'm sure the doors are trimmable, they are solid wood. I hadn't thought about that. Thank you.

Kind of an off the wall thought but have you looked at how you organize your house to be sure you are not "wasting" a lot of painful energy moving about? For example can you have a coffee station in your bedroom so you can start your day at your laptop without multiple trips to the kitchen for more coffee?

It is a totally valid point Jenny. I have reorganized storage and closets different things are located in so I don't have to walk back and forth as much. I don't want to confine my movement too much because I'm already decompensating from lack of activity. (Who'd have believed I used to be a dancer and very fit!)

I need to check out different ergonomic chair cushions to see if any of them help with sitting.

Kendrah, so to hear this. I know I experienced joint pain when staying in a place that was all tiled.

We did our Florida home in luxury vinyl and I don’t have any issues.

It would be a shame to cover those floors with vinyl but you have tried thick carpets and mats.

It would be great if you could stay in a place with lVP to see if it's worth trying.

I wonder if you can rent a springwood dance floor to try it out. It doesn't seem like a terrible idea for the kitchen at least.

It looks like you have nice high ceilings and if you raised the floor throughout the apartment so raising the floors in some rooms should be an option. The transitions are the tricky part.

Have you looked for a consultant who does ADA and accessibility type work? You can't be alone in this.

I would buy a boxof LVP with the cork backing and just lay it out and test it . Sometimes carpet compresses too much the cork will not.If you get clic install then no glue to wreck the original flooring

I'd get out of the Hokas , and go HERE.

https://www.oofos.com/collections/women?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NWrBhD-ARIsAFCKwWvZxclBB04pEWiOKRCsYEDGB4hdLSDbiND7QUe_GXNB7uMtRTYHJuoaAnPPEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

From slides, to sports shoes to slippers to.........you name it.

Before you mess with the floor.

Aside from degenerative issues? A stronger core in your body will help immensely : )

A trainer, and the gym. Ever more important as you age, and check what you are sitting on if you work at a desk, or sit for any lengthy periods of time.

Also..

I have a friend who SWEARS by this:

https://copperfitusa.com/products/womens-core-shaper

@Iri I fell down the rabbit hole of DIY sprung floor and pro sprung floor youtube videos. I may try to find a portable sprung ballet floor to try out in an area of my house and see what it is like. Incredible watching people create sprung floors out of slices of pool noodles and plywood too. I am feeling a bit of hope, at least for experimenting in my bowling alley of a kitchen.

@JAN I tried Oofos 8 years ago and they killed my back. Maybe they or my back have changed. I should give them a try again. Exercise, trainers, core work, PT, for decades did nothing. Now that I have a diagnosis I understand why. I have good docs but no cure so I just trial and error around pain. Many have this disease much worse than me so no complaints!

Have you been on the newer playgrounds that have the total squish material? You can get it in squares instead of poured in place. I wonder if it is as good.

Example (I have no familiarity with this product, but it's certainly pretty.): https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rubber-Cal-Eco-Safety-20-Pack-19-5-in-x-19-5-in-Blue-White-Speckled-Color-flecked-Rubber-Tile-Multipurpose-Flooring/1003209886

Haven't been on a playground in forever. What I like about the link you sent is the raised parts of the underneath side. Fewer points of contact with the concrete. Very interesting.

It occurrs to me that cork flooring would likely be slightly easier on your joints, but could preserve the familiar function and look as your hardwood. Historically, cork flooring was inlaid in as many beautiful patterns as wood or stone.

This photo is from pinterest, but houzz will not allow me to paste a link that goes there…

I like that it's safe for a 7-foot fall. And I'm sure you can hose it off (because it's probably too gritty to mop).

Note: none of your requirements mentioned looking good! :)

True that I'm so desperate I didn't mention looks. I figure ugly is easier to live with than moving elsewhere, right? Our location cannot be beat - Manhattan skyline and palisades views from every window plus acres of gardens outside my door. And great friends on our floor. Like a college dorm minus the puking and hook-ups.

Yikes with too gritty to mop. That might be a no for me. Crud, germs, dog hair.

So sorry you have to deal with this :( we used these foam “wood“ tiles in our basement when our kids were little and they were terrific - you can trim them with a boxer cutter and they feel real soft and cushy, I don’t think they look too bad either

https://www.rubberflooringinc.com/interlocking-tile/foam/soft-wood-tile.html

La la, That is the nicest looking option I have seen so far. Don’t know how they feel umder foot but at that price, I’ll order a few tomorrow and find out.

Just remember you need to test things for a couple of weeks, to actually know if it will help you.

Great reminder to test for weeks. I usually get stabbing pain within a half hour of tryimg new shoes or new flooring. I’d be thrilled if something lasted long enough to try for a few weeks. Thanks.

