If your feet hurt...

 

If you are an athlete, your shoes shouldn’t be a fashion statement.  There I’ve said it. 

If you’ve read this column for long or if you have ever seen me professionally for foot problems, then you should know my feelings about your shoes. 

If you walk into my clinic in “shoes” that don’t support your feet, then you’ve probably heard about it from me. If you are wearing those rubbery things that kids wear WAY too much, then you’ve gotten the LECTURE. Or slides. Or (heavens forbid) bedroom slippers (yes, I see that way too often). 

Don’t believe me?  Go to the big box store. 

It hasn’t been too many years since I would send an older person to the shoe store with the instructions to purchase running shoes.  Sometimes they would come back complaining that “those things cost more than my dress shoes!”  Or maybe they said “those things are ugly—I’m not wearing those.”

Yeah, good running shoes cost more than most dress shoes.  And beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

But here’s the bottom line—those running shoes are probably the best pair of shoes in your closet.  More research has gone into them than anything else you’re going to find in any shoe store. 

If you’re feet hurt, well, you will wear them.  And (surprise, surprise) you will feel better almost immediately.

When I first got out of Physical Therapy school lo those many years ago, we were expected to wear a white jacket, dress shirt (with tie for guys), dark slacks and dress shoes. 

It took a long time before I figured out that those dress shoes that I was wearing every day were killing my feet.  I was quite young back then and not much hurt, but my feet sure did.

And then came the gosh awful shoes that were issued to us when I worked the ’96 Olympics.  Sort of dress shoe looking but with just a hint of running shoe technology thrown in.  I was more miserable than ever.

Along the way, I found that the shoes that I wore for exercise would work in the clinic.  So, dress shoes were the first thing I ditched, in favor of running shoes.  Then came the tie, then the white coat. Nixed the dark slacks.  The uniform became a polo shirt, khakis, and running shoes.

Still is. I don’t need a uniform to demonstrate my professionalism.  That white coat did nothing for me.

So when every kid with shin splints or plantar fasciitis shows up at my office (invariably wearing slides or those rubbery things), they learn (if they listen) that those “shoes” were not meant to wear every day all day.

They might learn that how their foot hits the ground, whether walking around school or competing in a sport, determines the health of their feet and lower legs. They will hear how important it is to take care of their feet.

And if they listen…if they start wearing those running shoes every day…they will find that their problems go away. It really can be that simple.