Components of a Stable High Heel Shoe

     The high heel shoe is often verbally chastised for some of the problems it can cause. That being said I think it is important to understand its importance in our fashion industry and to analyze some of the components of a stable high heel shoe. Next time you are in the market for this shoe type consider this list of properties that may make your selection a little safer.

 Here is one of patients demonstrating a wonderful Beautifeel Shoe that really was stable. Even though not this year's model, here is a link to their line where you will find several shoes of similar qualities. You can use the criteria below to find shoes made by many companies.

http://www.beautifeelshop.com/?gclid=CNbFkt3YrKgCFcsZQgodZ197Hg

•  The heel area should be wide (Cuban style).

• The front area should also be wide

• The arch is comfortable and supportive

• The shoe should be easy to move through (from heel land to toe off) and not unstable in the heel/ankle area

•  There is a strap in front of the ankle which stablizes the arch side of the heel

•  The insole is cushioned and comfortable (protecting your foot)

• The front strap or toebox area really holds your foot in (this shoe has an adjustable strap) without torturing the big toe area (bunion) or your toes

• When landing on the shoe, the heel should engage only momentarily, with the weight transferring quickly to the arch and the front of the foot. You should not feel a jarring sensation when landing on the heel.

Children's Shoe Brands Recommended: Email Advice

Email from my patient 2/28/11

Thanks for the orthotics. I'm off to Argentina!!


I buy a lot of shoes for grandkids and am wondering what shoe brands you recommend for 4 to 12-year-olds. I have bought Tsukihoshi shoes, but they wear away and fall apart fast when used by a kid who plays hard.

Annette

Dear Annette, I asked our children's expert Dr Ronald Valmassy. He says he is very pleased with #1 Nike  #2 Adidas #3 StrideRite for this age group. Rich
PS I hope the video below is a good reminder of several important general rules.

Good Running Shoe for Supinators: Consider Saucony Triumph 8

Here is a view of the Saucony Triumph 8 from the side. The shoe is a neutral shoe, which for supinators can be too soft and unstable, but this one seems to work well. As the video says it has some good qualities that make it stable. One of my patients EB brought this shoe to my attention. It works very well for her and she is a significant supinator.

Here is EB in the Saucony Triumph 8 left shoe from the back view. You can see how vertical it holds her foot, although she has an insert to stop some of her supination.

     Running shoe stores can tend to use to many generalizations and one of them which has always bothered me is that supinators need neutral cushioned shoes. Many supinators, with orthotic devices to correct some or all of that supination, due the best in stability shoes. I am always fighting these neutral shoes when trying to stablize an unstable foot. So, I hope this Saucony Triumph 8 stands the test of time.

Hannaford Orthotic Device: New Balance 623 a Great Shoe

As you can see from previous articles that the Hannaford Orthotic (the best for shock absorption) can be very bulky. Recently, one of my patients Bob, went on a big search and found the New Balance 623 (comes M and W) worked the best. It is a cross trainor type. The variable widths help this immensely. If other patients have found shoes that work well, please email or comment on this post.

Hannafords before they have been grinded into better shoe fitting shape.

Men's Dress Shoes: Recommended List

Hi Dr. Blake,
I came in earlier this summer and you prescribed me some more aggressive orthotics to deal with a knee issue stemming from cycling and a subtalar coalition. They have worked great, but if I am wearing non-supportive dress shoes I can get some real foot pain (same with the old orthotics, of course..that foot needs all the support it can get). I have a new job downtown so I will be walking about 1/2 a mile to work every day. Do you have any recommendations of dress shoe brands that are supportive for flat feet with subtalar issues like mine ?
I figured if anyone would know, it would be you.
Thank you, I definitely appreciate it!

David
 
David, There has been a real explosion of good stable men's dress shoes which work with orthotic devices. See if Zappos.com has some of these. The list is only partial, but I hope a good starting place. There are some Cole Haan and Wrights Shoes that I would also put on, but seem too expensive to me. These shoes are in no particular order.
 

• Allen Edmonds' Ashton or Santa Monica
• Auri's Diablo
• Clarks' Cirino
• Dockers' Gordon, Bastille, or Manhattan
• Dunham's Burlington
• Ecco's Windsor Tie
• Johnston & Murphy's Ashmont or Pattison
• Neil M's Jefferson or others in the Medallion, Prestige, or Signature Collections
• Rockport's Margin

Check out the video below on the sophisicated approach of top shoe manufacturers to fitting of orthotic devices. I only mean this for alittle fun!!

Two Different Sized Feet: Where To Go

Blog Vitals: 34 followers, 79 countries, 2,850 visitors, 3976 visits overall Thank You!!  Dr Rich Blake

Here is another short video from my recent trip to Hawaii to relax you.