@la_la Girl - Just ordered the floor tiles you linked to. Enough to cover a 4'x8' area of our kitchen to test out. I have already read from reviews that there are no beveled edge pieces so I think the transition is of concern and I'll have to figure out how to addess this if they are ok on my back. Was this an issue for you or do you have no transitions in the space?

I don't know what you're suffering through, but I have arthritis in my hips and shortened hip flexors that make it painful to walk. Most say exercise, but what I found most helpful is dry needling. You get this through PT - it's acupressure needles placed accordingly in conjunction with a TENS unit. You control the amount of stimulation. It can take awhile to work, like maybe a few months of regular sessions, but one of my hips feels almost normal to walk now. As you said you used to be a dancer, maybe look at Miranda Esmonde-White's exercise program. It's called Essentrics - she used to be a ballet dancer until she broke her foot and other injuries forced her to quit. She developed this technique to help restore her movement and flexibility. It has helped many people with back pain and flexibility. She says this is the only exercise she does and she is now in her 70s and she looks great and moves like a 25 year old. When I can do it, I do feel much better.

https://essentrics.com/classical-stretch/

Sorry...I can't answer the flooring issue. I wish you much luck and recovery.

Sorry about your pain and glad you have found some relief Tara.

yes unfortunately there aren’t beveled edges so we went wall to wall in the room- just laid it entirely over the subfloor - they created a nice crisp edge with the base molding

if they really work, could you lay them over the herringbone and cover the apartment in its entirety? - if you can find some relief while not permanently altering the floors, I would call that a win (door clearance would be an issue to figure out)

I second dry needling administered by a very experienced PT. My PT specializes in my condition and the dry needling has been a miracle. Mine is very different from what Tara described, though. Not related to acupressure or tens at all. Just needles inserted into trigger points. Not fun in the moment but 100% worth it.

The Walmart store has "Good housekeeping" fiber rugs & soft & bounces back. It helps my back.

If your new floor adds enough height to have to trim the doors, consider replacing them with new ones and stashing your old doors somewhere safe for resale. NYC apartments have plenty of space to stash old doors, right? :)

Maybe your doors aren't original or special, but if they are, you don't want to ruin them. They look nice in there. Since they are painted, it might be possible to patch them to full length in the future if desired and you don't have to worry about them after all.

Not sure if you got a second opinion or not about your diagnosis. I had some odd symptoms and lots of pain years ago. I was eventually diagnosed with Quadrilateral space syndrome (QSS) and thought I was doomed. It is a rare disease that disproportionately effects professional baseball pitchers and welders... welder who weld overhead. Pretty specific. The doctor said pitcher Rollie Fingers suffered from it his entire career, so that sealed my fate in my mind.

I started thinking... I'm not a pitcher or a welder however, I was an endurance athlete who sweat a LOT and I was also someone who thought sauna's without replacing water soluble electrolytes/minerals was a good idea. Long story short, it turns out I had a profound B-12 deficiency that was effecting my nerves in my back. At least based on my diagnosis... they had minted a new disease based on a single B-12 deficiency symptom! I reversed the whole thing by injecting B-12 every week for 5 months. I wonder if you with your dance background perhaps developed a vitamin/mineral deficiency that someone decided to call a rare painful disease. I would only ask because it happened to me.... twice. The other one was magnesium.

My first question would be, does an epsom salts bath make the pain go away temporarily?

@Iri - Smart thinking about door swing options. Yes, these are original doors from 1938. Don't have anywhere to store them, but it would also be horrible to have to butcher them. I'd be so lucky to even find a suitable flooring option where these these door details become a reality!

Yes, I'm quite sure of my diagnosis. It is genetic and impacts many body systems. I'm a textbook case. I'm treated at a good clinic at Cornell.

Thanks all for dry needling suggestions. I will look into it and see if anyone at the clinic has recommendations.

UPDATE- Many of my doors are clearing a Gel Pro Elite floor mat I already have. My super said he can easily lift the doors off the hinges, take them into the hallway (to contain dust) and shave a small amount off of the bottoms.

Unfortunately, Gel Pro doesn't make puzzle piece sizes and they all have beveled edges so no way to connect. I might get 3 of their 30x72 to make a U-shape running along the sides and bottom of my king size bed. This will take up much of the floor space in my bedroom, so at least one room taken care of.

Kendrah, I'm so sorry for you. I have what is fortunately only intermittent back pain, which is excruciating when it does hit....but for me, it eventually does mellow out again.

For me, the GelPro mats have been my savior. I have hardwood throughout most of my common areas, but I put mats down in the spots where I stand for any length of time (sink, stove, prep area). I have tile in my baths, and frankly I hate the hardness of those even when my back isn't bad. I have a small/portable gelpro mat I use in my bathroom when I'm in misery.

I just know how bad I hurt when just walking across the hardwood is painful, and my heart aches for you that you live with that all the time. I have nothing useful I can add, just wanted to tell you I'm sorry and I hope you can come up with something.

I wonder if there is some sort of specialized padding for under carpet for this type of situation.

