Hitting the Road
Pounding the pavement can be a great way to get in shape, blow off some steam, listen to your favorite playlist on your iPod, or just to spend a few minutes alone with your thoughts. This popular form of exercise is beneficial to your heart and circulation but can be very stressful on your knees, back and feet, especially when preventative measures aren’t taken.
Common Running Related Pains
Because running is considered a “high impact” sport, there are a lot of foot related injuries that can be caused by running. This is due to the fact that when you run it magnifies the effect of your weight hitting the ground by 2-3 times.
Injuries can include shin splints, plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, twisted ankles, and stress fractures. Many athletes try to work through the pain of these injuries without giving a second thought to serious foot harm or prolonged trauma to these areas. These injuries can be compounded when runners neglect to properly support their feet while running.
Sadly, some runners will spend close to $200 on a pair of good running shoes, but forget to invest in actually supporting their feet. Shoes alone cannot give you the support, balance and stability that arch supports can. Wearing arch supports while running can decrease the likelihood of the aforementioned foot pains and provide a more comfortable exercise experience.
Shoe Inserts For Running Help Keep You on Your Feet
When you run, your foot flexes and absorbs the shock on the body hitting a hard surface. Wearing shoe inserts like arch supports while you are running, can properly cradle your foot and its arches and give the much needed support to the ball of the foot. The ball of the foot is where the “spring” in your step occurs and eases your steps into a fast and smooth pace. The balance a good arch support shoe insert offers can increase your longevity while running.
Insist On Personally Fit Arch Supports (Shoe Inserts)
Every human runs differently and every human foot is different. Because of this, an arch support or shoe insert, bought from the Internet or grocery store, simply will not do. An arch support needs to be personally fit to your foot. In fact, more damage can be caused to your feet by using improperly fit arch supports. Shoe inserts, especially because the stress to your body running creates, should be custom fit to your feet and shoes by someone trained to fit arch supports. A personally fit arch support could mean the difference between a healthy, happy run or a slow, painful walk.
By: Deano Handt
Posts Tagged ‘Foot Pain’
Shoe Inserts For Running – Arch Supports Fight The Foot Pain
April 21st, 2010Avoid Painful Feet – Get Comfortable Shoes
April 19th, 2010
Most of us like shoes that look good. However, should this be at the risk of comfort and injury? There are many styles of shoes that not only look good but also they feel good. It is not necessary to give up one for the other.
What To Look For
When trying shoes on wiggle the toes to check for freedom of movement.
If you notice any discomfort try a larger size because the pain will only get worse. Remember to check the sole for flexibility by bending the shoe. If the sole is rigid and does not move with you, this could be a prescription for latter discomfort resulting in painful feet.
Walking Shoes
If you are standing on your feet all day then shoe comfort can really a big issue.
Feet will spread more when standing than sitting. Arch support and adequate toe room are very important. You can easily check support by placing your hand inside the shoe and checking for padding in vital areas like the heel, balls of the feet and arches.
Shoe Widths
When it comes to shoes, there is no such thing as one size fits all.
Depending on the breadth of your feet, you can buy the same size shoe in wider or narrower widths. Women’s’ widths run from AA (narrow) to EE (extra wide). Parallel sizes for men are BB (narrow) to EEEE (extra wide).
Flat feet
If you have flat feet then proper arch support is necessary to avoid foot pain. The better shoemakers will include some form of arch support. If additional support is desired then these may also be purchased in the form of partial or full sole inserts for added comfort.
Shoe Insoles
Like a car shoes have shock absorbers to prevent your feet from feeling the total impact of the bumps in the road. Full size insoles with proper cushioning will protect multiple pressure points and reduce injuries.
Diabetic Shoes
Preventing ulceration of the feet due to excessive rubbing of the shoes can become a major concern if you have diabetes. Because of loss of sensation in the extremities, a diabetic may be unaware of blisters on the feet. Custom fitted shoes may be the best solution if over the counter products are not working.
Swelling Feet
If your feet tend to swell, then you may want to consider buying shoes a size larger to reduce any discomfort and tightness after feet have swollen.
Walking In Your Shoes
When trying on new pair of shoes do not forget walk around the shoe store to get a sense of how they will feel once purchased.