When you have two different sized feet, you have a major challenge being stable and comfortable. For men and women, 1 shoe size difference is 0.3 inches (7.6mm) in length, but even more problematic when dealing with the 3 dimensions of length, width, and height. There are so many variations in volume for each shoe size that one investigator suggested shoe companies would need to have 37 different shoes for each size to properly fit people. So we pad shoes, we wait for technology to come up with in-store 3D scanning, and we pray. Nordstroms, which started as a Seattle Shoe Store has been the savior of many of my patients over the years for selling different sizes at no extra cost for the right and left feet. But, they start at a 1 and 1/2 shoe size difference. Even 1/2 size difference can wreak major difficulties in shoe fit and overal foot and leg stability. Patients are forced to buy two different shoes sizes, and then donate the other pair of mismatched shoes. I definitely have loved Zappos.com for at least making this process easier for many patients with their 365 day return policy and free shipping both ways.

Today I want to introduce to some of you 5 other websites which help in this area.

• 
  
  http://www.oddshoe.org/
• 
  
  http://www.oddshoefinder.com/
• 
  
  http://www.oneshoecrew.com/
• 
  
  http://www.soles4souls.org/
• 
  
  http://www.oneshoetwoshoe.net/

I have the least experience with the one crew shoe, but it is worth a look see. Soles4souls should motivate some donations (I'm checking my closests right after I finish typing). OneShoeTwoShoe allows to buy one shoe at a time. The National Odd Shoe Exchange links you up people with the opposite shoe size problem. I hope this list opens your eyes to some of the possibilities out there for this very difficult problem for many patients.

    

High Heel Shoes: Wearers Need to Stretch Often to Avoid Problems: A New Study

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/fashionnews/7892041/Why-women-can-wear-high-heels-for-hours-solved-by-scientists.html

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-asian-lady-rimagefree895559-resi2565486

This is a great article emphasizing why patients who wear high heels on a routine basis have problems with flatter shoes. The answer is fairly simple: stretch out the achilles tendons on a regular basis and enjoy those heels. See the separate blog post video on achilles stretches in the link below.

http://www.drblakeshealingsole.com/2010/08/video-on-plantar-fasciitis-big-3-weight.html

Foot Orthotics: Best for Water Sports with Shoe Recommendations

     Water shoes and sandals have become very popular and important as the summer months, hot weather, and beach or pool activities have arrived. For those of you that wear orthotic devices for foot and leg problems, the thought of going without this protection while around water can bring great concern. First of all, I tend to prefer water shoes over sandals for better protection and stability for my patients. But, with proper water resistant orthotic devices (only the plastic part of the device), water sandals with an enclosed heel to hold the orthosis can be very stable. See the photo of an orthotic device without any material that water would effect with the Merrell water shoe it was designed to fit. If you have a good fitting orthotic device, any orthotic lab could make these off the original cast.

     Common water shoes that I recommend are (in no particular order):

• Ahnu Muir--Men
• Teva Sunkosi 2--Men
• Salomon Techamphibian 2--Men and Women
• Merrell Water ProSable--Women

     Common water sandals that work well with orthotic devices (in no particular order):

• Teva Dozer--Men and Women
• Teva Cardenas Fisherman
• Keen Mystic--Women
• Keen Commuter Rockaway--Men
• Merrell Chameleon 3Maze--Men

Shoe Evaluation: Shoe Flexion Test

The Shoe Flexion Test checks flexibility of the front of the shoe. You are testing whether the shoe bends correctly or in the wrong place. As you walk or run, you need to bend your foot in the metatarsal or ball of the foot area as the heel lifts off the ground. This easy motion is called propulsion or push-off. It should occur only at the right place or injuries may occur. Grab the shoe again (like the post of Shoe Torsion Test) firmly at the heel. Then, grab the toe area and simulate toe bend by bending the toes upwards. The second photo demonstrates the shoe easily bending, not at the ball of the foot, but at the arch. This is how injuries to the arch, or plantar fascia, can occur. The shoe actually forces the foot to bend at the wrong place. Ouch!!! Combine the Shoe Flexion Test with the Shoe Torsion Test with Heel Verticality Test from other posts and you are beginning to have a clear understanding on how evaluate the safety of the shoes you buy. Good Luck!

Shoe Torsion Test for Stability

One of the best tests you can do at the shoe store when looking for a stable shoe is the Shoe Torsion Test. The photo above shows a shoe from the side. Grab the heel firmly. Grab the front of the shoe and attempt to twist the shoe as demonstrated in the photo next to this text. If the shoe twists easily, it fails the stability test, and you should not buy it. After you do this test on 5 different shoes, you will have a good understanding of the range of stability offered in the current market. Golden Rule of Foot: Avoid Shoes that fail the Shoe Torsion Test.