Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey
Guest: Chris Glass
Broadcast and podcast on webtalkradio.net. The podcast is also on the links below
When it comes to shoes, most of us pay more attention to style than to foot health. Eventually it catches up with us with back pain, foot pain, bunions, and other problems. But there are angels of mercy who know how to get your feet the support they need. Licensed, Board Certified Pedorthist Chris Glass talks about the good, the bad and the ugly with feet and shoes. You only get one pair of feet and if you want to live a long, healthy life, you need to take good care of them.
Like a lot of people my feet get tired and my bunions were getting bigger. I tried an arch support store and it was no help. I went to an orthopdedist and he prescribed some shoe inserts that are hard as rocks and quite uncomfortable. My image of shoe stores was that there were normal shoe stores, specialty shoes for athletes, and stores that sold really ugly shoes to people with diabetes or serious deformities. Fortunately, Chris disillusioned me.
Talk to someone with even a mild case of scoliosis and they will tell you that having their spine curved a little out of alignment causes them a lot of pain and that a shoe lift or adapted seat cushion can help lessen the discomfort. Our feet are even further down the foundation than our back. Without good support from our shoes, problems pain and dysfunction follow sooner or later.
I knew that thongs were dreadful, loafers are bad, and crocks suspect, but I was confused about tennis shoes versus oxford shoes. One of my take aways today is that it’s all about providing support and cushioning shock-and that the right tennis shoe is usually a little better at absorbing shock than the right leather shoe.
Of course today a lot of regular shoes have composition soles that absorb shock. And then we have the rocker soled shoes. Hearing Chris talk about the benefits of shoes with rocker soles, I think I’ll wear my MBT shoes more often. Another take away is that it is healthier to take relatively short steps. That’s easy to do and free. I concur with Chris that if you want to have a fancy pair of shoes for church or a special occasion, OK, but day to day we need to be wearing shoes with good support and good cushioning of shock.
Many of the orthotic shoes for men look pretty normal. I still think that if we can put astronauts on the moon we should be able to produce attractive shoes for women that are also healthy. Whoever figures it out will probably become very wealthy. Baby Boomers are going to insist on both healthy and attractive shoes. The bottom line on shoes is you can get by with not getting tire alignments on your car and if the tires or car wears out, you can replace them. But you only get one pair of feet.
Chris Glass and his brother Justin Glass are proprietors of the Foot Solutions store in Columbus (Reynoldsburg) Ohio. Foot Solutions is part of an International franchise of stores providing orthotic footwear, inserts, and arch supports. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.Anti-Aging-Speaker.com.
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