Shoe Materials
Shoe materials like suede and leather provide not only more flexibility but comfort because the material is able to conform to the shape of the foot and exert less resistance in sensitive areas.
Uncomfortable Shoes
Narrow toed and high-heeled shoes if worned to excess can eventually cause injuries to the ankles, calves, toes, back and knees. High-heeled shoes have been known to distribute weight unevenly causing extra pressure on the ball and front of the foot. Conditions such as hammertoes and bunions have been directly attributed to these kinds of shoes. Many podiatrists recommend shoes with a maximum height of no more than 1inch for maximum comfort.
Finally
Feet are one of our most precious possessions. Take care of them and they will serve you well for many years to come. Abuse them and pay the price.
By: Nick Kaplan
Introduction to Shoes Lift
February 20th, 2010
What is shoes lift?
Shoes lift is also known as footwear lifts or elevator insole/inserts. Shoes lift is originated from Elevator Shoes. When shoes makers first made elevator shoes, they found it’s very hard to produce a lot of styles for elevator shoes as normal shoes. Also, customers ask for something like an insole to put in normal shoes to make them look taller. Then some footwear makers tried to take out the inner insole of elevator shoes and trimmed it to a standalone insole.
However, lift insert in the early stage are not comfortable because of material and the height of the insert. As time goes, there are more and more elevator insole products in markets with different material, style and height. Like elevator shoes, by wearing elevator shoes, one can look taller instantly and look slimmer. For some people, soft elevator insole can reduce foot pain caused by dress shoes. Also, a good elevator insole can help eliminate foot pain because of the additional arch support.
Shoe lifts are usually 0.5-2.5 inches depend on different styles and materials. Inserts more than 3” are generally very uncomfortable. Unless you have to, otherwise you should choose an insole lower than 2 inches.
Please note that height lifts are different from heel lifts. Heel lifts are for people with different length of legs[1], so that the added height is hard not soft. However, some people use shoes lift as heel lift. It depends on personal preferences.
Different types of shoe lifts
Manufactures try to make different kinds of insoles to adapt with different footwear. Unlike early days, we now have insoles including full, half and detachable insole.
Full-insole: It is designed to support the full foot. It’s like normal insole but the grade increase gradually from front to the back. Because of the full foot support, full-insole is generally the most comfortable kind of insole/insert. However, not every footwear can adapt this. It requires more room in the head part of the shoe.
Half-insole: It is designed to only support the heel part of the foot. Because of the missing support for the front part of the foot, this kind of insole is less comfortable than full-insole. But half insole/inserts are more adaptive. It can be put on very light shoes.
Detachable Insoles: It has multiple layers (usually two or three). Wearers can adjust the height of the insole based on personal preferences. Both full-insole and half-insole can be made as detachable insole. Some people even put detachable insole into elevator shoes.
Materials used in lift inserts
There are generally four types materials used in elevator insoles, wood, hard-rubber, soft-rubber and gel.
Wood: Wood is usually used in heel lifts because it’s hard. However, in early days, people also use wood lift as footwear lift. No manufacture is producing shoes lifts in wood now.
Hard-rubber: Hard-rubber is also mostly used in heel lifts. Some people prefer hard-rubber as shoes lift because the hardness which is between wood and soft-rubber. Also, this is probably the cheapest material.
Soft-rubber: Soft-rubber is the most common material used in elevator insoles. The only problem for soft-rubber is smell. New insoles made in soft rubber have an odd smell. This smell usually goes away once you wear it. Most people like soft-rubber because it’s softness.
Gel: Gel is most update to date material for shoes lift. It was used as body plant material. Because most shoes lift gel is low class silicon gel, it has a little petrol smell when it’s new. This is most comfortable material for shoes lift. Of course, it’s also the most expensive one.
Who are wearing footwear lift?
Both men and women wear elevator inserts today. Most people like to put elevator insole in boots because it’s hidden and more comfortable. There are more people wearing elevator insole than elevator shoes because elevator insole is cheaper and easy to adapt with normal shoes. However, most long-term wearers choose elevator shoes because of the comfort.
References:
1. Wikipedia: Heel Lifts
By: Jerry Ji
