I know most people think their feet get enough exercise, but walking—even a lot—in supportive shoes, does NOT exercise your feet. It may exercise your legs and your triceps, but not the 18 muscles in each arch of our feet or  many of the other muscles entering our feet.

Supportive shoes, arch supports, and orthotics allow our feet to function without needing to work most of our foot muscles. As the saying goes, use it or lose it. Worse, without strong muscles our feet are at risk for injury.

In general, shoes are detrimental to feet. Scientists and doctors have known about the effects of footwear on our feet for over 50 years, but most of the public believes feet require expensive, supportive shoes. In fact, in 1949 The Journal of the National Association of Chiropodists published “Survey of Feet in China and India That Have Never Worn Shoes.” The researchers concluded:

“People who have never worn shoes acquire very few foot defects, most of which are painless and non-debilitating. Shoes are not necessary for healthy feet and are the cause of most foot troubles. Footgear is the greatest enemy of the human foot.”

Clearly, the first step to healthy feet is to give up supportive shoes—or at least limit the amount of time your feet are in shoes.

By simply walking barefoot, you will start to use your foot muscles and your feet will soon become stronger. (Note: Only healthy people should give up their shoes. Persons with diabetes, poor circulation, impaired sensation or other serious problems should wear shoes.)

The best way to wean off supportive shoes and increase barefoot activity is by going slowly, and by supplementing barefoot activity with foot exercises.

Now, there are two sources for foot exercises. One is the book Fantastic Feet by Aliesa George and the other is the FootBook by Dr. Paul Conneely.

Fantastic Feet and the FootBook are both great little books with plenty of photographs and detailed, easy to understand instructions. Fantastic Feet is for the public, written in layperson’s terms. The FootBook is for physicians, written in medical terms. Some of the exercises in the books are the same but many are different, and for those who are serious about their foot health, both books offer unique and highly beneficial exercises.   

These books provide a superb workout for your feet, ankles, toes and arches. In fact, many of the exercises will benefit your entire lower extremity! From each book you can choose a handful of exercises that suits your needs and soon you will be on your way to healthy, strong feet.

References:

FootBook

Fantastic Feet

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A Moscow State Circus clown says he was told by circus management not to wear his oversized clown shoes following an accident in Britain.

They Don't Look Hazardous

Valerik Kashkin said after he broke the metatarsal bone in his left foot as a result of a fall from a high wire in the city of Liverpool he was told to avoid wearing his size 18 shoes as a safety precaution, The Daily Telegraph said Thursday.

“The shoes are an important part of my costume, and I was disappointed to be told I couldn’t do this part of my act,” Kashkin, 40, said.

Kashkin said he is confident in his ability to wear the shoes and still remain safe during his act, which consists of him crossing a wire while simultaneously playing a drum-kit, double-bass and trumpet.

“I feel fine, and think I could do it in the shoes — the impact might be lost on the audience now,” Kashkin told the Telegraph.

Moscow State Circus General Manager Paul Archer agreed the loss of the large shoes may detract from Kashkin’s act but he said the precautionary ban was necessary.

Source: UPI

Dr. Nirenberg’s Comments:

Usually, when we think of poor footwear we think of squeezing our feet into shoe that are too small.

However, this story reminds us that size does matter and shoes that are too large can be just as detrimental to our feet.

Oversized shoes can allow our feet to slide and cause friction resulting in corns, callouses or blisters.

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Tank tops, shorts and flip-flops. They’re all part of the uniform of summer. But while the first two won’t lead to too many health problems — beyond exposing you to sunburn — you may want to reconsider your footwear plans, warn some doctors.

Dr. Rosty Serebryany, a chiropractor at Athletic Edge Sports Medicine in Toronto, says he’s seen a bevy of summer shoe-related injuries in his practice. Women may not be able to resist strappy shoes and sandals in the summertime, but those attractive pieces of footwear can lead to injury.

“They’ll be running for the bus or they might step off a curb funny, and they will roll their ankle or they’ll feel something get strained,” he tells CTV.ca.

The problem with sandals, Serebryany says, is that many don’t have straps at the back to hold the shoe on your foot. One misstep and you could be looking at summertime in a cast.

“If you’re getting no support from the sandal and you really roll your ankle, you can tear your ligament or even sprain or break your ankle,” he says.

If teetering on high-heeled sandals is a recipe for disaster, flat-soled flip-flops can march you into a world of foot and muscle problems, notes Scarborough-area podiatrist Dr. Kel Shirkin.

That’s because flip-flops offer no arch support whatsoever and can accentuate any abnormal foot biomechanics. Even people who don’t realize they have flat feet or a tendency to roll their ankles inward can have no problems all year long, only to notice aching feet, ankles and knees during a summer in flip-flops.

With a flat, foam-soled flip-flop, just walking on concrete for a few hours can cause the “plantar fascia”, the ligament on the bottom of the foot that supports the arch, to become strained. The condition is called plantar fasciitis and it can mean some stabbing heel pain over time.

“You’re going to have a lot of strain of the soft tissues and strains of the joints, which will cause pain. Which will lead to compensatory gait. Which will cause additional pain. Which will then drive them to my office and make me very happy,” Shirkin laughs.

