Shoes can affect more than just foot pain

Our clinic sees patients of all sizes, ages, fitness levels, and areas of pain. Despite all of this variation among our patient-base, we have found one constant among almost all of them - their shoe choice! If you are experiencing pain anywhere in your body, especially your low back, pelvis, hips, knees, ankles, and/or feet, chances are your shoes are part of the problem.

Pain is an indication that something is not right within your body, typically stemming from a malalignment causing secondary soft tissue dysfunction. In order to restore proper mechanics and decrease pain, these proper mechanics, and therefore alignment, need to be restored. There is no other "bang for your buck" like a good supportive pair of athletic shoes. They allow your body the external support needed to allow your joints to realign and remove the abnormal irritation of the painful structure.

Tennis shoes come in three varieties - cushion, stability and motion control. Cushion shoes are generally indicated for those with perfect foot and ankle mechanics and, most likely, no pain. Stability shoes give a moderate amount of support for your foot and are generally good for moderate pronators (those with "fallen arches"). Motion control shoes give a significant amount of support and are good for those with significant pronation.

Running stores typically offer the best selection of supportive shoes and the associates have a little information as to the specifics of each shoe. Many associates may offer to watch you walk and advise which the best shoe is for your body. Be aware, these associates have little training in gait analysis and are unable to differentiate if a particular problem is coming from the hip or knee or if the problem is compensatory or not. For a more comprehensive evaluation and shoe suggestion, seek an evaluation by a physical therapist. At the very least, throw away your $3 flip flops and put on some tennis shoes (don't forget to tie them tight enough that you cannot slip them off without untying them)! 

Here's an interesting article by cnn.com discussing why flip flops are such a poor "shoe" choice.

"Flip-flops present feet with a painful problem"

Lesley