Podiatry Recommended
Top Picks
For Comfortable Women's Shoes
From the Easy Spirit Anti-Gravity Collection
Fall 2013
Brassie
$89
Oroco
$30
Jomarie
$40
Menke
$189
Cedella
$29.99
These are my top picks for women's comfortable shoes from the Easy Spirit Anti-Gravity Collection. I've included summer sandals for my Arizona patients since we wear them through the winter as well as boots and enclosed dress shoes for those women living in colder climates.
What makes these shoes 'top picks' for comfort are the fact that they have thick, rigid soles that offer more protection for the foot joints as well as good forefoot and rearfoot control, which helps decrease mechanical strain for more comfort and less chance of injury. If you can bend or flex a shoe - it is not good enough for you! When you are walking, if a shoe bends and flexes, it is allowing motion across your foot joints, which causes 'wear and tear', inflammation, swelling and an increased risk of pain as well as injury. It is a counter-intuitive concept, but comfort in shoes is about having a thick and rigid, non-flexible sole, a soft and wide toebox, arch support and rearfoot control. If a joint hurts and is damaged (osteoarthritis, to name only one example) - the last thing you want to do is continuously force motion through it. You want to protect it with less motion so that it hurts less and you stop damaging and already painful and damaged joint.
I would highly recommend wearing the Brassie, Oroco and the Menke with a custom-dress orthotic for more comfort and biomechanical control of the foot and ankle. If you do not have a dress orthotic, talk to your Podiatrist as they are often covered under various insurance plans or you can cash pay. Dress orthotics made by Podiatrists can last for years and, when they get old, can be refurbished to look like new. Another option is the get a heat-molded dress insert, which can be purchased from many Podiatry offices and are less expensive than custom-molded inserts. A third option is to get a good over-the-counter dress orthotic that is thin but gives you semi-flexible to rigid arch control, depending on your particular foot condition. Having good arch support will help to slow or stop the progression of bunions and can significantly help with knee, hip and lower back pain.
These Shoes are Recommended for Patient with:
*Mild to Moderate Bunions
*Mild to Moderate Tailor's Bunions
*Mild to Moderate Hammertoes
*Metatarsalgia
*Mild to moderate Over-Pronation (wear with a dress orthotic)
*Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain)
*Achilles Tendonitis
*Mild Hypermobility
*Mild Osteoarthritis
*Mild to possibly Moderate Hallux Limitus (Limited Range of Motion of the 1st toe Joint)
*Mild Rheumatoid Arthitis
*Mild Morton's Neuroma
*Mild Capsulitis
*Corns and Calluses
These Shoes are NOT Recommended for Patients with:
*Charcot Foot
*Severe Hypermobility
*Severe Over-Pronation
*Diabetics with a history of Ulceration (Open Sores)
*Peripheral Arterial Disease with a history of Ulceration
*Peripheral Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)
*Foot Drop
*Balance Issues
*High Fall Risk Patients
*Hallux Rigidus (No motion at the 1st toe joint because of severe arthritis or a surgical fusion - unless your surgeon fused you at 15 degrees of dorsiflextion - in which case you can possibly wear the lower heels)
**If you are diabetic, have nerve damage, poor circulation or any other serious foot issues, please check with your Podiatrist to see if these shoes are appropriate for your particular foot issues. I always encourage patients to bring in one bag of shoes so that we can check them together and discuss what is good and bad about each shoe. It helps the patient understand what they are looking for in a good shoe and saves them money when they are shopping. Also, what works biomechanically for one person is not always appropriate for another patient with a different foot issue or foot type.
For more information on what makes a comfortable shoe, please use the search box in this blog to look up my articles:
'My Feet Hurt: Top Ten Things to do to Alleviate Foot Pain'
and
'Shoe Recommendations for Patients Recovering From a Lisfrac's Injury'
Have a great day!
Dr. Cathleen A. McCarthy
:)
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