Left untreated, plantar fasciitis can cause knee pain, hip pain and eventually back pain. So even what seems like mild, though somewhat annoying, foot pain could worsen into something like tendonitis if you don’t ditch the flip-flops at the first sign of pain.

Even the thong that runs between the first and second toe on a flip-flop can cause injury, notes Serebryany.

“If you’ve got just the one strap over the foot and nothing on the back to support your heel, all the force is coming down in between your first and second toe where the strap is and you’re going to create irritation in that specific area,” he says.

Not a summer-long solution

Neither Serebryany not Sirkin are anti-flip-flop. There’s nothing really wrong with them if they’re worn to the beach or in a locker room shower, as an alternative to going barefoot. The problem is some insist on wearing them all summer long.

“If you want to wear flip-flops, you should only wear them for a short period,” says Shirkin.

“But to walk downtown through the concrete jungle and go long distances all day long, I do not advise at all, because you’re setting up yourself for potential injuries to the foot.

“Common sense should prevail, but young women of today often choose fashion first.”

• Instead of flip-flops, a sport sandal is a better choice for supporting the foot heel and arch
• If you insist on wearing strappy sandals, choose ones that have a a strap around the heel
• If you insist on flip-flops, choose ones made of soft leather and stiff soles that bend only slightly
• Make sure your sandals fit, and your feet don’t extend beyond the edge.
• To avoid stress injuries and twisted ankles, avoid running or jumping in sandals or flip-flops
• If a day in flip-flops starts to cause pain on the bottom of your feet, use some ice and ibuprofen to bring down the swelling and ditch the offending shoes in exchange for proper shoes with good arch and heel support. Within a week or two, the pain should go away
• Never wear flip-flops to do yardwork or anywhere where you could injure your toes or toenails
• Don’t wear flip-flops or strapless sandals while driving, as they can fall off easily and get wedged under the brake
• Don’t forget sunscreen on the tops of your feet, which are highly susceptible to burns
• The summertime heat and humidity can worsen athlete’s foot, fungus and blisters. If you can’t keep your feet in good shape yourself, treat yourself to regular pedicures in a clean salon or with a podiatrist.

Source: CTV Canada

Dr. Nirenberg’s Comments:

I cannot agree more with this article.

Flip-flops, or as my son says flop-flips, are one of the biggest dangers to your feet and ankles, and don’t do anything to help your knees, hips or back.  If you insist on wearing  them, buy one that has the strap, or as I call it the “seat belt,” around the heel.

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If you’re a woman with foot problems—perhaps bent, crooked toes such as hammertoes or bunions, or corns and calluses—it’s not due to wearing high heels.

Our doctors, mothers, and even pop magazine articles have sold us on the idea that women’s foot problems are often from wearing high heels.

However, after treating hundreds of women who had horrible feet and swore they rarely, if ever, wore high heels, I began to question if high heels were really the reason so many women had foot problems.

Could women’s feet be genetically unique from men’s?

And could these differences make them more likely to develop foot problems, such as bunions or hammertoes?

The answer was a resounding yes!  

Like the female brain and most of her body, doctors are finally beginning to realize the female foot is remarkably different from that of the male.

A woman’s feminine frame (generally, wider hips and proportionately shorter legs) and her precise chemical physiology (pregnancy, menopause, and menstrual cycle, or lack of a cycle) profoundly affect her feet, altering their function, shape, and at times, chance of injury.

Even the shape of a woman’s foot is unique.

Compared with males, women have a foot that is shorter and narrower with an instep that isn’t as long (the average American woman wears a shoe size of 8.5).

Taken together, all these factors create a “female foot” that is more prone to foot problems, such as hammertoes, bunions, and pinched nerves—with or without high heels.

Does this mean I recommend you wear high heels?

That would be like a nutritionist recommending Häagen-Dazs!

High heels place your feet in a weakened position, causing foot problems that would develop anyway to worsen more quickly, and high heels worn excessively can cause their own unique foot problems, such as pinched nerves, bent toes, or a shortened, tight Achilles tendon.   

Wearing high heels should be thought of like a dieter having a hot fudge sundae occasionally: it’s a decadent treat.

The key word is “occasionally,” and you should add to that “briefly.”

Now that you know the truth about high heels, feel free to slip on a sexy, gorgeous pair and look stunning—briefly and occasionally—guilt free!

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Marc Jacobs Backward Heel

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Heelys are shoes with one or more wheels built into the sole.

Heelys are popular with children (the average Heely wearer is 9 years old) and more than an astonishing 4.5 million have been sold worldwide.

Common sense says putting a wheel on a shoe may not be the safest thing, but now a report ithe the May/June 2009 Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association reports that wearing Heelys can actually cause changes in the way one walks – even if the wearer is not using the wheel to move.

In the case presented in the report, Heelys caused the body position to shift and change. The researchers concluded: The changes in the way the child walks in Heelys may have implications for long-term use with potential foot deformities and gait abnormalities.

 The researchers recommend limiting the use of Heelys and removing the wheel when the child is walking.

Please post your experiences with Heelys – good or bad.

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