Boy that would be wonderful if there were such padding for under carpets. I have ordered various samples of felt used under area rugs to see if I could layer that and get enough cushion but they were not substantial enough. I also have in one room 9 floor mats - like gel pro, but cheaper, with no bevel, and they aren't enough support, though my 12 year old dog is loving them!

I reconfirmed with Gel Pro today that they do not have the Gel Pro Elite mats in custom sizes nor in puzzle pieces. They only sell medical industry mats with puzzle pieces and said they are just foam, no gel, lighter, less supportive. Next stop - some speciality floor company in Chelsea.

Thanks for your compassion Ally De. Sorry you too have to deal with pain.

I'd probably get a piece of playground tile and do some testing. Maybe it's not gritty (but I'm sure it's slip-resistant). Maybe it's easy to pull up a piece and rinse it in the tub. Maybe it vacuums nice. I'm sure you can put a rug on it...

Most doors in historic homes have a big gap on the bottom from when wall-to-wall carpet was added in the 70s (?) when everybody was upgrading their blah wood floors. It's not that noticeable. All you lose is a little sound proofing. But that's the next owner's problem. Not yours. 😁

i have Ankylosing Spondylitis and work on my feet 7 hrs per day on concrete floors and klogs have been life changing. The Munich's are slipper like and slip on and off at home and I like that I can easily slip them off and on and keep them by the side of the bed or sofa when i want to put my feet up. Better than changing my hard surfaces.

https://klogsfootwear.com/munich-blackened-pearl-suede/?sku=00131830693M085&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpfyk1pCPgwMVIGFHAR3DwQVdEAQYASABEgL_yPD_BwE

I have never heard of Klogs and am going to hop on to Zappos and order some pairs tonight. Thanks for the suggestions. My PT really does want me to be able to walk barefoot and thinks it would be helpful for my back. But it doesn't hurt to have another brand of shoes that could work. I have never found anything accept Hokas that reduces my joint pain. Here's hoping!

UPDATE - The floor tiles la_la girl suggested

below have arrived. My back feels so good on them I could cry with joy. Thank you!

I ordered enough to try a section of my kitchen for a month or so to see how they wear and clean. They look way nicer than anticipated and at this point looks are pretty far down on my list of importance.

Yay! So happy it is going well so far! Please keep us updated!

Posting progress pics. No straight wall in our home so lots of time cutting out jogs with a utility knife.

Covered 1/3 of our home. Ordering enough for the rest. Colors vary by batch. Placed a few orders as we went along along, four weeks apart. Color varied a lot.

Still incredibly thankful for my significantly reduced pain. Rubberflooring.com

Will post again with updates on how they wear over time.

That is terrific.

I’m so happy to hear this. Looks like a lot of work! I’m very impressed. It looks good. Please do keep us informed.

Oh my gosh I am so happy this is working for you ❤️

we had the same issue with the color variance when we needed to replace a few tiles in our basement rec room, we ended up ordering several lots and mixing and matching a bit

ours wore pretty well - things that messed them up: a vacuum with an aggressive brush roll (def be careful with vaccuums) and a friend’s stiletto high heels - but I def thought they wore well considering the price point - keep us posted! :)

That's not even that bad looking! Congrats!

That's beautiful & not a big diff/ on shade.

I’m so, so happy you found something that is pretty AND provides you with pain relief. Have you called the company regarding the difference in color between the two orders? Or is it close enough?

Thanks @RedRyder. The manufacturer said it is made on demand and each bath is going to vary, they cannot guarantee that it will turnout any particular color. Which also means if someone orders a sample, it might not be what they end up with. But we are going for it anyway. Just ordered 225 more 2' x 2' squares to complete the apartment. We will live with the color difference!

Im having the same issue. moved into new apt last week and the concrete floors are killing me. injusted ordered 1” eva foam tiles. are these the type yoy tried that were too hard? the ones you got look nice. i have a cat ans dog - do you think they could hold up agasint them?

Concrete is like the road to a runner. Adidas sandals with the Boost midsole will cushion your steps. Or chose any of their models as long as they have BASF Boost midsole.

adidas Adilette Boost Slides - Grey | unisex swim | adidas US $46. The midsole never compresses over time.

@kendra did you get the 3/8 or 5/8?

@Benjamin Brazier - Sorry you are having this problem too. Yes, the EVA foam was too hard for me. The foam tiles I now have are 5/8". I've only had them for a few weeks so I can't really speak to their wear and tear. But, I do have 60lb dog and his nails have not made any kinds of dents or tears in the material.

I'd order two squares and try them out. Maybe try gouging them with a sharp object to see how they stand up to sharp pet nails.

I tried to get my dog's nails trimmed last week so as prevent damage to the foam tiles but his are so well filed from walking on city concrete sidewalks they couldn't do more trimming.

I just got an order of 255 more tiles and will complete our entire apartment this weekend.