Whenever we engage in any sport or physical activity these days, it means we have to consider the shoes we are going to wear, especially if it involves weight-bearing of any kind. Running, doing cardio workouts at the gym, football, racket sports – your choice of shoe is relevant to all of these.
There are some common syndromes that can develop as a result of poor foot control which include heel pain, shin pain (commonly called ‘shinsplints’), arch pain in the foot, and patello-femoral joint pain and change in biomechanics around the knee.
Whenever our foot strikes the ground in walking or running, there are interactions between the ground and our foot and leg. So, it has to be a little more than just….if the shoe fits. Your shoe purchase can be enhanced by taking into account a few principles.
What to look for:
• Check where the shoe ‘breaks’ by pushing up under the front of the shoe, where the toes would be. It should be fairly flexible there, to allow for easy toe-break which is necessary during toe-off in walking and running.
Avoid – full board shoes which do not break or are very stiff to break, or shoes which break in the middle of the shoe where the foot arch should be. Also test to see if you can rotate the shoe in the middle – it should be firm, and not easy to twist at this level.
The type of shoe you want here is sometimes referred to as two third or three quarter ‘board’, which refers to the board in the shoe underneath the soft inner lining.
You can pull up the insole to check on the board to see it’s length if you are not sure. The exception to this is football boots – which are often full board – however you may be able to find ones that have a more flexible toe, or pre-flex and soften new boots so that they ‘break’ more easily at the toe joint line. Cushioning is now available in football boots with a move towards players wearing touch football shoes.
• A firm supportive heel cup – this should be evident when you look on the inside of the shoe around the heel (although covered) – it should run abound the inside and outside of the heel. Alternatively this should be well padded so as not to cause friction at the heel, especially around the top where your Achilles tendon joins your heel.
• Heel flares in the sole should be adequate on the outside and inside at the back of the shoe – look at the shoe from the heel and check that there is some flare on both sides in the heel. This is to support the side to side movement of the heel and foot.
The material in this should also not be too soft, or ultra hard. A lot of brands now come with special areas of support and dynamics in the sole – make sure that the basics are there at least.
• Some arch support build up in the shoe and insole can be helpful.
Shoe wear and tear can happen more quickly with those who are doing a lot of activity or running. If your shoe starts to shoe signs of over breaking in the middle of the shoe or at the toe, your heel wear pattern is significant and increasing, then it is probably time to consider new shoes.
Some brands that are recommended by Sam Towers, a podiatrist with clinics in Surry Hills and Bondi Junction and with an interest in sports, are those priced in the middle range – including ASCIS, New Balance and Brooks. These shoes tend to provide all or most of the features discussed above.
Physiotherapy can help with pain syndromes in the leg and foot that arise out of problems with the feet – this approach will usually take into account what is happening around the back/pelvis and hips and knees as well as at the foot, and local symptoms will be treated as well as looking ‘above’ this level. Podiatrists specialise in analysis of foot and lower limb mechanics.
Specific ‘testing’ of the sixteen joints of the feet combined with muscle testing and subsequent gait analysis of the whole lower limb can provide answers to many problems. Customised orthotics are then designed based on all these measurements. If you would like the contact of our recommended local podiatrist/s, then contact us at Precision Physiotherapy.
Podiatrists specialise in feet and can make customized orthotics if this is necessary, after doing biomechanical assessment of the legs. Some podiatrists have a special interest in sports and can do thorough dynamic testing as well – if you would like the number of podiatrists we recommend then please contact us at the clinic (including Sam Towers mentioned in the above article).
