Wow, selecting new shoes can be such an overwhelming task! Choosing shoes based on price, or even simply on looks, can get you in a lot of trouble. Ask me — I’ve seen lots of examples over the years!

Over the course of your lifetime, you will walk over 150,000 miles, so it’s important that your feet are well set up to accommodate you. Shoe choice is an essential part of that. Your choice of shoes will make a big difference as to how active you are able to be and will have a big impact on your quality of life. It can mean the difference of running and or walking in comfort or in pain, how active you are able to be and, most importantly, your ability to stay healthy and injury free.

Often we don’t accurately connect the symptoms or problems we experience with the pain that we feel. You probably remember the children’s chant “the ankle bone connected to the knee bone, knee bone connected to the hip bone, hip bone connected to the back bone..” and so on.  While not immediately apparent when you are running, walking or standing, everything rests on your shoes.  If your shoes don’t support you properly, that can translate into problems all over the rest of your body.

According to the Canadian Pedorthic Association,  “Approximately 20-30 per cent of people experiencing pain or discomfort during an activity, such as a walking or even running program, are unaware that this is caused by improper footwear and can be easily be rectified by finding the right type of shoe. Buying the wrong type of footwear can cause problems ranging from minor discomfort such as blisters, corns and calluses to more serious conditions including repetitive stress injuries to the joints and muscles.” So do yourself a favour and take good care of your feet!

Here at ABLE Orthotics, shoe sales are not a big part of our business, but we care about your feet! So if you come and see us we probably won’t sell you shoes. The shoes we do sell are primarily for specialty cases, or when shoes need to be modified to accommodate a patient’s particular needs.

However, we are experts at ensuring that you know the right type of footwear for your specific lifestyle needs (work and play), for your biomechanical needs, and for any specific problems you may be presenting with. We can help ensure the proper fit and correct support for your foot type. In addition, we would be happy to recommend shoe stores where we know you will be properly fitted.

So remember, while choosing shoes can be an overwhelming task given all the high-tech shoes available today and all the special features each shoe claims to have, keep these things in mind:

• Proper footwear choice and fit is essential in reducing symptoms and may help prevent problems. Every year more than 1.2 million Canadians have a sports related injury that could have been prevented through proper fitting footwear and shoe selection.
• A Pedorthist is trained to evaluate your foot needs and provide you with footwear education that is specific to your foot type and lifestyle needs.
• If you require foot orthoses in your shoes, the footwear must compliment the orthoses to improve the outcome of wearing the orthoses.

When Should You Retire Your Old Shoes?

• A general rule: a shoe worn 80% of the time, should be replaced within 8-12 months.
• Running shoes need to be replaced every 500 miles

Shoes are worn out if:

• the tread has worn off/ become smooth on the bottom of the shoe
• the wear pattern on the bottom of the shoe is excessive/severe
• there are a lot of creases/wrinkles in the sides of the sole

Remember, do yourself a favour and take care of your feet. Not everyone needs to consult with a Pedorthist, but if you are experiencing pain and you think you may have a lower limb or foot problem, talk with your Doctor and they can recommend that you see a Pedorthist. Canadian Certified Pedorthists (C Ped (C)) are one of the few healthcare professionals trained in the assessment of lower limb anatomy and biomechanics, with specialized education and training in the design, manufacture, fit and modification of foot orthotics and footwear.

Filed under: Articles On Health and Wellness by ABLE Orthotics

As a buyer, you need to be aware that when looking for a medical foot-care professional it pays to do some research and be well informed.

Footwear and orthotic experts, Canadian Certified Pedorthists, are one of the few health-care professionals educated and tested in how to assess, modify, design and fit both footwear and foot orthotics.  Many individuals with a variety of backgrounds dispense “custom foot orthoses”, but not all orthotics or providers are created equal.

As part of your due diligence here are some information to check out:

1. Reputation: A lot of problems can be avoided simply by inquiring about the company or individual’s reputation in the community and with other health-care professionals.
2. Assessment: Inquire about their assessment approach.  How thorough is their assessment? Do they take a comprehensive history?  Do they observe your feet in action?  Do your research and don’t be fooled by complicated terms, techno speak or computerized gadgets.
3. Fabrication: In fabricating orthotics, do they use a “one material suits every situation” or can they tailor their approach and use different materials based on your specific needs?
4. Qualifications: Are they specifically trained in biomechanics and fabricating orthotics? In some cases individuals selling custom orthotics, while well qualified in their own field, are unqualified or have very limited training in providing foot orthoses. As an example while I like my dentist I won’t go to him to have my arm set if it is broken. In the same way if you need orthotics Canadian Certified Pedorthists are orthotic and footwear experts.
5. Results: Will they follow up with you to ensure they get results? Sometimes, with more complex situations, it takes some adjusting and fine-tuning to get it right.  Is your health care professional going to follow up to ensure results? For how long?

Like many things in life, it pays to invest time upfront to ensure you get the best solution for you. In your lifetime you will spend a lot of time on your feet, make sure you get the best care and solution so that you are as comfortable as possible.

Filed under: Articles On Health and Wellness by ABLE Orthotics

If you live long enough, you can count on developing at least some form of arthritis; a touch of osteoarthritis, at the very least. Arthritis affects an estimated 4.2 million Canadians of all ages, with numbers expected to increase by 50% by 2020. And while arthritis is often considered a disease of older people, babies in diapers can get it too, and many people are affected in the prime of their lives. Here at ABLE Orthotics, our focus when dealing with patients with arthritis is to alleviate pain and help people stay as active as possible.

Arthritis: a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the most common cause of disability in the USA. More than 20 million individuals with arthritis suffer from severe limitations in function on a daily basis. Absenteeism and frequent visits to the physician are common in individuals who have arthritis. Arthritis makes it very difficult for individuals to be physically active and they soon become home bound. Wikipedia

There are eight forms of arthritic type conditions that typically affect the joints of the feet and the lower legs. All of them cause pain, inflammation and limited movement of the joints. In this article, we will focus on two types of conditions: Osteoarthritis, which is by far the most common, and rheumatoid arthritis, the second most common.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) is a result of trauma or infection to the joint, or simply due to aging. Most experts do not consider osteoarthritis to be a disease. Rather, over time, it is a result of  the wear-and-tear process in a body joint that can precipitate an inflammation , when there is a breakdown of the cartilage tissue that normally keeps bone from rubbing against bone.

What makes the problems worse is when the cartilage tissue is unduly stressed and broken down by the following two common ways:

• abnormal forces on the joint; forces that often result from a biomechanical fault in the lower limbs. As an example excessive pronation leads to overloading of the first metatarsal joint which can in turn result in breaking down of the cartilage and eventually osteoarthritis in the joint.
• athletes may also place excessive stress on lower limbs while performing or exercising, and as a result the joints in the lower extremities will be subject to more wear-and-tear than those people who do not participate in strenuous activity.

It is important to note that it is not disease itself that is destroying the stressed joint, but rather excessive biomechanical forces. As a result, this degeneration can accelerate if you allow a biomechanical fault to continue, untreated. You are essentially accelerating the wear-and tear process in your feet, legs, hips and lower back, because you are regularly  placing undue stress on those joints in order to walk or run.

The good news is that abnormal biomechanical forces cause most of the common foot pain, including osteoarthritis. However, with proper mechanical adjustments, for example the wearing of orthotics and/or proper shoe fitting and selection, further wear and tear can be prevented. As a result pain can be drastically reduced, or even eliminated altogether.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that has yet to be tamed. Although rarely life threatening, it can be tormenting because of the relentless pain. It is not a result of wear-and-tear but rather an auto-immune condition in which the body’s own immune system attacks the joints thinking they are foreign matter; attempting to destroy them. Usually relief for painful joints in the feet or ankles will require custom made shoes and soft inserts to take much of the weight off the diseased metatarsal heads. It is important that a rheumatologist, a specialist well versed in the various diagnostic methods of treatments, treat this disease.

Choosing Footwear:

To alleviate the pain caused by arthritis, Canadian Certified Pedorthists recommend selecting footwear featuring:

• Rigid rocker soles (the curve at the toe area of a shoe) to decrease stress on the ball of the foot and provide a more efficient push-off
• Soft leather uppers or materials that will mold around deformities or sensitive areas
• Wide, deep, square toe-boxes with no seams over hammer toes or other sensitive areas to avoid pressure on painful joints
• Velcro closures or elastic laces to eliminate the need to lace up a shoe, if fine dexterity in the fingers is difficult
• Avoid high heels. Stick with a heel that is lower than 1″ or 2.5 cm

Talk to your Doctor who can refer you to a Pedorthist. Your pedorthist can help you make good footwear choices and provide custom orthotics, if appropriate.

Filed under: Articles On Health and Wellness by Jonathan Robinson